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Wikipedia / NASCAR Cup Series at Riverside International Raceway

Stock car racess in the then-NASCAR Winston Cup Series have been held at the Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California during numerous times of year and season from 1958 to 1988.

January race

The Winston Western 500 was an annual NASCAR Winston Cup race held at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, United States, in January, and then in later years, November. From 1963 to 1981, the race was held in January and was the season opening race. NASCAR elected to start its season with the Daytona 500 beginning in 1982, so a second Winston Western 500 was run in November to accommodate the change; the change resulted in Riverside hosting three Winston Cup races in 1981. The race ran in November from 1981 to 1987, serving as the Winston Cup Series' final race of the year from 1981 to 1986. The race distance was 500 miles until 1977 when it was shortened to 311 miles (500 kilometers). The other race held at Riverside, the Budweiser 400, was held in June.

Past winners

Year

Date

Driver

Team

Manufacturer

Race Distance

Race Time

Average Speed(mph)

Report

Ref

Laps

Miles (km)

1958

June 1

98

Eddie Gray

Vel Miletich

Ford

190

499.89 (804.494)

6:17:00

79.481

Report

1959–1960

Not held

1961

May 21

44

Lloyd Dane

Lloyd Dane

Chevrolet

39

100.62 (161.932)

1:13:10

82.512

Report

1962

Not held

1963

January 20

28

Dan Gurney

Holman-Moody

Ford

185

499.5 (803.867)

5:53:20

84.965

Report

1964

January 19

121

Dan Gurney

Wood Brothers Racing

Ford

185

499.5 (803.867)

5:28:47

91.245

Report

1965

January 17

121

Dan Gurney

Wood Brothers Racing

Ford

185

499.5 (803.867)

5:41:42

87.708

Report

1966

January 23

121

Dan Gurney

Wood Brothers Racing

Ford

185

499.5 (803.867)

5:05:58

97.952

Report

1967

January 22

115

Parnelli Jones

Bill Stroppe

Ford

185

499.5 (803.867)

5:29:03

91.08

Report

1968

January 21

121

Dan Gurney

Wood Brothers Racing

Ford

186

502.2 (808.212)

4:57:55

100.598

Report

1969

February 1

43

Richard Petty

Petty Enterprises

Ford

186

502.2 (808.212)

4:45:37

105.498

Report

1970

January 18

11

A. J. Foyt

Jack Bowsher

Ford

193

505.66 (813.78)

5:11:19

97.45

Report

1971

January 10

96

Ray Elder

Fred Elder

Dodge

191

500.42 (805.347)

4:57:55

100.783

Report

1972

January 23

43

Richard Petty

Petty Enterprises

Plymouth

149*

390.38 (628.255)

3:45:11

104.016

Report

1973

January 21

16

Mark Donohue

Penske Racing

Matador

191

500.42 (805.347)

4:48:33

104.055

Report

1974

January 26

11

Cale Yarborough

Richard Howard

Chevrolet

191

500.42 (805.347)

4:56:52

101.14

Report

1975

January 19

16

Bobby Allison

Penske Racing

Matador

191

500.42 (805.347)

5:04:25

98.627

Report

1976

January 18

21

David Pearson

Wood Brothers Racing

Mercury

191

500.42 (805.347)

5:02:44

99.18

Report

1977

January 16

21

David Pearson

Wood Brothers Racing

Mercury

119

311.78 (501.761)

2:54:46

107.038

Report

1978

January 22

11

Cale Yarborough

Junior Johnson & Associates

Oldsmobile

119

311.78 (501.761)

3:02:55

102.269

Report

1979

January 14

88

Darrell Waltrip

DiGard Motorsports

Chevrolet

119

311.78 (501.761)

2:53:30

107.82

Report

1980

January 13/19*

88

Darrell Waltrip

DiGard Motorsports

Chevrolet

119

311.78 (501.761)

3:16:58

94.974

Report

1981

January 11

28

Bobby Allison

Ranier-Lundy

Chevrolet

119

311.78 (501.761)

3:16:18

95.263

Report

November 22

28

Bobby Allison

Ranier-Lundy

Buick

119

311.78 (501.761)

3:16:19

95.288

Report

1982

November 21

2

Tim Richmond

Jim Stacy

Buick

119

311.78 (501.761)

3:07:24

99.823

Report

1983

November 20

9

Bill Elliott

Melling Racing

Ford

119

311.78 (501.761)

3:15:09

95.859

Report

1984

November 18

5

Geoff Bodine

All-Star Racing

Chevrolet

119

311.78 (501.761)

3:10:01

98.448

Report

1985

November 17

15

Ricky Rudd

Bud Moore Engineering

Ford

119

311.78 (501.761)

2:58:03

105.065

Report

1986

November 16

25

Tim Richmond

Hendrick Motorsports

Chevrolet

119

311.78 (501.761)

3:04:48

101.246

Report

1987

November 8

27

Rusty Wallace

Blue Max Racing

Pontiac

119

311.78 (501.761)

3:10:49

98.035

Report

  • 1964: Two-time defending champion Joe Weatherly was killed instantly when he struck the turn 6 wall on lap 86. Weatherly was 41 years old.

  • 1972: Race shortened due to fog.

  • 1980: Race started on January 13; finished on January 19 because of rain.

  • 1984: Race delayed several hours due to rain during the day - NASCAR was able to get the race in with darkness threatening. The race ended close to sunset (5 PM PT).

Multiple winners (drivers)

# Wins

Manufacturer

Years won

5

Dan Gurney

1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968

3

Bobby Allison

1975, 1981 (Jan), 1981 (Nov)

2

Richard Petty

1969, 1972

David Pearson

1976, 1977

Cale Yarborough

1974, 1978

Darrell Waltrip

1979, 1980

Tim Richmond

1982, 1986

Multiple winners (manufacturers)

# Wins

Manufacturer

Years won

11

Ford

1958, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1983, 1985

7

Chevrolet

1961, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986

2

Matador

1973, 1975

Mercury

1976, 1977

Buick

1981, 1982

Summer race

The Budweiser 400 was an annual summer NASCAR Winston Cup race held from 1970 to 1988 at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, United States. A 400-mile race was also run at the track in November 1963. The race distance was 400 miles until 1976 when it was shortened to 249 miles (400 kilometers). The other race at Riverside, the Winston Western 500, was held in January from 1965 to 1981 and November from 1981 to 1987.

Past winners

Year

Date

Driver

Team

Manufacturer

Race Distance

Race Time

Average Speed(mph)

Report

Ref

Laps

Miles (km)

1963

Nov 3

16

Darel Dieringer

Bill Stroppe

Mercury

148

399.6 (643.093)

4:21:37

91.465

Report

1964–1969

Not held

1970

June 14

43

Richard Petty

Petty Enterprises

Plymouth

153

400.86 (645.121)

3:57:51

101.12

Report

1971

June 20

12

Bobby Allison

Holman-Moody

Dodge

153

400.86 (645.121)

4:17:05

93.427

Report

1972

June 18

96

Ray Elder

Fred Elder

Dodge

153

400.86 (645.121)

4:03:32

98.761

Report

1973

June 17

12

Bobby Allison

Bobby Allison

Chevrolet

153

400.86 (645.121)

4:00:00

100.215

Report

1974

June 9

11

Cale Yarborough

Richard Howard

Chevrolet

138*

361.56 (581.874)

3:31:40

102.489

Report

1975

June 8

43

Richard Petty

Petty Enterprises

Dodge

153

400.86 (645.121)

3:58:04

101.028

Report

1976

June 13

21

David Pearson

Wood Brothers Racing

Mercury

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:20:31

106.279

Report

1977

June 12

43

Richard Petty

Petty Enterprises

Dodge

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:22:12

105.021

Report

1978

June 11

72

Benny Parsons

L.G. DeWitt

Chevrolet

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:23:10

104.311

Report

1979

June 10

15

Bobby Allison

Bud Moore Engineering

Ford

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:23:58

103.732

Report

1980

June 8

88

Darrell Waltrip

DiGard Motorsports

Chevrolet

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:26:38

101.846

Report

1981

June 14

11

Darrell Waltrip

Junior Johnson & Associates

Buick

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:39:30

93.597

Report

1982

June 13

2

Tim Richmond

Jim Stacy

Buick

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:23:51

103.816

Report

1983

June 5

3

Ricky Rudd

Richard Childress Racing

Chevrolet

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:49:35

88.063

Report

1984

June 3

44

Terry Labonte

Billy Hagan

Chevrolet

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:25:07

102.91

Report

1985

June 2

44

Terry Labonte

Billy Hagan

Chevrolet

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:23:13

104.276

Report

1986

June 1

11

Darrell Waltrip

Junior Johnson & Associates

Chevrolet

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:22:07

105.083

Report

1987

June 21

25

Tim Richmond

Hendrick Motorsports

Chevrolet

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:26:09

102.183

Report

1988

June 12

27

Rusty Wallace

Blue Max Racing

Pontiac

95

248.9 (400.565)

2:43:03

88.341

Report

  • 1974: The race was shortened by 10% in response to the fuel crisis.

Multiple winners (drivers)

# Wins

Driver

Years won

3

Richard Petty

1970, 1975, 1977

Bobby Allison

1971, 1973, 1979

Darrell Waltrip

1980, 1981, 1986

2

Terry Labonte

1984, 1985

Tim Richmond

1982, 1987

Multiple winners (manufacturers)

# Wins

Manufacturer

Years won

9

Chevrolet

1973, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987

4

Dodge

1971, 1972, 1975, 1977

2

Mercury

1963, 1976

Buick

1981, 1982

References