1971 Space City 300

Auto race held at Meyer Speedway in 1971 February 2025 CUST Race 25 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season Space City 300 Weather for the 1971 Space City 300 at The Old Farmers' Almanac 1971 06 23 1971 25 48 Space City 300 Meyer Speedway, Houston, Texas 0.500 0.744 300 150 200 Hot with temperatures of 91 F C; wind speeds of 8 mph km/h 73.489 mi/h 9,0001971 Space City 300 racing information at Racing-Reference.info Bobby Allison Bobby Allison Motorsports Bobby Allison Bobby Allison Motorsports 253 12 Bobby Allison Bobby Allison Motorsports untelevised none The 1971 Space City 300 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 23, 1971, at Meyer Speedway in Houston, Texas. While Houston was considered to be one of the epicenters of stock car racing during the 1950s and 1960s, the local passion for the motorsport died out starting in the 1970s.http://www.nascar.com/news/110408/maumann-retro-racing-rchumley-meyer-speedway/index.html Lone stars highlight '71 race at Texas track NASCAR April 8, 2011 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120106163114/https://www.nascar.com/news/110408/maumann-retro-racing-rchumley-meyer-speedway/index.html January 6, 2012 Meyer Speedway was bumpy enough to loosen bolts off of a typical NASCAR vehicle.November 2020 With only 14 cars entering the 1971 Space City 300, this event was one of many in 1971 that contributed to significant changes demanded by new series sponsor Winston for the 1972 season, when the number of races was reduced from 48 to 31, all dirt tracks were removed from the schedule, and a minimum race distance of 250 mi km was established for races on oval tracks. While NASCAR's top series had a successful 48 race schedule in previous years, by 1971 the reduced sponsorship money being given out by the "Big Three" automobile companies made it difficult for race car drivers to justify driving their "stock" race cars under their own power (as required by the homologation rules until 1975) to events offering only small prize money. http://www.grandnationaleast.com/Features/Allison%2085/Allison%2085.htm A Race Without A Winner Grand National East 2015-01-20 Race report Bobby Allison defeated James Hylton by at least two laps after two hours and two minutes of racing 300 laps on a paved track); marking Allison's fifth consecutive win. The entire track was considered to span a distance of 0.500 mi km for a grand total of 150.0 mi km. There were no cautions given out by NASCAR; making this a perfect raceNovember 2020 alongside the 1959 Daytona 500, the 1969 Motor Trend 500, the 1971 Asheville 300 and the 2002 EA Sports 500; which became the final oval course race that had gone the entire distance without a single caution flag.http://www.jayski.com/next/2002/2002talla2.htm EA Sports 500 Jayski's Silly Season Site 2013-04-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20131002143011/http://www.jayski.com/next/2002/2002talla2.htm 2013-10-02 dead Nine thousand people would watch a 14-car grid of American-born drivers perform speeds of up to 73.489 mph km/h. Pete Arnold would make his only start here and record the race's last-place finish due to a steering issue on lap 58. Fred Hill would make his only NASCAR Cup Series start here; ending his day with a rear end issue on lap 116.What is meant by a "rear end"? This term is currently a redlink November 2020 Walter Ballard finished third to claim his best career NASCAR finish. Richard Petty qualified in second place and managed to dominate 38 laps before the halfway point. Petty's vehicle developed problems with its distributor. More than 10 minutes were lost and 28 laps went by in the race before Petty was able to get his vehicle back on the track. Miraculously, he gained back 7 of his lost laps and salvaged a top-10 finish. The NASCAR Cup Series has never again come close to having a field this small. Even for the rest of 1971, they only once had fewer than 29 cars and that was a 22 car field. Hill and Arnold make their only cup starts in this debacle of a NASCAR Cup Series event. Ronnie Chumley, who lasted a bit longer, only started six other career Cup races. The motivation to stop here on the way back across the country from Riverside was not strong as most drivers did not put their best effort forward. This would be the last race until Kaz Grala's 2020 run at Daytona for Austin Dillon that a Cup driver debuted in a #3. Frank Warren's Pontiac was the only General Motors product on the racing grid. The next NASCAR Winston Cup Series race to lack a major manufacturer would be the 1982 Daytona 500; which excluded all Chevrolet vehicles.http://racing-reference.info/race?id=1982-01&series=W 1982 Daytona 500 results Racing-reference 2009-08-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20070311014152/http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1982-01&series=W 2007-03-11 dead Lee Gordon, Vic Ballard and Dale Inman were the three notable crew chiefs that participated in the event.1971 Space City 300 crew chief information at Racing Reference Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race, a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day (as of 2022). This event would become Meyer Speedway's only NASCAR Cup Series racing event. There would be less than 15 cars in the entire racing event; a rarity during the early 1970s. The winner would receive $2,200 in winnings ($ when adjusted for inflation) while the last-place finisher would walk away with $340 ($ when adjusted for inflation).1971 Space City 300 racing information at Race-Database Most of the teams that raced at Meyer Speedway went straight back to the Southeastern United States due to the meager prize money that was handed out at this racing event staged in the Southwestern United States. Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Owner 1 12 Bobby Allison '71 Dodge Bobby Allison 2 43 Richard Petty '71 Plymouth Petty Enterprises 3 64 Elmo Langley '69 Mercury Elmo Langley 4 8 Ed Negre '69 Ford Ed Negre 5 36 Frank Warren '70 Pontiac H.B. Bailey 6 70 J. D. McDuffie '69 Mercury J. D. McDuffie 7 24 Cecil Gordon '69 Mercury Cecil Gordon 8 77 Charlie Roberts '70 Ford Charlie Roberts 9 14 Fred Hill '69 Ford unknown 10 19 Henley Gray '69 Ford Henley Gray 11 30 Walter Ballard '71 Ford Vic Ballard 12 00 Ronnie Chumley '69 Ford R.B. Chumley 13 3 Pete Arnold '70 Ford unknown 14 48 James Hylton '70 Ford James Hylton Finishing order Pos No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Laps Status 112Bobby AllisonDodge300 Running 248James HyltonFord298 Running 330Walter BallardFord292 Running 464Elmo LangleyMercury290 Running 536Frank WarrenPontiac289 Running 624Cecil GordonMercury286 Running 743Richard PettyPlymouth279 Running 819Henley GrayFord270 Running 977Charlie RobertsFord254 Running 1070J.D. McDuffieMercury249 Running 118Ed NegreFord239 Running 1200Ronnie ChumleyFord136Transmission problems 1314Fred HillFord116Missing rear end 143Pete ArnoldFord58Steering problems Timeline Section reference: Lap 5: Bobby Allison takes over the lead from Richard Petty. Lap 9: Richard Petty takes over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 43: Bobby Allison takes over the lead from Richard Petty. Lap 58: Pete Arnold had trouble steering his vehicle, forcing him to withdraw from the event. Lap 116: Fred Hill would suffer severe damage to his vehicle's rear end, ending his day at the event. Lap 136: Ronnie Chumley's transmission would stop working in a normal fashion, causing him to withdraw from the event. Lap 148: James Hylton takes over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 157: Bobby Allison takes over the lead from James Hylton. Finish: Bobby Allison was officially declared the winner of the event. References 1971 Winston Golden State 400 1971 Pickens 200 NASCAR Grand National Series Season 1971 Space City 300 Space City 300 Category:NASCAR races at Meyer Speedway