1971 Motor Trend 500

Auto race held at Riverside International Raceway in 1971 February 2025 CUST Race 1 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season Motor Trend 500 http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/CA/Moreno%20Valley/1971-02-01 1971 Motor Trend 500 weather information The Old Farmers' Almanac 2012-09-03 1971 01 10 1971 1 48 Riverside Raceway.JPG Layout of Riverside International Raceway (1969-1988 version) Motor Trend 500 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California 2.700 4.345 191 500 806 Temperatures of 64 F C; wind speeds of 8 mph km/h 100.783 mi/h 23,000 http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1971-01&series=W 1971 Motor Trend 500 information Racing Reference 2009-10-21 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Ray Elder Fred Elder 67 96 Ray Elder Fred Elder untelevised none The 1971 Motor Trend 500 was the first race in NASCAR's Winston Cup era (also known as the Winston Cup Grand National Series) that took place on January 10, 1971. 191 laps on a road course at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California that spanned a total distance of 2.620 mi km. Attendance was estimated at 23,000. It took four hours, fifty-seven minutes, and fifty-five seconds. Due to a then-struggling economy, both Ford and Chevrolet cut back on factory support for the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. http://musclecarfilms.com/Nascar_Thunder_70s_1.html Summary of the 1971 Motor Trend 500 Muscle Car Films 2012-09-06July 2026 InternetArchiveBot NASCAR would also limit engines in the aerodynamic superspeedway cars to 305 cubic inches starting in this race. Race report Defending NASCAR Grand National West series champion Ray Elder won the race; making it the first time that the 500-mile event at Riverside was won by a manufacturer other than Ford. The average speed was 100.783 mi/h while the pole speed was 107.084 mi/h. This race was the final NASCAR Cup Series event with triple-digit numbered cars; with three of them qualifying for the race. (Pittelkow #107, Schilling #148, Collins #177). Elder became the first winner in NASCAR's "modern" history. Only 11 cars finished this 5-hour marathon. The 8th-place finisher was 22 laps down, and the 11th-place finisher dropped out with 34 laps to go. The top prize at this race was $18,715 ($ when adjusted for inflation) and the prize for finishing last (40th) was $1,015 ($ when adjusted for inflation). Richard Petty competed in this race but failed to finish; he would end up in 20th after starting from the pole position. The majority of the drivers who failed to finish had an engine problem. 43-year-old Hershel McGriff entered and raced a Cup race for the first time since 1954, when he won a Grand National race at North Wilkesboro in an Oldsmobile, back when he was 26. McGriff would qualify in 8th and finish 12th. Harry Hyde and Dale Inman were notable crew chiefs for this event; working for Richard Petty (Inman) and fourth-place finisher Bobby Isaac (Hyde). http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1971&race=1&series_id=2 Notable crew chiefs Race Database 2013-03-17 At the end of the race, the margin between Elder and Bobby Allison was ten and a half seconds. Ray Elder would score the first of his two NASCAR cup victories here (with his second victory taking place at the 1972 Golden State 400 http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1972-15&series=W Ray Elder's second victory Racing Reference 2010-02-15). This race was Ron Grable's only start in the NASCAR Cup series and that G.T. Tallas finished the race with his career best of 11th place. Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer 1 43 Richard Petty '70 Plymouth 2 12 Bobby Allison '70 Dodge 3 96 Ray Elder '70 Dodge 4 71 Bobby Isaac '71 Dodge 5 48 James Hylton '70 Ford 6 02 Dick Bown '70 Plymouth 7 72 Benny Parsons '69 Ford 8 04 Hershel McGriff '70 Plymouth 9 39 Friday Hassler '69 Chevrolet 10 32 Kevin Terris '70 Plymouth 11 38 Jimmy Insolo '69 Chevrolet 12 10 Bill Champion '69 Ford 13 24 Cecil Gordon '69 Ford 14 44 Dick Guldstrand '68 Chevrolet 15 08 John Soares, Jr. '70 Plymouth 16 17 David Pearson '70 Ford 17 19 Henley Gray '69 Ford 18 88 Don Noel '70 Ford 19 64 Elmo Langley '69 Mercury 20 83 Joe Clark '69 Chevrolet 21 99 Pat Fay '71 Ford 22 26 Carl Joiner, Jr. '69 Chevrolet 23 6 Jerry Oliver '70 Oldsmobile 24 95 Bob Kauf '69 Chevrolet 25 15 Paul Dorrity '71 Chevrolet 26 82 Ron Gautsche '69 Ford 27 4 Dick Kranzler '70 Chevrolet 28 07 Ivan Baldwin '69 Chevrolet 29 23 G.T. Tallas '69 Ford 30 00 Frank James '69 Chevrolet 31 7 Jack McCoy '70 Dodge 32 77 Ray Johnstone '69 Plymouth 33 5 Ron Grable '70 Ford 34 70 J.D. McDuffie '69 Mercury 35 148 Harry Schilling '69 Dodge 36 177 Roy Collins '69 Dodge 37 79 Frank Warren '69 Plymouth 38 108 Mike Pittelkow '69 Chevrolet 39 33 Glenn Francis '70 Chevrolet 40 18 Bob England '70 Chevrolet Finishing order 30em Ray Elder Bobby Allison Benny Parsons Bobby Isaac James Hylton Friday Hassler Kevin Terris Carl Joiner Henley Gray Cecil Gordon G.T. Tallas Hershel McGriff Bob England Dick Kranzler J.D. McDuffie Dick Bown Elmo Langley Jack McCoy Ron Gautsche Richard Petty John Soares, Jr. Frank James Ron Grable Dick Guldstrand Jimmy Insolo Bill Champion Bob Kauf Paul Dorrity Jerry Oliver Frank Warren Mike Pittelkow Ray Johnstone Don Noel Glenn Francis David Pearson Joe Clark Harry Schilling Roy Collins Ivan Baldwin Pat Fay Timeline Section reference: Start of race: Richard Petty had the lead position as the green flag was waved. Lap 4: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Richard Petty. Lap 5: David Pearson took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 21: Joe Clark retired with transmission issues. Lap 25: Richard Petty took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 36: Ray Johnstone had a race ending crash. Lap 38: Clutch problems ended Mike Pittelkow's day on the track. Lap 40: Frank Warren retired due to transmission issues. Lap 56: Bob Kauf retired from the race due to transmission issues. Lap 58: Bill Champion retired with transmission issues. Lap 76: Dick Guldstrand retired due to a frame problems. Lap 84: Ray Elder took over the lead from Richard Petty. Lap 97: Frank James retired due to transmission problems. Lap 107: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Ray Elder. Lap 118: A faulty lug bolt ended Ron Gaustche's race. Lap 120: Ray Elder took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 133: Steering issues brought Dick Bown's day on the track to a premature halt. Lap 136: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Ray Elder. Lap 150: Ray Elder took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 155: Bob England managed to render his vehicle's engine non-functional. Lap 156: Hershel McGriff retired due to ignition trouble. Lap 157: G.T. Tallas retired due to engine trouble. Lap 166: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Ray Elder. Lap 180: Ray Elder took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Finish: Ray Elder was officially declared the winner of the event. References 1970 Tidewater 300 1971 Daytona 500 NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Races 1970-71 1970 Motor Trend 500 becomes the Winston Western 500 Motor Trend 500 races 1964-71 Motor Trend 500 Motor Trend 500 Category:NASCAR races at Riverside International Raceway