1971 National 500

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1971 National 500
Race details[1]
Race 42 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date October 10, 1971 (1971-October-10)
Official name National 500
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance 238 laps, 357 mi (574 km)
Scheduled Distance 334 laps, 500 mi (804 km)
Weather Chilly with temperatures of 63 °F (17 °C); wind speeds of 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h)
Average speed 126.14 miles per hour (203.00 km/h)
Attendance 52,000
Pole position
Driver
Most laps led
Driver Charlie Glotzbach Howard & Egerton Racing
Laps 119
Winner
No. 12 Bobby Allison Holman Moody
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Keith Jackson
Chris Economaki

The 1971 National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on October 10, 1971, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Most of the vehicles used in the race had a rating of 427 cubic inches.

The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.

Race report[]

There were 42 American-born drivers on this 238-lap race.[2] It was supposed to last for 334 laps but the race had to end due to rain and darkness.[2] On the day of the race, 0.22 inches of precipitation were recorded around the speedway.[3]

Bobby Allison managed to defeat Bobby Isaac by five seconds in front of 52000 people.[2] The race lasted more than two and a half hours with six caution periods lasting for 37 laps.[2][4][5] Charlie Glotzbach rightfully earned the pole position with a qualifying speed of 157.085 miles per hour (252.804 km/h) while the winner of the race would have an average speed of 126.14 miles per hour (203.00 km/h).[2][4]

Jim Vandiver would end up getting the last-place finish on lap 10 due to a single-car collision into the wall. Wendell Scott had to leave the race because his vehicle developed faulty wheel bearings on lap 63 while Dick Brooks' vehicle broke down early and finished poorly on lap 73. A faulty lug bolt took Neil Castles of the race on lap 114 while an engine problem took Maynard Troyer out of the race on lap 115. A couple of crashes on lap 120 took LeeRoy Yarbrough and Earle Canavan out of the race while steering problems took Dave Marcis out of the race on lap 152. Stick Elliot's vehicle developed a faulty driveshaft on lap 163 while lap 184 would see A.J. Foyt retiring from the race due to steering problems. Cale Yarborough would overheat his car on lap 209, ending his hopes of acquiring a top-ten finish.[2][4][5]

Bobby Allison and Richard Petty were duking it out up front at speeds up to 160 miles per hour (260 km/h), highlighting that Allison drove the Coke car during the race while Petty drove for Pepsi.[2][4][5] Tiny Lund also had a Pepsi car in this one but dropped out early on.[2][4][5]

Country music singing sensation and part-time NASCAR driver Marty Robbins would finish in 37th place in his 1969 Dodge Charger machine after starting in 15th.[6] LeeRoy Yarbrough ran a limited schedule during the 1971 season as Ford's factories were pulling out of NASCAR production at that time. This would force NASCAR teams using the Ford manufacturer to create vehicles by themselves with their in-house staff. Injuries sustained while practicing for that year's Indianapolis 500 contributed to the limited NASCAR schedule. He managed to shake off those injuries long enough to qualify in seventh place and finish in a lowly 34th place.[2]

The total purse of the race was $83,259 ($532,050 when adjusted for inflation); Allison would earn $18,450 of the total prize winnings that were offered in the race ($23,685 when adjusted for inflation).[5]

Qualifying[]

Grid No. Driver Manufacturer
1 3 Charlie Glotzbach '71 Chevrolet
2 11 Buddy Baker '71 Dodge
3 12 Bobby Allison '69 Mercury
4 21 Donnie Allison '69 Mercury
5 43 Richard Petty '71 Plymouth
6 6 Pete Hamilton '71 Plymouth
7 98 LeeRoy Yarbrough '71 Chevrolet
8 71 Bobby Isaac '71 Dodge
9 48 James Hylton '69 Mercury
10 99 Dave Marcis '71 Plymouth
11 72 Benny Parsons '69 Mercury
12 24 Cecil Gordon '69 Mercury
13 90 Bill Dennis '69 Mercury
14 39 Friday Hassler '70 Chevrolet
15 42 Marty Robbins '69 Dodge
16 91 Ed Negre '71 Chevrolet
17 49 Neil Castles '69 Plymouth
18 60 Maynard Troyer '69 Mercury
19 92 Larry Smith '69 Ford
20 45 Bill Seifert '71 Mercury
21 18 Joe Frasson '70 Dodge
22 19 Henley Gray '70 Ford
23 27 A.J. Foyt '71 Chevrolet
24 79 Frank Warren '69 Dodge
25 07 Wendell Scott '69 Chevrolet
26 31 Stick Elliott '69 Dodge
27 47 J.D. McDuffie '71 Ford
28 25 Jabe Thomas '70 Plymouth
29 76 Ben Arnold '69 Ford
30 30 Walter Ballard '71 Ford

Finishing order[]

  1. Bobby Allison
  2. Bobby Isaac
  3. Donnie Allison
  4. Richard Petty
  5. Charlie Glotzbach
  6. Buddy Baker
  7. Pete Hamilton
  8. Friday Hassler
  9. James Hylton
  10. Benny Parsons
  11. Joe Frasson
  12. Jabe Thomas
  13. Frank Warren
  14. Elmo Langley
  15. Cecil Gordon
  16. Bill Champion
  17. Bill Seifert
  18. David Ray Boggs
  19. Ed Negre
  20. Walter Ballard
  21. Earl Brooks
  22. J.D. McDuffie
  23. Ben Arnold
  25. Larry Smith
  26. Johnny Halford
  27. Henley Gray
  28. Cale Yarborough
  29. John Sears
  30. A. J. Foyt
  31. Stick Elliott
  32. Dave Marcis
  33. Earle Canavan
  34. LeeRoy Yarbrough
  36. Neil Castles
  37. Marty Robbins
  38. Tiny Lund
  39. Dick Brooks
  40. Bill Dennis
  41. Wendell Scott
  42. Jim Vandiver

References[]

  1. ^ "1971 National 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "1971 National 500 racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  3. ^ "Charlotte NASCAR Climatology" (PDF). SERCC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-08. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  4. ^ a b c d e "1971 National 500 racing information". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  5. ^ a b c d e "1971 National 500 racing information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  6. ^ "Marty Robbins' racing results". Race Database. Archived from the original on 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
Preceded by
 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Races
1971 		Succeeded by
Preceded by National 500 races
1971 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""