1971 Miller High Life 500

1971 Miller High Life 500

Race details
Race 5 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Date	February 28, 1971 (1971-February-28)
Official name	Miller High Life 500
Location	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.500 mi (4.023 km)
Distance	200 laps, 500 mi (804 km)
Weather	Cold with temperatures of 60.1 °F (15.6 °C); wind speeds of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed	134.168 miles per hour (215.922 km/h)
Attendance	78,810
Pole position
Driver	A. J. Foyt	Wood Brothers Racing
Time	118.646 seconds
Most laps led
Driver	A.J. Foyt	Wood Brothers Racing
Laps	118
Winner
No. 21	A.J. Foyt	Wood Brothers Racing
Television in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Jim McKay Jackie Stewart

The 1971 Miller High Life 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that took place at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.

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 any more.

Summary

Two hundred laps were taken on a paved oval track spanning 2.500 miles (4.023 km). The total time of the race was three hours, forty-three minutes, and thirty-six seconds. This would be the first event to ever take place at Ontario Speedway. The day of the race was February 28, 1971.

Average speed was 134.168 miles per hour (215.922 km/h) and the pole position speed was 151.711 miles per hour (244.155 km/h). There were five cautions for 21 laps and the margin of victory was 8½ seconds. With an attendance of nearly seventy-nine thousand people, the race was well attended even by modern standards. Eleven notable crew chiefs were recorded as being a part of this event; including Paul Goldsmith, Richard Elder, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Lee Gordon and Paul Burchard.

In the 51-man entire racing grid, there were 50 Americans and only one Mexican (by the name of Pedro Rodríguez who finished in 47th due to an electrical fault). It was the 1000th race ever to be accomplished in NASCAR history. Rodríguez would retire from the NASCAR Winston Cup Series after his race here. Dean Dalton would finish in last place due to being black flagged and disqualified on lap 2. The only car in the same league with Foyt was Freddie Lorenzen until Lorenzen's engine blew and he crashed on the front straight with a fire. At the end, Petty had a chance to win, but he missed his pit under the green flag and had to come back in and finished third. Foyt won the first two Ontario races.

The total winnings of the race were considered to be $180,200 ($1,355,719.97 when adjusted for inflation) - making it the biggest non-Daytona purse during that era. Manufacturers involved in the event included Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Mercury, and Plymouth. Other notable drivers included Elmo Langley, Fred Lorenzen, and Ron Hornaday, Sr. (whose son is a four-time Craftsman Truck Series champion). Marty Kinerk would also retire after this race along with Jim McElreath, Pedro Rodríguez and Johnny Steele.

Qualifying

Grid	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Speed	Qualifying time	Owner
1	21	A. J. Foyt	'69 Mercury	151.711	1:58.646	Wood Brothers
2	71	Bobby Isaac	'71 Dodge	150.097	1:59.922	Nord Krauskopf
3	43	Richard Petty	'71 Plymouth	149.630	2:00.297	Petty Enterprises
4	6	Pete Hamilton	'71 Plymouth	149.256	2:00.598	Cotton Owens
5	99	Fred Lorenzen	'71 Plymouth	149.048	2:00.766	Ray Nichels
6	11	Buddy Baker	'71 Dodge	146.792	2:02.622	Petty Enterprises
7	96	Ray Elder	'70 Dodge	146.443	2:02.915	Fred Elder
8	72	Benny Parsons	'69 Mercury	145.645	2:03.588	L.G. DeWitt
9	39	Friday Hassler	'69 Dodge	144.142	2:04.877	Friday Hassler
10	55	Tiny Lund	'69 Mercury	143.712	2:05.250	John McConnell

Failed to qualify: Jack Roberts (#20), John W. Anderson (#57), Ben Arnold (#76), Sam Rose (#09), Walter Ballard (#30), Jerry Barnett (#55), D.K. Ulrich (#40), Earle Wagner (#01), Art Pollard (#94), Harold Pagon (#36), Larry Baumel (#68), Leonard Blanchard (#95), Frank Burnett (#43W), Scotty Cain (#1), Neil Castles (#06), Markey James (#31), Vic Irvan (#5), Paul Tyler (#95), Tru Cheek (#62), Marion Collins (#78), Chris Connery (#11W), Jim Danielson (#64W), Jack DeWitt (#17W), Paul Dorrity (#15), Vallie Engelauf (#65), Doc Faustina (#5), Glenn Francis (#33), Les Loeser (#40W), Ed Negre (#8), Bill Champion (#10)

Finishing order

Section reference:

1. A. J. Foyt
2. Buddy Baker
3. Richard Petty
4. Bobby Isaac
5. Dick Brooks
6. LeeRoy Yarbrough
7. Ray Elder
8. Tiny Lund
9. Benny Parsons
10. James Hylton
11. Elmo Langley
12. Marv Acton
13. Jack McCoy
14. Bill Seifert
15. Carl Joiner
16. Friday Hassler
17. Jimmy Insolo
18. Jabe Thomas
19. Cecil Gordon
20. Bobby Wawak
21. Frank James
22. Ron Hornaday
23. Earl Brooks
24. Dick Guldstrand
25. Harry Schilling
26. Ivan Baldwin
27. Dick Bown
28. Hershel McGriff
29. Henley Gray
30. Fred Lorenzen
31. Pete Hamilton
32. Pat Fay
33. Ray Johnstone
34. Marty Kinerk
35. J.D. McDuffie
36. Jim McElreath
37. Johnny Steele
38. John Soares, Jr.
39. Bobby Allison
40. Red Farmer
41. Bob England
42. Kevin Terris
43. Bill Champion
44. Don Noel
45. G.T. Tallas
46. Bill Osborne
47. Pedro Rodríguez
48. Dick Kranzler
49. Ron Gautsche
50. Frank Warren
51. Dean Dalton