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1971 Miller High Life 500

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1971 Miller High Life 500
Race details[1]
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 approaching 60.1 °F (15.6 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed 134.168 miles per hour (215.922 km/h)
Attendance 78,810[2]
Pole position
Driver
Wood Brothers Racing
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.[2]

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).[2] The total time of the race was three hours, forty-three minutes, and thirty-six seconds.[2] This would be the first event to ever take place at Ontario Speedway. The day of the race was February 28, 1971.[2]

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).[2] There were five cautions for 21 laps and the margin of victory was 8½ seconds.[2] With an attendance of nearly seventy-nine thousand people, the race was well attended even by modern standards.[2][3]

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).[2] 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.[2]

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.[2] Manufacturers involved in the event included Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Mercury, and Plymouth.[2] Other notable drivers included Elmo Langley, Fred Lorenzen, and Ron Hornaday, Sr. (whose son is a four-time Craftsman Truck Series champion).[2] Marty Kinerk would also retire after this race along with Jim McElreath, Pedro Rodríguez and Johnny Steele.[4]

Qualifying

Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Speed[5] Qualifying time[5]
1 21 A.J. Foyt '69 Mercury 151.711 118.646
2 71 Bobby Isaac '71 Dodge 150.097 119.922
3 43 Richard Petty '71 Plymouth 149.630 120.297
4 6 Pete Hamilton '71 Plymouth 149.256 120.598
5 99 Fred Lorenzen '71 Plymouth 149.048 120.766
6 11 Buddy Baker '71 Dodge 146.792 122.622
7 96 Ray Elder '70 Dodge 146.443 122.915
8 72 Benny Parsons '69 Mercury 145.645 123.588
9 39 Friday Hassler '69 Dodge 144.142 124.877
10 55 Tiny Lund '69 Mercury 143.712 125.250

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)[5]

Top thirty finishers

  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

References

  1. ^ "1971 Miller High Life 500 weather information". The Old Farmer's Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "1971 Miller High Life 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
  3. ^ "1971 Miller High Life 500 information (third reference)". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2011-05-06.
  4. ^ Drivers who retired after this race at Race Database
  5. ^ a b c "1971 Miller High Life 500 qualifying information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Season
1971 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
none
 Miller High Life 500 races
1971 		Succeeded by
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