1971 Motor Trend 500

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 miles (4.216 km).

1971 Motor Trend 500
Race details
Race 1 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Riverside International Raceway (1969-1988 version)
Date January 10, 1971 (1971-January-10)
Official name Motor Trend 500
Location Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California
Course Permanent racing facility
2.700 mi (4.345 km)
Distance 191 laps, 500 mi (806 km)
Weather Temperatures of 64 °F (18 °C); wind speeds of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)
Average speed 100.783 miles per hour (162.195 km/h)
Attendance 23,000
Pole position
Driver Petty Enterprises
Most laps led
Driver Ray Elder Fred Elder
Laps 67
Winner
No. 96 Ray Elder Fred Elder
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

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. NASCAR would also limit engines in the aerodynamic superspeedway cars to 305 cubic inches starting in this race.

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