1971 Delaware 500

1971 Delaware 500

Race details[1][2][3]
Race 43 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Dover International Speedway
Date	October 17, 1971
Official name	Delaware 500
Location	Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover, Delaware
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.000 mi (1.609 km)
Distance	500 laps, 500.0 mi (804.6 km)
Weather	Chilly with temperatures approaching 67.3 °F (19.6 °C); wind speeds reaching a maximum of 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
Average speed	123.254 miles per hour (198.358 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Bobby Allison	Holman-Moody
Most laps led
Driver	Bobby Allison	Holman-Moody
Laps	394
Winner
No. 43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

The 1971 Delaware 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) race that took place on October 17, 1971, at Dover Downs International Speedway (now called Dover International Speedway).

Background

Dover International Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway.^[4] The NASCAR race makes use of the track's standard configuration, a four-turn short track oval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long.^[5] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, and both the front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the backstretch are banked at nine degrees.^[5]

Summary

All the racing action took place in the American community of Dover, Delaware with five hundred laps completed on a paved oval track spanning 1.000 mile or 1.609 kilometres.^[2][3] It took four hours and three minutes (243 minutes) for the race to reach its full conclusion;

Richard Petty defeated Charlie Glotzbach by more than one lap in front of eighteen thousand people.^[2][3] Notable speeds for the race were: 123.254 miles per hour or 198.358 kilometres per hour for the average speed (which was a record during that era)^[6] and 132.811 miles per hour or 213.739 kilometres per hour for the pole position speed.^[2][3] Total winnings for this race were $59,965 ($350,970.17 when adjusted for inflation).^[7]

Bobby Allison dominated the early portion of the race. However, they found faulty lug nuts after pitting with two laps in the lead (which cost him an almost-guaranteed victory in that race).

Finishing order

1. Richard Petty
2. Charlie Glotzbach (highest finishing Chevrolet entry)
3. Bobby Isaac† (highest finishing Dodge entry)
4. Bobby Allison
5. Bill Dennis
6. David Ray Boggs
7. Richard D. Brown
8. Elmo Langley†
9. Walter Ballard (highest winning Ford entry)
10. James Hylton
11. Cecil Gordon†
12. Paul Tyler
13. Frank Warren
14. Raymond Williams
15. Ed Negre†
16. Henley Gray
17. John Soares, Jr.
18. Jabe Thomas*†
19. Dick May†
20. Wendell Scott*†
21. John Sears†
22. Neil Castles*
23. Tommy Gale*†
24. Ken Meisenhelder*
25. Bill Shirey*
26. J.D. McDuffie*†
27. Bill Champion*†
28. Maynard Troyer*
29. Benny Parsons*†
30. Richard Childress*
31. Fred Lorenzen*
32. Earl Brooks*†
33. Friday Hassler*†
34. G.C. Spencer*†
35. Larry Baumel*
36. James Cox*
37. Charlie Roberts*
38. Bill Seifert*
39. Dub Simpson*
40. Dean Dalton*

* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased

Timeline

• Start of race: Bobby Allison starts the race on the pole position
• Lap 10: Dean Dalton had an oil leak in his vehicle that would make him the last-place finisher
• Lap 26: Dub Simpson had problems with his oil pan that would sideline for the day
• Lap 62: The frame of Bill Seifert's vehicle came off, forcing his early exit from the race
• Lap 68: Charlie Roberts had a terminal crash
• Lap 87: James Cox managed to ruin his vehicle's engine
• Lap 91: Larry Baumel overheated his vehicle, securing an early exit for him
• Lap 114: Friday Hassler noticed that his engine no longer worked properly
• Lap 115: Earl Brooks's oil pan acted up, Fred Lorenzen's vehicle had some engine issues
• Lap 143: Charlie Glotzbach takes over the lead from Bobby Allison
• Lap 148: Bobby Allison takes over the lead from Charlie Glotzbach
• Lap 180: Richard Childress had problems steering his vehicle, ending his race weekend
• Lap 229: Benny Parsons' engine blew up, making him not able to finish the race
• Lap 266: J.D. McDuffie managed to overheat his vehicle, Bill Champion had some problems with his car's steering and the wheel bearing came off of Maynard Troyer's vehicle
• Lap 280: Bill Shirey's engine gave out while he was on the track
• Lap 297: The rear end of Ken Meisenhelder's vehicle fell out from under him
• Lap 319: Tommy Gale's engine gave out, forcing him to leave the race
• Lap 369: Neil Castles' alternator would give out while he was racing
• Lap 392: Wendell Scott had problems with his vehicle's clutch that forced him off the track
• Lap 400: Richard Petty takes over the lead from Bobby Allison
• Lap 436: Jabe Thomas developed fuel pump problems
• Finish: Richard Petty was officially declared the winner of the event

References

1. "1971 Delaware 500 weather results". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
2. "1971 Delaware 500 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
3. "1971 Delaware 500 racing results (fifth reference)". Database Racing. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
4. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 12 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
5. "NASCAR Tracks—The Dover International Speedway". Dover International Speedway. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
6. "1971 Delaware 500 racing results (third reference)" (PDF). Dover Speedway. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
7. "1971 Delaware 500 racing results (fourth reference)". Ultimate Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-01-10.