1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season began on Sunday February 14 and ended on Sunday November 20. Richard Petty was the champion for this Winston Cup season. After 20 years of being named the NASCAR Grand National Series, R. J. Reynolds first became the primary sponsor in a decade where the growing anti-tobacco movement banned its advertisement on television and motorsports was the ideal place to place their advertisements. Through NASCAR, Winston merchandise was unveiled to live viewers of the races (since they were not allowed to advertise to a televised audience). This kind of merchandise would also be given out at stores that sold cigarettes in subsequent years. Race car drivers were encouraged to smoke cigarettes (when not racing) until the mid 2000s brought in strict drug testing policies in addition to a smoking cessation program by Nicorette, a GlaxoSmithKline brand (Goody's Headache Powders, a long-time NASCAR sponsor, is a GSK brand; as of 2011, GSK sponsors both Martinsville Speedway Sprint Cup races).

Season recap

NOTE: Some races were combined races for Grand American and Grand National cars. Races marked Combined Races were won by Grand American cars. The driver who finished first among Grand National cars is listed.

Notable Races

Motor Trend 500

The 1971 Motor Trend 500 was the first official race in NASCAR's Winston Cup era. Drivers had to contend with 191 laps on a 2.620 mile road course at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. Ray Elder won the race.

1. Ray Elder
2. Bobby Allison
3. Benny Parsons
4. Bobby Isaac
5. James Hylton
6. Friday Hassler
7. Kevin Terris
8. Carl Joiner
9. Henley Gray
10. Cecil Gordon

Daytona 500

The 12th annual Daytona 500 was run on February 14 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. A.J. Foyt won the pole and Richard Petty would win his third Daytona 500.

Top Ten Results

1. Richard Petty
2. Buddy Baker
3. A.J. Foyt
4. David Pearson (1 lap behind)
5. Fred Lorenzen (1 lap behind)
6. Jim Vandiver (2 laps behind)
7. Dick Brooks (2 laps behind)
8. Jim Hurtubise (3 laps behind)
9. James Hylton (3 laps behind)
10. Bobby Isaac (3 laps behind)

Miller High Life 500

The Miller High Life 500 was run on February 28 at Ontario Motor Speedway. A.J. Foyt would win this race after more than three hours of racing (from the pole position).

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

Greenville 200

The Greenville 200 was the first live flag-to-flag telecast of a NASCAR race. The race was carried live on ABC with Jim McKay, Chris Economacki and Ken Squier. Bobby Isaac won the race.

Rebel 400

The Rebel 400 was run on May 2 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Donnie Allison won the pole and Buddy Baker would win his third Daytona 500.

1. Buddy Baker
2. Dick Brooks
3. Dave Marcus
4. Donnie Allison
5. Jim Vandiver
6. G. C. Spencer
7. J. D. McDuffie
8. Friday Hassler
9. Ben Arnold
10. Elmo Langley

Winston 500

The Winston 500 was run on May 16 at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama. Donnie Allison won the pole and won the race.

1. Donnie Allison
2. Bobby Allison
3. Buddy Baker
4. Pete Hamilton (1 lap behind)
5. Fred Lorenzen (1 lap behind)
6. Jim Vandiver (2 laps behind)
7. James Hylton (3 laps behind)
8. Bill Dennis (5 laps behind)
9. Dave Marcis (7 laps behind)
10. Larry Baumel (10 laps behind)

World 600

The World 600 was run on May 30 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, South Carolina. Charlie Glotzbach won the pole and Bobby Allison would win the 1971 World 600.

1. Bobby Allison
2. Donnie Allison
3. Pete Hamilton (1 lap behind)
4. Richard Petty (2 laps behind)
5. Fred Lorenzen (5 laps behind)
6. Buddy Baker (6 laps behind)
7. Benny Parsons (8 laps behind)
8. Friday Hassler (9 laps behind)
9. Dave Marcis (10 laps behind)
10. Dick Brooks (10 laps behind)

Yankee 400

The Yankee 400 was run on August 15 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Pete Hamilton won the pole and Bobby Allison would win the 1971 Yankee 400.

1. Bobby Allison
2. Richard Petty
3. Buddy Baker
4. Maynard Troyer
5. Joe Frasson
6. Cecil Gordon
7. Ron Keselowski
8. James Hylton
9. Jabe Thomas
10. Neil Castles

Delaware 500

The 1971 Delaware 500 is a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on October 17, 1971. Richard Petty defeated Charlie Glotzbach by more than one lap in front of eighteen thousand people.

1. Richard Petty
2. Charlie Glotzbach
3. Bobby Isaac
4. Bobby Allison
5. Bill Dennis
6. David Ray Boggs
7. Richard D. Brown
8. Elmo Langley
9. Walter Ballard
10. James Hylton

Final Point Standings

1. Richard Petty 4435
2. James Hylton 4071
3. Cecil Gordon 3677
4. Bobby Allison 3636
5. Elmo Langley 3356
6. Jabe Thomas 3200
7. Bill Champion 3058
8. Frank Warren 2886
9. J.D. McDuffie 2862
10. Walter Ballard 2633

Other information

• This was the first season where NASCAR's premier racing series was called the Winston Cup. All previous season were known as either Grand National or Strictly Stock.
• 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.

References

• 1971 Rebel 400 (Archived 2009-07-21)
• 1971 World 600
• 1971 Winston 500 (Archived 2009-08-17)
• 1971 Motor Trend 500
• 1971 Yankee 400
• 1971 Miller High Life 500
• NASCAR Smoking Cessation Program