Official name Miller High Life 500 | ||
Date February 28, 1971 (1971-February-28) 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) | ||
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.
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 ($1,065,652.75 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.