1971 Dixie 500

Background

Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. However, at the time, only Charlotte, Darlington, and New Hampshire were built.

The layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is 1.54 mi long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.

Race report

Richard Petty defeated Bobby Allison by 2 car lengths in front of 22500 spectators. Five cautions slowed the race for 48 laps; making the race last three hours and fifty-two minutes in length. Buddy Baker qualified for the pole position with a speed of 155.796 mph, while the average speed was 129.061 mph.

Dave Marcis had problems with his vehicle's suspension on lap 38 while Raymond Williams' vehicle had a faulty transmission on lap 40. Dub Simpson blew his engine on lap 60. Ed Negre wrecked his vehicle's transmission on lap 62. Coo Coo Marlin would over-exhaust his engine on lap 82 while Charlie Roberts did the same thing on lap 90. The suspension on Neil Castles' vehicle stopped working on lap 92. Bill Dennis' vehicle had some serious vibration issues on lap 131 while Paul Tyler's engine blew on lap 149. Further engine problems occurred on lap 231 with Buddy Baker, lap 249 with Pete Hamilton, lap 264 with Earl Brooks, and lap 302 with Bobby Brack.

Friday Hassler got his third top six finish in a row less than a month after driving the Junior Johnson Chevy to victory at Bristol in relief of Charlie Glotzbach.

Richard Petty officially became a millionaire after this race; bringing his career earnings to over $1,000,000 ($ when adjusted for inflation). This would be the last time a driver won 5 races in a row, in any series, until 2009 when Ron Hornaday won five in a row in the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Dick Poling would retire from the NASCAR Cup Series after finishing in 26th place during this race.

Notable crew chiefs who in the race were Junie Donlavey, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Vic Ballard, Lee Gordon, and John Green.

Qualifying

Finishing order

Section reference:

1. Richard Petty (#43)
2. Bobby Allison (#12)
3. Benny Parsons (#72)
4. Charlie Glotzbach (#3)
5. Friday Hassler (#39)
6. Donnie Allison (#21)
7. Ron Keselowski (#88)
8. Frank Warren (#79)
9. James Hylton (#48)
10. Bill Champion (#10)
11. Richard D. Brown (#91)
12. Cecil Gordon (#24)
13. Marty Robbins (#42)
14. Jabe Thomas (#25)
15. Bill Seifert (#25)
16. Bobby Brack* (#53)
17. J.D. McDuffie (#70)
18. Walter Ballard (#30)
19. Ben Arnold (#76)
20. Henley Gray (#19)
21. Wendell Scott (#34)
22. Dick May (#5)
23. Earl Brooks* (#36)
24. Pete Hamilton* (#6)
25. Buddy Baker* (#11)
26. Dick Poling (#62)
27. G.C. Spencer* (#49)
28. Paul Tyler* (#95)
29. John Sears* (#4)
30. Bill Dennis* (#96)
31. Neil Castles* (#06)
32. Charlie Roberts* (#77)
33. Bobby Isaac* (#71)
34. Coo Coo Marlin* (#07)
35. Joe Frasson* (#18)
36. Ed Negre* (#8)
37. Dub Simpson* (#93)
38. Raymond Williams* (#47)
39. Dave Marcis* (#2)
40. Elmo Langley* (#64) ** Driver failed to finish race*

References

before = 1971 Nashville 420 | after = 1971 Myers Brothers 250| title = NASCAR Winston Cup Season| years = 1971 |

before = 1971 Nashville 420 | after = 1971 West Virginia 500| title = Richard Petty's Career Wins| years = 1960-1984 |

References

1. [http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/GA/Hampton/1971-08-01 1971 Dixie 500 weather information] at The Old Farmers' Almanac
2. [http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1971_Dixie_500/W 1971 Dixie 500 racing information] at Racing Reference
3. "NASCAR Race Tracks".
4. "NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway". Atlanta Motor Speedway.
5. [http://www.racing-reference.info/raceyear/1971/W 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Results] at Racing Reference
6. [http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1971&race=33&series_id=2 1971 Dixie 500 racing results] at Race-Database
7. [https://www.racing-reference.info/entrylist/1971-33/W/C 1971 Dixie 500 crew chiefs] at Racing Reference