| 1971 Motor Trend 500 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||
| @ Riverside on January 10, 1972 | ||||||||
| Note: Winston West Drivers Denoted in Gold Rows |
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Make | Laps | Led | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 96 | Ray Elder | Dodge | 191 | 67 | running |
| 2 | 2 | 12 | Bobby Allison | Dodge | 191 | 42 | running |
| 3 | 7 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Ford | 189 | 0 | running |
| 4 | 4 | 71 | Bobby Isaac | Dodge | 189 | 0 | running |
| 5 | 5 | 48 | James Hylton | Ford | 185 | 0 | running |
| 6 | 9 | 39 | Friday Hassler | Chevrolet | 184 | 0 | running |
| 7 | 10 | 32 | Kevin Terris | Plymouth | 184 | 0 | running |
| 8 | 22 | 26 | Carl Joiner | Chevrolet | 169 | 0 | running |
| 9 | 17 | 19 | Henley Gray | Ford | 169 | 0 | running |
| 10 | 13 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Ford | 167 | 0 | running |
| 11 | 29 | 23 | G.T. Tallas | Ford | 157 | 0 | engine |
| 12 | 8 | 04 | Hershel McGriff | Plymouth | 156 | 0 | ignition |
| 13 | 40 | 18 | Bob England | Chevrolet | 155 | 0 | engine |
| 14 | 27 | 4 | Dick Kranzler | Chevrolet | 143 | 0 | running |
| 15 | 34 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Mercury | 140 | 0 | engine |
| 16 | 6 | 02 | Dick Bown | Plymouth | 133 | 0 | steering |
| 17 | 19 | 64 | Elmo Langley | Mercury | 130 | 0 | engine |
| 18 | 31 | 7 | Jack McCoy | Dodge | 126 | 0 | engine |
| 19 | 26 | 82 | Ron Gautsche | Ford | 118 | 0 | lug bolt |
| 20 | 1 | 43 | Richard Petty | Plymouth | 107 | 62 | engine |
| 21 | 15 | 08 | John Soares, Jr. | Plymouth | 101 | 0 | engine |
| 22 | 30 | 00 | Frank James | Chevrolet | 97 | 0 | transmission |
| 23 | 33 | 5 | Ron Grable | Ford | 77 | 0 | engine |
| 24 | 14 | 44 | Dick Guldstrand | Chevrolet | 76 | 0 | a-frame |
| 25 | 11 | 38 | Jimmy Insolo | Chevrolet | 75 | 0 | engine |
| 26 | 12 | 10 | Bill Champion | Ford | 58 | 0 | transmission |
| 27 | 24 | 95 | Bob Kauf | Chevrolet | 56 | 0 | transmission |
| 28 | 25 | 15 | Paul Dorrity | Chevrolet | 50 | 0 | engine |
| 29 | 23 | 6 | Jerry Oliver | Olds | 47 | 0 | engine |
| 30 | 37 | 79 | Frank Warren | Plymouth | 40 | 0 | transmission |
| 31 | 38 | 107 | Mike Kittlekow | Chevrolet | 38 | 0 | clutch |
| 32 | 32 | 77 | Ray Johnstone | Plymouth | 36 | 0 | crash |
| 33 | 18 | 88 | Don Noel | Ford | 27 | 0 | engine |
| 34 | 39 | 33 | Glenn Francis | Chevrolet | 27 | 0 | engine |
| 35 | 16 | 17 | David Pearson | Ford | 25 | 20 | engine |
| 36 | 20 | 83 | Joe Clark | Chevrolet | 21 | 0 | transmission |
| 37 | 35 | 148 | Harry Schilling | Dodge | 18 | 0 | engine |
| 38 | 36 | 177 | Roy Collins | Dodge | 7 | 0 | engine |
| 39 | 28 | 07 | Ivan Baldwin | Chevrolet | 2 | 0 | engine |
| 40 | 21 | 99 | Pat Fay | Ford | 1 | 0 | engine |
The Race::1971 Motor Trend 500 was a Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup) - Winston West Series (now known as the ) event held at Track::Riverside International Raceway on January 10, 1971. It was the season opener for both series as well as the debut of the Winston sponsorship. Ray Elder dominated the event, leading 67 of the 191 laps in route to a 10.5-second victory on Bobby Allison. It was Elder's first career victory. Richard Petty started his championship year leading 62 laps before engine issues took him out of contention, finishing 20th.
Race Data[]
Lap leaders: R. Petty 1-3, B. Allison 4, D. Pearson 5-24, R. Petty 25-83, R. Elder 84-106, B. Allison 107-119, R. Elder 120-135, B. Allison 136-149, R. Elder 150-165, B. Allison 166-179, R. Elder 180-191