| 1971 Texas 500 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||
| @ Texas World on December 12, 1971 | ||||||||
| Note: Winston West Drivers Denoted in Gold Rows |
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Make | Laps | Led | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 43 | Richard Petty | Plymouth | 250 | 111 | running |
| 2 | 4 | 11 | Buddy Baker | Dodge | 250 | 52 | running |
| 3 | 5 | 12 | Bobby Allison | Mercury | 248 | 75 | running |
| 4 | 1 | 6 | Pete Hamilton | Plymouth | 245 | 12 | running |
| 5 | 8 | 90 | Bill Dennis | Mercury | 239 | 0 | running |
| 6 | 10 | 18 | Joe Frasson | Dodge | 238 | 0 | running |
| 7 | 15 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Mercury | 234 | 0 | running |
| 8 | 14 | 91 | Richard D. Brown | Chevrolet | 232 | 0 | running |
| 9 | 30 | 76 | Ben Arnold | Ford | 232 | 0 | running |
| 10 | 22 | 25 | Jabe Thomas | Plymouth | 231 | 0 | running |
| 11 | 21 | 9 | Ramo Stott | Dodge | 231 | 0 | running |
| 12 | 12 | 48 | James Hylton | Ford | 230 | 0 | running |
| 13 | 35 | 10 | Bill Champion | Ford | 219 | 0 | running |
| 14 | 32 | 26 | Earl Brooks | Ford | 216 | 0 | running |
| 15 | 37 | 0 | George Altheide | Dodge | 216 | 0 | running |
| 16 | 25 | 45 | Bill Seifert | Ford | 212 | 0 | running |
| 17 | 43 | 28 | Bill Hollar | Ford | 212 | 0 | running |
| 18 | 33 | 47 | Raymond Williams | Ford | 211 | 0 | running |
| 19 | 44 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Mercury | 211 | 0 | running |
| 20 | 16 | 06 | Neil Castles | Dodge | 209 | 0 | running |
| 21 | 49 | 34 | Wendell Scott | Ford | 209 | 0 | running |
| 22 | 39 | 63 | Charlie Roberts | Dodge | 208 | 0 | running |
| 23 | 40 | 19 | Henley Gray | Ford | 196 | 0 | running |
| 24 | 24 | 4 | John Sears | Dodge | 194 | 0 | fuelpump |
| 25 | 20 | 42 | Marty Robbins | Dodge | 174 | 0 | engine |
| 26 | 9 | 39 | Friday Hassler | Chevrolet | 164 | 0 | valve |
| 27 | 29 | 00 | Ronnie Chumley | Mercury | 155 | 0 | engine |
| 28 | 46 | 74 | Bill Shirey | Plymouth | 144 | 0 | outofgas |
| 29 | 47 | 81 | Bob England | Chevrolet | 133 | 0 | vibration |
| 30 | 31 | 5 | Doc Faustina | Plymouth | 128 | 0 | oil leak |
| 31 | 38 | 55 | Tiny Lund | Mercury | 118 | 0 | engine |
| 32 | 19 | 87 | Jackie Oliver | Mercury | 117 | 0 | engine |
| 33 | 18 | 53 | H.B. Bailey | Ford | 117 | 0 | engine |
| 34 | 28 | 01 | Earle Canavan | Plymouth | 113 | 0 | engine |
| 35 | 41 | 7 | Dean Dalton | Ford | 111 | 0 | lug bolt |
| 36 | 13 | 79 | Frank Warren | Dodge | 98 | 0 | valve |
| 37 | 34 | 27 | Jerry Barnett | Dodge | 86 | 0 | crash |
| 38 | 2 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | engine |
| 39 | 23 | 30 | Walter Ballard | Ford | 79 | 0 | engine |
| 40 | 11 | 2 | Dave Marcis | Dodge | 73 | 0 | engine |
| 41 | 27 | 64 | Elmo Langley | Ford | 69 | 0 | oil pressure |
| 42 | 26 | 57 | David Ray Boggs | Dodge | 67 | 0 | engine |
| 43 | 36 | 37 | Don Tarr | Dodge | 59 | 0 | lug bolt |
| 44 | 42 | 8 | Ed Negre | Ford | 34 | 0 | engine |
| 45 | 45 | 40 | D.K. Ulrich | Ford | 26 | 0 | clutch |
| 46 | 17 | 96 | Ray Elder | Dodge | 24 | 0 | engine |
| 47 | 48 | 61 | Jimmy Finger | Ford | 18 | 0 | engine |
| 48 | 6 | 17 | David Pearson | Pontiac | 15 | 0 | overheating |
| 49 | 7 | 71 | Bobby Isaac | Dodge | 1 | 0 | engine |
The Race::1971 Texas 500 was a Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) - Winston West Series (now known as the ) combination event that occurred at Track::Texas World Speedway on December 12, 1971. It was the season finale for both series. Richard Petty won the race to celebrate his third Cup championship, leading 111 of the 250 laps and holding off teammate Buddy Buker by eighteen seconds. Ray Elder finished a disappointing 46th, but managed to take the West Series championship.
Race Data[]
Lap leaders: R. Petty 1-16, B. Baker 17-47, P. Hamilton 48-51, B. Allison 52, R. Petty 53-77, B. Allison 78-88, R. Petty 89-95, B. Allison 96-99, B. Baker 100, R. Petty 101-113, B. Baker 114-133, B. Allison 134, R. Petty 135, B. Allison 136-139, R. Petty 140-164, B. Allison 165-172, P. Hamilton 173-180, R. Petty 181, B. Allison 182-222, R. Petty 223-225, B. Allison 226-230, R. Petty 231-250