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1971 Dixie 500

{{short description|Auto race held at Atlanta International Raceway in 1971}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{NASCAR race season infobox

| Type = CUST

| Description = Race 33 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season

| Race Name = Dixie 500

| Details ref = [http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/GA/Hampton/1971-08-01 1971 Dixie 500 weather information] at The Old Farmers' Almanac

| Fulldate = {{Start date|1971|08|1}}

| Year = 1971

| Race_No = 33

| Season_No = 48

| Image = Atlanta International Speedway.svg

| Caption = Outline of Atlanta International Raceway

| Official name = Dixie 500

| Location = Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton, Georgia

| Weather = Temperatures of {{convert|80.1|F|C}}; wind speeds of {{convert|10.1|mph|km/h}}

| Course_mi = 1.522

| Course_km = 2.449

| Distance_laps = 328

| Distance_mi = 499.2

| Distance_km = 803.3

| Avg = {{convert|129.061|mi/h}}

| Attendance = 22,500

| Pole_Driver = Buddy Baker

| Pole_Team = Petty Enterprises

| Pole_Time =

| Most_Driver = Richard Petty

| Most_Team = Petty Enterprises

| Most_laps = 181

| Car = 43

| First_Driver = Richard Petty

| First_Team = Petty Enterprises

| Network = untelevised

| Announcers = none

}}

The 1971 Dixie 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on August 1, 1971, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.[http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1971_Dixie_500/W 1971 Dixie 500 racing information] at Racing Reference

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.{{cite web|title=NASCAR Race Tracks |url=http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ |accessdate=September 2, 2011 |location=NASCAR |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100912133620/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ |archivedate=September 12, 2010 }} 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 {{convert|1.54|mi|km}} long.{{cite web|title=NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway|url=http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/media/facts/|publisher=Atlanta Motor Speedway|accessdate=September 2, 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721061215/http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/media/facts/|archivedate=2011-07-21|url-status=dead}} 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 {{convert|155.796|mph|km/h}}, while the average speed was {{convert|129.061|mph|km/h}}.

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 $1,000,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|1000000|1971|r=0}}}} 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.[http://www.racing-reference.info/raceyear/1971/W 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Results] at Racing Reference Dick Poling would retire from the NASCAR Cup Series after finishing in 26th place during this race.[http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1971&race=33&series_id=2 1971 Dixie 500 racing results] at Race-Database

Notable crew chiefs who in the race were Junie Donlavey, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Vic Ballard, Lee Gordon, and John Green.[https://www.racing-reference.info/entrylist/1971-33/W/C 1971 Dixie 500 crew chiefs] at Racing Reference

=Qualifying=

class="wikitable"
Grid

! {{Tooltip|No.|Car number}}

! Driver

! Manufacturer

! Owner

1

| 11 || Buddy Baker || '71 Dodge || Petty Enterprises

2

| 3 || Charlie Glotzbach || '71 Chevrolet || Richard Howard

3

| 43 || Richard Petty || '71 Plymouth || Petty Enterprises

4

| 6 || Pete Hamilton || '71 Plymouth || Cotton Owens

5

| 12 || Bobby Allison || '69 Mercury || Holman-Moody Racing

6

| 21 || Donnie Allison || '69 Mercury || Wood Brothers

7

| 71 || Bobby Isaac || '71 Dodge || Nord Krauskopf

8

| 2 || Dave Marcis || '69 Dodge || Dave Marcis

9

| 64 || Elmo Langley || '69 Mercury || Elmo Langley

10

| 45 || Bill Seifert || '71 Ford || Bill Seifert

11

| 18 || Joe Frasson || '70 Dodge || Joe Frasson

12

| 79 || Frank Warren || '69 Dodge || Frank Warren

13

| 76 || Ben Arnold || '69 Ford || Ben Arnold

14

| 06 || Neil Castles || '70 Dodge || Neil Castles

15

| 48 || James Hylton || '70 Ford || James Hylton

16

| 49 || G.C. Spencer || '69 Plymouth || G.C. Spencer

17

| 42 || Marty Robbins || '69 Dodge || Marty Robbins

18

| 72 || Benny Parsons || '69 Mercury || L.G. DeWitt

19

| 24 || Cecil Gordon || '69 Mercury || Cecil Gordon

20

| 39 || Friday Hassler || '70 Chevrolet || Friday Hassler

Finishing order

Section reference:

{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}

  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)

{{div col end}}

* Driver failed to finish race

References

{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}

{{succession box |

before = 1971 Nashville 420 |

after = 1971 Myers Brothers 250|

title = NASCAR Winston Cup Season|

years = 1971 |

}}

{{s-end}}

{{s-start}}

{{succession box |

before = 1971 Nashville 420 |

after = 1971 West Virginia 500|

title = Richard Petty's Career Wins|

years = 1960-1984 |

}}

{{s-end}}

{{authority control}}

Dixie 500

Dixie 500

Category:NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway