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.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 layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is 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 , while the average speed was .
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.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.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.1971 Dixie 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
Qualifying Grid 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:
Richard Petty (#43) Bobby Allison (#12) Benny Parsons (#72) Charlie Glotzbach (#3) Friday Hassler (#39) Donnie Allison (#21) Ron Keselowski (#88) Frank Warren (#79) James Hylton (#48) Bill Champion (#10) Richard D. Brown (#91) Cecil Gordon (#24) Marty Robbins (#42) Jabe Thomas (#25) Bill Seifert (#25) Bobby Brack* (#53) J. D. McDuffie (#70) Walter Ballard (#30) Ben Arnold (#76) Henley Gray (#19) Wendell Scott (#34) Dick May (#5) Earl Brooks* (#36) Pete Hamilton* (#6) Buddy Baker* (#11) Dick Poling (#62) G.C. Spencer* (#49) Paul Tyler* (#95) John Sears* (#4) Bill Dennis* (#96) Neil Castles* (#06) Charlie Roberts* (#77) Bobby Isaac* (#71) Coo Coo Marlin* (#07) Joe Frasson* (#18) Ed Negre* (#8) Dub Simpson* (#93) Raymond Williams* (#47) Dave Marcis* (#2) Elmo Langley* (#64)
* Driver failed to finish race
References