1971 Georgia 500

1971 Georgia 500

Race details[1]
Race 45 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Date	November 7, 1971
Official name	Georgia 250
Location	Middle Georgia Raceway, Byron, Georgia
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.548 mi (0.882 km)
Distance	500 laps, 227 mi (441 km)
Weather	Mild with temperatures approaching 70 °F (21 °C); wind speeds up to 18.1 miles per hour (29.1 km/h)
Average speed	80.859 miles per hour (130.130 km/h)
Attendance	7,300[2]
Pole position
Driver	Bobby Allison	Holman Moody
Most laps led
Driver	Bobby Allison	Holman Moody
Laps	418
Winner
No. 12	Bobby Allison	Holman Moody
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

The 1971 Georgia 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that occurred on November 7, 1971, at Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia.

The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.

Summary

Friday Hassler, Bobby Allison, Jim Paschal, and Tiny Lund would fight for the first-place position in this race; with Allison leading the most laps. Bobby Allison would go on to defeat Tiny Lund by a margin of one lap after more than three hours and twenty minutes of racing. Bill Dennis's last-place finish would occur on the first lap in this 500-lap regulation event due to problems with his driveshaft. There were 32 drivers on the grid; all of them were born in the United States of America. Allison would qualify for the pole position with a top speed of 95.334 miles per hour (153.425 km/h) and set the pace for the entire event averaging speeds up to 80.859 miles per hour (130.130 km/h) to excite the 7,300 live audience members who attended this historic event. NASCAR officials gave out seven caution flags for 44 laps; one of them was related to the Walter Ballard crash on lap 455.^[2]

Engine problems would retire some drivers out of the race in addition to clutch problems and troubles with managing the transmission, the suspension, and the alternator. Manufacturers that are hard to find today like the AMC Javelin, the Pontiac Firebird, and the Camaro once competed alongside "plain Jane" Chevrolet, Ford, and Dodge vehicles.^[2]

Jimmy Watson would never compete in a NASCAR Cup Series race after this event while Bob Williams would make his introduction into professional stock car racing here.^[3] Individual winnings for this event ranged from a handsome $3,275 ($19,168.30 when considering inflation) to a meager $350 ($2,048.52 when considering inflation).^[4]

Finishing order

1. Bobby Allison
2. Tiny Lund
3. Friday Hassler
4. Neil Castles
5. Bill Champion
6. Earl Brooks
7. J.D. McDuffie
8. Ernie Shaw
9. Frank Sessoms
10. Frank Warren
11. Jabe Thomas
12. Walter Ballard
13. Wayne Andrews
14. Wendell Scott
15. David Sisco
16. Joe Dean Huss
17. John Sears
18. Buck Baker
19. Randy Hutchison
20. Dick Brooks
21. Ed Negre
22. H.B. Bailey
23. G.C. Spencer
24. Jim Paschal
25. Bill Seifert
26. Bob Williams
27. Henley Gray
28. David Ray Boggs
29. Dub Simpson
30. Earle Canavan
31. Jimmy Watson
32. Bill Dennis

References

1. Weather information for the 1971 Georgia 500 at the Old Farmers' Almanac
2. 1971 Georgia 500 race information at Racing Reference
3. 1971 Georgia 500 race information at Race Database
4. Prize winnings information at Driver Averages