1971 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:25, 31 January 2023

Program for the race.

Status: Lost

The 1971 National 500 was the 42nd race of the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Occurring on 10th October at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the race would ultimately be won by Bobby Allison in a 1969 Mercury, in an event greatly impacted by rain-related delays.

Background

The 1971 National 500 was the 12th running of the event, with the annual race typically lasting 500 miles in length.^[1] It was one of two 1971 Winston Cup Series races conducted at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the other being the World 600,^[2] which in 1971 occurred on 30th May and was won by Bobby Allison.^[3] The race also has ties to the modern Bank of America Roval 400, having dropped the National name from 1983 onwards and being reduced to 400 miles from 2018.^[4]^[5]

Prior to the race, qualifying commenced with Charlie Glotzbach winning the pole position in a 1971 Chevrolet with a speed of 157.085 mph.^[1] Directly behind him was 1971 Dodge driver Buddy Baker, with Allison lining up third.^[1] The race almost never happened, however. In the early hours of race day, rain continued covered the speedway, and continued at the planned race time of 12:30 P.M..^[6] Thus, the race had to be delayed for nearly two hours before it was deemed safe enough for the event to occur, the rain ultimately subsiding.^[6] Even then, the drivers drove five unofficial laps to help dry the track, with the first ten official laps being ran under caution.^[6]

The Race

With the starting order decided, and the circuit deemed dry enough to race on, the 1971 National 500 commenced on 10th October.^[1]^[6] Glotzbach maintained his lead at the start, but was ultimately passed by Baker on lap 12.^[1]^[6] The first 125 laps were a duel between the two drivers, with Glotzbach leading 56 laps after moving back into the first position on lap 70.^[6]^[1] However, after a caution triggered by a crash involving Earle Canavan, which notably caused his 1971 Plymouth to catch fire,^[6] the field was bunched up again.^[1] This allowed Richard Petty in a 1971 Plymouth to take the lead, holding onto it for nine laps.^[6]^[1]

By this point, Baker had dropped out of contention, with a four horse race between Petty, Glotzbach, Allison, and 1971 Dodge driver Bobby Isaac emerging.^[6] Isaac led for 22 laps from lap 136, with Petty being his most notable challenger.^[6]^[1] But by lap 158, the race centred into a duel between Allison and Glotzbach, with the former achieving what ultimately turned out to be the final leader change on lap 177.^[6]^[1] Rain began to fall down again on the circuit by the 350-mark, and as darkness began to fall, NASCAR's official starter Johnny Bruner Jr. decided to draw the proceedings to a premature close by waving the white flag on lap 237.^[6]^[7] Allison was able to hold off any further challenges, taking the victory, his ninth of the season, and $19,450 in prize money.^[6]^[1] Isaac would finish second, with Donnie Allison in a 1969 Mercury taking third.^[1]^[6] Despite Glotzbach's consistent challenges throughout the race, he would ultimately drop to fifth by the end.^[1] Notably, only 357 of the planned 500 miles were covered.^[6]

Availability

According to NASCAR on TV, 45 minutes of highlights were televised by ABC on 6th November 1971 as part of its Wide World of Sports, alongside the World Weightlifting Championships.^[8] However, the broadcast has yet to resurface, and no footage of the race is currently publicly available. Nevertheless, a few photos, including some taken by Hugh Morton and others within the J. Murrey Atkins Library, are available to view.^[6]^[7]

References

↑ ^1.00 ^1.01 ^1.02 ^1.03 ^1.04 ^1.05 ^1.06 ^1.07 ^1.08 ^1.09 ^1.10 ^1.11 ^1.12 Racing-Reference detailing qualifying and race results for the event. Retrieved 17 Mar '22
↑ Racing-Reference detailing the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series calendar. Retrieved 17 Mar '22
↑ Racing-Reference detailing the results of the 1971 World 600. Retrieved 17 Mar '22
↑ The New York Times Stats detailing the history of the National 500. Retrieved 17 Mar '22
↑ Motorsport reporting on the Charlotte Roval being reduced to 400 miles. Retrieved 17 Mar '22
↑ ^6.00 ^6.01 ^6.02 ^6.03 ^6.04 ^6.05 ^6.06 ^6.07 ^6.08 ^6.09 ^6.10 ^6.11 ^6.12 ^6.13 ^6.14 ^6.15 Hugh Morton 101 providing a detailed account of the race and some photos. Retrieved 17 Mar '22
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 J. Murrey Atkins Library summarising the race and providing photos of it. Retrieved 17 Mar '22
↑ NASCAR on TV detailing the ABC broadcast of the race. Retrieved 17 Mar '22

[results-1] 1.00 ^1.01 ^1.02 ^1.03 ^1.04 ^1.05 ^1.06 ^1.07 ^1.08 ^1.09 ^1.10 ^1.11 ^1.12 Racing-Reference detailing qualifying and race results for the event. Retrieved 17 Mar '22

[2] Racing-Reference detailing the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series calendar. Retrieved 17 Mar '22

[3] Racing-Reference detailing the results of the 1971 World 600. Retrieved 17 Mar '22

[4] The New York Times Stats detailing the history of the National 500. Retrieved 17 Mar '22

[5] Motorsport reporting on the Charlotte Roval being reduced to 400 miles. Retrieved 17 Mar '22

[morton-6] 6.00 ^6.01 ^6.02 ^6.03 ^6.04 ^6.05 ^6.06 ^6.07 ^6.08 ^6.09 ^6.10 ^6.11 ^6.12 ^6.13 ^6.14 ^6.15 Hugh Morton 101 providing a detailed account of the race and some photos. Retrieved 17 Mar '22

[murrey-7] 7.0 ^7.1 J. Murrey Atkins Library summarising the race and providing photos of it. Retrieved 17 Mar '22

[8] NASCAR on TV detailing the ABC broadcast of the race. Retrieved 17 Mar '22

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@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 |title=<center>1971 National 500</center>
 |image=1971national5001.jpg
-|imagecaption=Bobby Allison (12) racing Richard Petty (42)
+|imagecaption=Program for the race.
 |status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 }}
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 ==Availability==
 According to ''NASCAR on TV'', 45 minutes of highlights were televised by ABC on 6th November 1971 as part of its ''Wide World of Sports'', alongside the World Weightlifting Championships.<ref>[https://sites.google.com/site/nascarracingontv/home/the-races/monster-energy-cup-series/1971-nascar-grand-national-series/1971-national-500 ''NASCAR on TV'' detailing the ABC broadcast of the race.] Retrieved 17 Mar '22</ref> However, the broadcast has yet to resurface, and no footage of the race is currently publicly available. Nevertheless, a few photos, including some taken by Hugh Morton and others within the J. Murrey Atkins Library, are available to view.<ref name="morton"/><ref name="murrey"/>
-==Gallery==
-===Images===
-<gallery mode=packed heights=200px>
-national5002.jpg|Bobby Isaac (71) leading Petty.
-national5003.jpg|Issac leading Petty.
-national5004.jpg|Earle Canavan's race ends in flames.
-</gallery>
 ==See Also==
 *[[1960 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1960)]]
 *[[1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)]]
 *[[1961 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1961)]]
@@ Line 37: / Line 29: @@
 *[[1963 Richmond 250 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session and race; 1963)]]
 *[[1964 Atlanta 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)]]
 *[[1964 National 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)]]
 *[[1964 Richmond 250 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session; 1964)]]
 *[[1965 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)]]
 *[[1965 Rebel 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)]]
 *[[1966 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)]]
 *[[1966 Southern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)]]
 *[[1967 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)]]
-*[[1967 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)]]
+*[[1967 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)]]
+*[[1967 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)]]
+*[[1968 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1968)]]
 *[[1970 Alabama 500 (found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)]]
 *[[1970 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)]]
 *[[1970 Wilkes 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)]]
 *[[1970 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)]]
 *[[1971 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)]]
 *[[1971 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)]]
 *[[1971 Myers Brothers 250 (lost footage and official documents of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)]]
 *[[1971 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)]]
 *[[1971 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1971)]]