The 1971 Space City 300 was a NASCARWinston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 23, 1971, at Meyer Speedway in Houston, Texas. While Houston was considered to be one of the epicenters of stock car racing during the 1950s and 1960s, the local passion for the motorsport died out starting in the 1970s.[3]
Meyer Speedway was bumpy enough to loosen bolts off of a typical NASCAR vehicle.[citation needed]
With only 14 cars entering the 1971 Space City 300, this event was one of many in 1971 that contributed to significant changes demanded by new series sponsor Winston for the 1972 season, when the number of races was reduced from 48 to 31, all dirt tracks were removed from the schedule, and a minimum race distance of 250 miles (400 km) was established for races on oval tracks. While NASCAR's top series had a successful 48 race schedule in previous years, by 1971 the reduced sponsorship money being given out by the "Big Three" automobile companies made it difficult for race car drivers to justify driving their "stock" race cars under their own power (as required by the homologation rules until 1975) to events offering only small prize money.[4]
Bobby Allison defeated James Hylton by at least two laps after two hours and two minutes of racing 300 laps on a paved track); marking Allison's fifth consecutive win.[2] The entire track was considered to span a distance of 0.500 miles (0.805 km) for a grand total of 150.0 miles (241.4 km).[2] There were no cautions given out by NASCAR; making this a perfect race[editorialising][2] alongside the 1959 Daytona 500, the 1969 Motor Trend 500, the 1971 Asheville 300 and the 2002 EA Sports 500; which became the final oval course race that had gone the entire distance without a single caution flag.[5]
Nine thousand people would watch a 14-car grid of American-born drivers perform speeds of up to 73.489 miles per hour (118.269 km/h).[2] Pete Arnold would make his only start here and record the race's last-place finish due to a steering issue on lap 58.[2] Fred Hill would make his only NASCAR Cup Series start here; ending his day with a rear end issue on lap 116.[clarification needed]Walter Ballard finished third to claim his best career NASCAR finish.[2] Richard Petty qualified in second place and managed to dominate 38 laps before the halfway point. Petty's vehicle developed problems with its distributor. More than 10 minutes were lost and 28 laps went by in the race before Petty was able to get his vehicle back on the track. Miraculously, he gained back 7 of his lost laps and salvaged a top-10 finish.[2]
The NASCAR Cup Series has never again come close to having a field this small.[2] Even for the rest of 1971, they only once had fewer than 29 cars and that was a 22 car field.[2] Hill and Arnold make their only cup starts in this debacle of a NASCAR Cup Series event.[2] Ronnie Chumley, who lasted a bit longer, only started six other career Cup races. The motivation to stop here on the way back across the country from Riverside was not strong as most drivers did not put their best effort forward.[2]
This would be the last race until Kaz Grala's 2020 run at Daytona for Austin Dillon that a Cup driver debuted in a #3.[2]
Frank Warren's Pontiac was the only General Motors product on the racing grid.[2] The next NASCAR Winston Cup Series race to lack a major manufacturer would be the 1982 Daytona 500; which excluded all Chevrolet vehicles.[6] Lee Gordon, Vic Ballard and Dale Inman were the three notable crew chiefs that participated in the event.[7]
Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race, a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day (as of 2022). This event would become Meyer Speedway's only NASCAR Cup Series racing event. There would be less than 15 cars in the entire racing event; a rarity during the early 1970s.
The winner would receive $2,200 in winnings ($16,552 when adjusted for inflation) while the last-place finisher would walk away with $340 ($2,558 when adjusted for inflation).[8] Most of the teams that raced at Meyer Speedway went straight back to the Southeastern United States due to the meager prize money that was handed out at this racing event staged in the Southwestern United States.
^. Racing-reference. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
^1971 Space City 300 crew chief information at Racing Reference
^1971 Space City 300 racing information at Race-Database
Preceded by
1971 Winston Golden State 400
NASCAR Grand National Series Season 1971
Succeeded by
1971 Pickens 200
April 10, 2024
1971, space, city, nascar, winston, series, racing, event, that, took, place, june, 1971, meyer, speedway, houston, texas, while, houston, considered, epicenters, stock, racing, during, 1950s, 1960s, local, passion, motorsport, died, starting, 1970s, race, det. The 1971 Space City 300 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 23 1971 at Meyer Speedway in Houston Texas While Houston was considered to be one of the epicenters of stock car racing during the 1950s and 1960s the local passion for the motorsport died out starting in the 1970s 3 1971 Space City 300Race details 1 Race 25 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series seasonDateJune 23 1971 1971 June 23 Official nameSpace City 300LocationMeyer Speedway Houston TexasCoursePermanent racing facility0 500 mi 0 744 km Distance300 laps 150 mi 200 km WeatherHot with temperatures of 91 F 33 C wind speeds of 8 miles per hour 13 km h Average speed73 489 miles per hour 118 269 km h Attendance9 000 2 Pole positionDriverBobby AllisonBobby Allison MotorsportsMost laps ledDriverBobby AllisonBobby Allison MotorsportsLaps253WinnerNo 12Bobby AllisonBobby Allison MotorsportsTelevision in the United StatesNetworkuntelevisedAnnouncersnone Meyer Speedway was bumpy enough to loosen bolts off of a typical NASCAR vehicle citation needed With only 14 cars entering the 1971 Space City 300 this event was one of many in 1971 that contributed to significant changes demanded by new series sponsor Winston for the 1972 season when the number of races was reduced from 48 to 31 all dirt tracks were removed from the schedule and a minimum race distance of 250 miles 400 km was established for races on oval tracks While NASCAR s top series had a successful 48 race schedule in previous years by 1971 the reduced sponsorship money being given out by the Big Three automobile companies made it difficult for race car drivers to justify driving their stock race cars under their own power as required by the homologation rules until 1975 to events offering only small prize money 4 Contents 1 Race report 1 1 Qualifying 2 Finishing order 3 Timeline 4 ReferencesRace report editBobby Allison defeated James Hylton by at least two laps after two hours and two minutes of racing 300 laps on a paved track marking Allison s fifth consecutive win 2 The entire track was considered to span a distance of 0 500 miles 0 805 km for a grand total of 150 0 miles 241 4 km 2 There were no cautions given out by NASCAR making this a perfect race editorialising 2 alongside the 1959 Daytona 500 the 1969 Motor Trend 500 the 1971 Asheville 300 and the 2002 EA Sports 500 which became the final oval course race that had gone the entire distance without a single caution flag 5 Nine thousand people would watch a 14 car grid of American born drivers perform speeds of up to 73 489 miles per hour 118 269 km h 2 Pete Arnold would make his only start here and record the race s last place finish due to a steering issue on lap 58 2 Fred Hill would make his only NASCAR Cup Series start here ending his day with a rear end issue on lap 116 clarification needed Walter Ballard finished third to claim his best career NASCAR finish 2 Richard Petty qualified in second place and managed to dominate 38 laps before the halfway point Petty s vehicle developed problems with its distributor More than 10 minutes were lost and 28 laps went by in the race before Petty was able to get his vehicle back on the track Miraculously he gained back 7 of his lost laps and salvaged a top 10 finish 2 The NASCAR Cup Series has never again come close to having a field this small 2 Even for the rest of 1971 they only once had fewer than 29 cars and that was a 22 car field 2 Hill and Arnold make their only cup starts in this debacle of a NASCAR Cup Series event 2 Ronnie Chumley who lasted a bit longer only started six other career Cup races The motivation to stop here on the way back across the country from Riverside was not strong as most drivers did not put their best effort forward 2 This would be the last race until Kaz Grala s 2020 run at Daytona for Austin Dillon that a Cup driver debuted in a 3 2 Frank Warren s Pontiac was the only General Motors product on the racing grid 2 The next NASCAR Winston Cup Series race to lack a major manufacturer would be the 1982 Daytona 500 which excluded all Chevrolet vehicles 6 Lee Gordon Vic Ballard and Dale Inman were the three notable crew chiefs that participated in the event 7 Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day as of 2022 This event would become Meyer Speedway s only NASCAR Cup Series racing event There would be less than 15 cars in the entire racing event a rarity during the early 1970s The winner would receive 2 200 in winnings 16 552 when adjusted for inflation while the last place finisher would walk away with 340 2 558 when adjusted for inflation 8 Most of the teams that raced at Meyer Speedway went straight back to the Southeastern United States due to the meager prize money that was handed out at this racing event staged in the Southwestern United States Qualifying edit Grid 2 No Driver Manufacturer Owner1 12 Bobby Allison 71 Dodge Bobby Allison2 43 Richard Petty 71 Plymouth Petty Enterprises3 64 Elmo Langley 69 Mercury Elmo Langley4 8 Ed Negre 69 Ford Ed Negre5 36 Frank Warren 70 Pontiac H B Bailey6 70 J D McDuffie 69 Mercury J D McDuffie7 24 Cecil Gordon 69 Mercury Cecil Gordon8 77 Charlie Roberts 70 Ford Charlie Roberts9 14 Fred Hill 69 Ford unknown10 19 Henley Gray 69 Ford Henley Gray11 30 Walter Ballard 71 Ford Vic Ballard12 00 Ronnie Chumley 69 Ford R B Chumley13 3 Pete Arnold 70 Ford unknown14 48 James Hylton 70 Ford James HyltonFinishing order editPos 2 No Driver Manufacturer Laps Status1 12 Bobby Allison Dodge 300 Running2 48 James Hylton Ford 298 Running3 30 Walter Ballard Ford 292 Running4 64 Elmo Langley Mercury 290 Running5 36 Frank Warren Pontiac 289 Running6 24 Cecil Gordon Mercury 286 Running7 43 Richard Petty Plymouth 279 Running8 19 Henley Gray Ford 270 Running9 77 Charlie Roberts Ford 254 Running10 70 J D McDuffie Mercury 249 Running11 8 Ed Negre Ford 239 Running12 00 Ronnie Chumley Ford 136 Transmission problems13 14 Fred Hill Ford 116 Missing rear end14 3 Pete Arnold Ford 58 Steering problemsTimeline editSection reference 2 Lap 5 Bobby Allison takes over the lead from Richard Petty Lap 9 Richard Petty takes over the lead from Bobby Allison Lap 43 Bobby Allison takes over the lead from Richard Petty Lap 58 Pete Arnold had trouble steering his vehicle forcing him to withdraw from the event Lap 116 Fred Hill would suffer severe damage to his vehicle s rear end ending his day at the event Lap 136 Ronnie Chumley s transmission would stop working in a normal fashion causing him to withdraw from the event Lap 148 James Hylton takes over the lead from Bobby Allison Lap 157 Bobby Allison takes over the lead from James Hylton Finish Bobby Allison was officially declared the winner of the event References edit Weather for the 1971 Space City 300 at The Old Farmers Almanac a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 1971 Space City 300 racing information at Racing Reference info Lone stars highlight 71 race at Texas track NASCAR April 8 2011 Archived from the original on January 6 2012 A Race Without A Winner Grand National East Retrieved 2015 01 20 EA Sports 500 Jayski s Silly Season Site Archived from the original on 2013 10 02 Retrieved 2013 04 03 1982 Daytona 500 results Racing reference Archived from the original on 2007 03 11 Retrieved 2009 08 01 1971 Space City 300 crew chief information at Racing Reference 1971 Space City 300 racing information at Race Database Preceded by1971 Winston Golden State 400 NASCAR Grand National Series Season1971 Succeeded by1971 Pickens 200 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1971 Space City 300 amp oldid 1156260107, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
