“1971 Motor Trend 500”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

The 1971 Motor Trend 500 was the first official race in NASCAR's Winston Cup era (also known as the Winston Cup Grand National Series until approximately 1985) that took place on January 10, 1971. Drivers had to contend with 191 laps on a road course at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California that spanned a total distance of {{convert|2.620|mi|km}}.^[2] Many people who followed NASCAR during the 1960s and the 1970s found Riverside International Raceway to be one of their favorite "road course" tracks.

Despite its connections to Big Tobacco, the Winston Cup era in NASCAR ended up becoming the most popular among traditionalists and racing purists alike. Attendance for this racing event was estimated at 23,000 people. It took four hours, fifty-seven minutes, and fifty-five seconds for the race to resolve itself from the first green flag to the checkered flag.^[2] No tickets were required to tour certain places of the track (particularly on the area of the track that was near the chicanes). NASCAR would tighten up their security in the later years; requiring patrons to have special passes to attend pit road prior to the race.

Due to a then-struggling economy, both Ford and Chevrolet cut back on factory-manufacturing new vehicles for the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.^[3] NASCAR would also limit the aerodynamics of the vehicles to 305 cubic inches starting in this race.^[3] All 40 vehicles that participated in the race were basically either new or used vehicles purchased from automobile retailers open to the general public for less than $2,500 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|2500|1971|r=0}}}} when adjusted for inflation). The costs of hiring a pit crew and driver were much cheaper during the early 1970s than it is today, making it more incentive for professional businessmen like Nord Krauskopf to attempt a full-blown career as a NASCAR team owner.

Summary

Defending NASCAR Grand National West series champion Ray Elder won the race.^[2] The average speed was {{convert|100.783|mi/h}} while the pole speed was {{convert|107.084|mi/h}}. This race was the final NASCAR Cup Series event with triple-digit numbered cars; with three of them qualifying for the racing day (Kittlekow #107, Schilling #148, Collins #177).^[2] Elder essentially became the first winner in NASCAR's "modern" history; carving out a pathway for drivers like Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.^[4] The "modern" era of NASCAR, however, would see the cost of maintaining a racing team skyrocket. It would be practically impossible for an independent team to purchase their own vehicle for the race, to have an all-volunteer crew, and transport the vehicles to and from the races by the start of the 21st century.^[5]

Out of the forty drivers that started the race, only twelve of them actually finished the race. The top prize at this race was $18,715 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|18715|1971|r=0}}}} when adjusted for inflation) and the prize for finishing last place (40th) was $1,015 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|1015|1971|r=0}}}} when adjusted for inflation).^[2] Richard Petty competed in this race but failed to finish it; he would end up in 20th place after starting in the pole position. He was driving a Plymouth with the familiar No. 43 that he is famous for.^[2] The majority of the drivers who failed to finish had an engine problem. 43-year-old Hershel McGriff enters and races a Cup race for the first time since 1954, when he won a Grand National race at North Wilkesboro in an Oldsmobile, back when he was 26. McGriff would qualify in 8th and finish in 12th place.^[2] Harry Hyde and Dale Inman were the more notable crew chiefs for this event; working for the immortal Richard Petty (Inman) and fourth-place finisher Bobby Isaac (Hyde).^[6]

Even before the 1973 oil crisis, the big American automobile manufacturers were limiting the cubic inch content of their rear-wheel drive manual transmission vehicles as a way to cut costs on the consumers' end. This would serve to keep the carburetor-powered passenger vehicles mainstream in American society until the 1990s when fuel injection offered to limit the emissions on newer vehicles (and help to raise their MPG rating as well). Gas prices would exceed $1.29/gallon ($0.33/litre) by the end of the 1990s, causing carbureted vehicles and rear-wheel drive alike to become irrelevant everywhere except in NASCAR.^[7] NASCAR would not acknowledge this until the beginning of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season when they legalized fuel injection for the Cup Series drivers.

At the end of the race, the margin between Elder and Bobby Allison was considered to be ten and a half seconds.^[2] Ray Elder would score the first of his two NASCAR cup victories here^[2] (with his second victory taking place at the 1972 Golden State 400^[8]). Other notable facts about the 1971 Motor Trend 500 is that the race was Ron Grable's only start in the NASCAR Cup series and that G.T. Tallas finished the race with his career best of 11th place.

Qualifying

Finishing order

Timeline

References

1. ^{{cite web | url = http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/CA/Moreno%20Valley/1971-02-01| title = 1971 Motor Trend 500 weather information | publisher = The Old Farmers' Almanac | date = | accessdate = 2012-09-03}}
2. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹{{cite web | url = http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1971-01&series=W| title = 1971 Motor Trend 500 information | publisher = Racing Reference | date = | accessdate = 2009-10-21}}
3. ^¹{{cite web | url = http://musclecarfilms.com/Nascar_Thunder_70s_1.html| title = Summary of the 1971 Motor Trend 500 | publisher = Muscle Car Films | date = | accessdate = 2012-09-06}}
4. ^{{cite web | url = http://www.legendsofnascar.com/timelines.htm| title = Basic timeline of NASCAR | publisher = Legends of NASCAR | date = | accessdate = 2013-03-17}}
5. ^{{cite web | url = http://articles.latimes.com/2002/aug/02/sports/sp-motors2| title = Reunion Is About Respecting the Elders | publisher = Los Angeles Times | date = | accessdate = 2018-09-10}}
6. ^{{cite web | url = http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1971&race=1&series_id=2| title = Notable crew chiefs | publisher = Race Database| date = | accessdate = 2013-03-17}}
7. ^{{cite web | url = http://www.eia.gov/emeu/25opec/sld004.htm| title = U.S. Retail Price of Gasoline | publisher = Energy Information Administration | date = | accessdate = 2013-03-16}}
8. ^{{cite web | url = http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1972-15&series=W| title = Ray Elder's second victory| publisher = Racing Reference | date = | accessdate = 2010-02-15}}