1971 Volunteer 500

Race report

Thirty American-born drivers competed for 500 laps in a race lasting more than two and a half hours. More than 20,000 people would see Charlie Glotzbach beat Bobby Allison to the checkered line by more than three laps through replacement driver Raymond "Friday" Hassler. He would replace Glotzbach for a few stints of the race as a relief driver because of the immense heat and humidity. Johnny Allen and Jack Smith would do the same thing earlier in 1961; while Fred Lorenzen and Ned Jarrett did it in 1963.

Since Glotzbach qualified for this race, he received credit for what would become his final win in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. This race was completely clean with no yellow or red flags given out by NASCAR authorities. While the lead was exchanged seven different times in the race, the average speed of the race was clocked at a mere 101.074 mph, a track record that would last 53 years until the 2024 Volunteer 500 , held on September 21, 2024, where Kyle Larson broke it despite five safety car periods (two for intervals after points-paying laps and three for incidents) at 101.277 mph. Chevrolet started to regain their respectability as a fast and reliable vehicle manufacturer after partaking in their first victory since the 1967 Grand National Series season. NASCAR historians would later recognize this win as the first win for the Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

Notable crew chiefs at the race were Junie Donlavey, Dale Inman, Vic Ballard, and Lee Gordon.

Raymond Williams and Dick May would quit the race for reasons unknown. Bill Shirey acquired the last-place finish due to an ignition problem on lap 5. Richard D. Brown noticed that his vehicle's transmission stopped working on lap 15. Wayne Smith crashed his vehicle on lap 18 while Ed Negre fell out with engine failure on lap 40. G.C. Spencer would no longer have a working engine on lap 59. Bill Seifert managed to overheat his vehicle on lap 63. Paul Tyler lost the rear end of his vehicle on lap 70. Friday Hassler lost the wheel bearings on his vehicle on lap 103 while vehicular vibration problems forced Ken Meisenhelder out of the race on lap 131.

A problematic lug bolt sent Dean Dalton out of the race on lap 167. Earl Brooks lost the rear end of his vehicle on lap 168. A faulty spindle eliminated Ron Keselowski out of the race on lap 263 while lug bolt issues sent Bill Dennis out of the race on lap 328. Coo Coo Marlin was the last DNF of the race; having to bow out of the race due to an overheating vehicle on lap 369. The closest battle on the track at the checkered flag was between Jabe Thomas and Walter Ballard for 10th and 11th, 55 laps down.

Richard Petty had the privilege of earning the pole position with a top speed of 104.589 mph in qualifying. Drivers that failed to qualify for this race were: Richard Childress, D.K. Ulrich, Bill Dennis, and Frank Warren. The amount of money in the racing purse was $26,970 ($ when adjusted for inflation).

Qualifying

Top twenty drivers

1. Charlie Glotzbach
2. Bobby Allison
3. Richard Petty
4. Cecil Gordon
5. James Hylton
6. Elmo Langley
7. Frank Warren
8. Bill Champion
9. J.D. McDuffie
10. Jabe Thomas
11. Walter Ballard
12. Henley Gray
13. John Sears
14. Coo Coo Marlin
15. Bill Dennis
16. Don Tarr
17. Ron Keselowski
18. Earl Brooks
19. Dean Dalton
20. Ken Meisenhelder

References

before = 1971 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400| after = 1971 Albany-Saratoga 250| title = NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season| years = 1971 |

References

1. [http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/TN/Bristol/1971-07-11 Weather information for the ''1971 Volunteer 500''] at The Old Farmers' Almanac
2. [http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1971_Volunteer_500/W ''1971 Volunteer 500''] at Racing Reference. Accessed 2012-03-02. 2012-03-07.
3. [http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1971&race=28&series_id=2 ''1971 Volunteer 500''] racing information at Race Database
4. [http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1970s/1971-nascar.htm ''1971 Volunteer 500''] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-03-19 at HowStuffWorks.com)
5. [https://www.racing-reference.info/entrylist/1971-28/W/C 1971 Volunteer 500 crew chiefs information] at Racing Reference
6. [http://fantasyracingcheatsheet.com/nascar/races/results/1971/bristol-motor-speedway/volunteer-500/1239 ''1971 Volunteer 500''] at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Accessed 2012-03-02. 2012-03-07.
7. [http://www.racing-reference.info/getqualify/1971-28/W Qualifying information for the ''1971 Volunteer 500''] at Racing Reference