1971 Maryville 200

The 1971 Maryville 200 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event that took place on April 15, 1971, at Smoky Mountain Raceway[2] in Maryville, Tennessee.[3][4]

1971 Maryville 200
Race details[1]
Race 13 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Date April 15, 1971 (1971-04-15)
Official name Maryville 200
Location Smoky Mountain Raceway, Maryville, Tennessee
Course Permanent racing facility
0.520 mi (0.836 km)
Distance 200 laps, 104 mi (167.3 km)
Weather Mild with temperatures of 70 °F (21 °C); wind speeds of 13 miles per hour (21 km/h)
Average speed 88.697 miles per hour (142.744 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Friday Hassler
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 134
Winner
No. 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

Race report

Four thousand and two hundred fans came out to see vehicles average a speed of 88.697 miles per hour (142.744 km/h) on a paved oval track.[3][4] Richard Petty defeated Benny Parsons by a time of eight seconds; Parsons' second-place finish came a week after coming up short at Columbia.[3] These were his second and third runner-up finishes in NASCAR, but he'd finally break through with his first career win a month later in South Boston.[3] Friday Hassler received the pole position[2] with a speed of 91.464 miles per hour (147.197 km/h) while qualifying on the 0.520 miles (0.837 km) speedway.[3] There was only one caution, which lasted for three laps.[3][4] D. K. Ulrich ran his first Cup Series race here while E.J. Trivette retired from NASCAR after this race.[3]

Smoky Mountain Raceway closed forever after this race due to the changes in the sport during the Winston Cup era that aimed to modernize it. Abbreviation of the Cup Series schedule was the order of the day in the 1970s as the new sponsors wanted NASCAR to have a schedule that was structured closer to that of the National Football League.

Richard Petty won $1,000[2][4] for winning the race, the 125th win in his NASCAR Cup Series career.[3] Notable crew chiefs for this race included Dale Inman, Vic Ballard, Lee Gordon and Mario Rossi.[5]

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.

Qualifying

Grid[3] No. Driver Manufacturer
1 39Friday Hassler'69 Chevrolet
2 43Richard Petty'71 Plymouth
3 06Neil Castles'70 Dodge
4 22Dick Brooks'70 Dodge
5 72Benny Parsons'70 Ford
6 48James Hylton'70 Ford
7 64Elmo Langley'70 Ford
8 49G.C. Spencer'69 Plymouth
9 2Dave Marcis'69 Dodge
10 38Charlie Glotzbach'70 Dodge
11 10Bill Champion'69 Ford
12 24Cecil Gordon'69 Mercury
13 19Henley Gray'69 Ford
14 30Walter Ballard'71 Ford
15 8Ed Negre'69 Ford
16 4John Sears'69 Dodge
17 7Dean Dalton'69 Ford
18 45Bill Seifert'69 Ford
19 56E.J. Trivette'71 Chevrolet
20 79Frank Warren'69 Dodge
21 70J.D. McDuffie'71 Chevrolet
22 26Earl Brooks'69 Ford
23 58Robert Brown'71 Chevrolet
24 34Wendell Scott'69 Ford
25 67Dick May'69 Ford
26 25Jabe Thomas'70 Plymouth
27 28Bill Hollar'69 Ford
28 74Bill Shirey'69 Plymouth
29 41D.K. Ulrich'70 Ford
30 02Jimmy Crawford'69 Plymouth

Finishing order

Section reference: [3]

  1. 43-Richard Petty
  2. 72-Benny Parsons
  3. 39-Friday Hassler
  4. 64-Elmo Langley
  5. 22-Dick Brooks
  6. 48-James Hylton
  7. 38-Charlie Glotzbach
  8. 49-G.C. Spencer
  9. 24-Cecil Gordon
  10. 10-Bill Champion
  11. 19-Henley Gray
  12. 30-Walter Ballard
  13. 25-Jabe Thomas
  14. 79-Frank Warren
  15. 7-Dean Dalton
  16. 28-Bill Hollar*†
  17. 70-Bill Seifert*
  18. 26-J.D. McDuffie*†
  19. 26-Earl Brooks*
  20. 67-Dick May*
  21. 2-Dave Marcis*
  22. 58-Robert Brown*
  23. 4-John Sears*†
  24. 34-Wendell Scott*†
  25. 56-E.J. Trivette*
  26. 06-Neil Castles*
  27. 8-Ed Negre*
  28. 74-Bill Shirey*
  29. 41-D. K. Ulrich*
  30. 02-Jimmy Crawford*†

* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased

References

  1. "1971 Maryville 200 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  2. "1971 Maryville 200 information (third reference)". Everything Stock Car. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  3. "1971 Maryville 200 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  4. "1971 Maryville 200 information (second reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  5. "1971 Maryville 200 crew chiefs". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-12.
Preceded by
1971 Greenville 200
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1971
Succeeded by
1971 Gwyn Staley 400
Preceded by
1971 Columbia 200
Richard Petty's Career Wins
1960-1984
Succeeded by
1971 Gwyn Staley 400
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