1971 Yankee 400

The 1971 Yankee 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place at Michigan International Speedway on August 15, 1971.[2] The purse for this event was $51,015 ($322,061.01 when adjusted for inflation).[3]

1971 Yankee 400
Race details[1]
Race 36 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Michigan International Speedway
Date August 15, 1971 (1971-August-15)
Official name Yankee 400
Location Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan
Course Permanent racing facility
2.000 mi (3.218 km)
Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643 km)
Weather Warm with temperatures of 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind speeds of 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h)
Average speed 149.862 miles per hour (241.180 km/h)
Attendance 26,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Owens Racing
Most laps led
Driver Bobby Allison Holman Moody
Laps 155
Winner
No. 12 Bobby Allison Holman Moody
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

Background

Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[4] Groundbreaking took place on September 28, 1967. Over 2.5 million cubic yards (1.9×10^6 m3) of dirt were moved to form the D-shaped oval. The track opened in 1968 with a total capacity of 25,000 seats. The track was originally built and owned by Lawrence H. LoPatin, a Detroit-area land developer who built the speedway at an estimated cost of $4–6 million.[5] Financing was arranged by Thomas W Itin. Its first race took place on Sunday, October 13, 1968, with the running of the USAC 250 mile Championship Car Race won by Ronnie Bucknum.

Race report

There were 26,000 fans in attendance for this two hour, forty minute race in Brooklyn, Michigan[2] There were two cautions for twelve laps and the victory margin was three seconds.[2] Average speed was 149.862 miles (241.180 km) per hour while the pole speed was 161.901 miles (260.554 km) per hour.[2] All forty competitors in this race were born in the United States of America.[2] 200 laps were undertaken on the paved oval track spanning 2.0 miles (3.2 km).[2]

Manufacturers involved in this race included Mercury, Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet, and Plymouth.[2]

Friday Hassler blew his vehicle's engine on lap 7.[2] Bobby Isaac had a problem with his vehicle's water pump on lap 11.[2] Benny Parsons blew his engine on lap 29.[2] Henley Gray's vehicle had a problematic suspension on lap 38.[2] Fuel pump issues forced Ed Negre out of the race on lap 40.[2] Dave Marcis overheated his vehicle on lap 45.[2] Problems with the clutch caused John Sears to exit the race on lap 49.[2] Coo Coo Marlin blew his vehicle's engine on lap 76. Dick May overheated his vehicle on lap 84.[2]

Engine problems happened for Pete Hamilton on lap 87.[2] Pete Hamilton had the only car that could possibly beat Bobby Allison; he would overtake Allison on laps 31, 40, 46, and 49 before losing dominance over Bobby Allison on lap 50.[2] Problems with the vehicle's ignition forced Johnny Halford out of the race on lap 94.[2] Bill Seifert's vehicle had a troublesome fuel pump on lap 110; forcing his early exit from the race.[2] Dean Dalton had engine issues on lap 125 that forced him out of the race while Charlie Glotzbach dealt with the same issue on lap 129.[2]

Qualifying
Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer
1 6Pete Hamilton'71 Plymouth
2 12Bobby Allison'69 Mercury
3 71Bobby Isaac'71 Dodge
4 3Charlie Glotzbach'71 Chevrolet
5 11Buddy Baker'71 Dodge
6 43Richard Petty'71 Plymouth
7 24Cecil Gordon'69 Mercury
8 72Benny Parsons'69 Mercury
9 25Jabe Thomas'70 Plymouth
10 60Maynard Troyer'69 Mercury
11 79Frank Warren'69 Dodge
12 64Elmo Langley'69 Mercury
13 39Friday Hassler'70 Chevrolet
14 88Ron Keselowski'70 Dodge
15 4John Sears'69 Dodge

Finishing order

Section reference: [2]

  1. Bobby Allison
  2. Richard Petty
  3. Buddy Baker†
  4. Maynard Troyer
  5. Joe Frasson†
  6. Cecil Gordon†
  7. Ron Keselowski
  8. James Hylton†
  9. Jabe Thomas†
  10. Neil Castles
  11. Tommy Gale†
  12. Marv Acton
  13. Ben Arnold
  14. Frank Warren
  15. Bill Dennis
  16. Richard D. Brown
  17. Raymond Williams
  18. J.D. McDuffie†
  19. Charlie Roberts
  20. Walter Ballard
  21. Elmo Langley†
  22. George Altheide
  23. Wendell Scott†
  24. Earl Brooks†
  25. Bobby Mausgrover
  26. Bill Champion†
  27. Charlie Glotzbach*
  28. Dean Dalton*
  29. Bill Seifert*
  30. Johnny Halford*†
  31. Pete Hamilton*
  32. Dick May*†
  33. Coo Coo Marlin*†
  34. John Sears*†
  35. Dave Marcis*
  36. Ed Negre*†
  37. Henley Gray*
  38. Benny Parsons*†
  39. Bobby Isaac*†
  40. Friday Hassler*†

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

References
  1. "1971 Yankee 400 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  2. "1971 Yankee 400 racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
  3. "1971 NASCAR Race Schedule - Total Prize Winnings". Everything Stock Car. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
  4. "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  5. "Track History". Michigan International Speedway. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009.
Preceded by
1971 West Virginia 500		 NASCAR Winston Cup Season
1971		 Succeeded by
1971 Talladega 500
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