1971 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)

Program for the race.

Status: Lost

The 1971 Atlanta 500 was the 10th race of the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Occurring on 4th April at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, in an event that almost never transpired because of the bankruptcy of the raceway, the race would ultimately be won by pole sitter A.J. Foyt in a 1969 Mercury after a tense battle with 1971 Plymouth driver Richard Petty.

Background

The 1971 Atlanta 500 was the 12th running of the event, with the race traditionally being around 500 miles in length. It was one of two 1971 Winston Cup Series races conducted at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the other being the Dixie 500, which in 1971 occurred on 1st August and was won by Richard Petty in a 1971 Plymouth. The Atlanta 500 also has ties to the modern Quaker State 400, which resumed the event at a 400 mile length in 2021 after not being held from 2011-2020. However, the 1971 race almost never transpired; financial mismanagement in the 1960s led to the track, then known as Atlanta International Raceway, being declared bankrupt. A successful bankruptcy petition from its board of directors was responsible for saving the race, as its running was a core aspect of the petition.

Prior to the race, qualifying commenced with A.J. Foyt winning the pole position with a speed of 155.152 mph. Directly behind him was Bobby Isaac in a 1971 Dodge, and Richard Petty. Foyt was therefore deemed the favourite to win according to The New York Times, with Petty considered to be his biggest challenger for the event. Before the event occurred however, Foyt made an apology to his fellow racers at the drivers' meeting over a story reported by Sports Illustrated that claimed he made disparaging comments to his fellow drivers. Foyt denied he made said comments however, and sued Sports Illustrated's parent company Time, winning $75,000 in damages in 1973.

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1971 Atlanta 500 occurred on 4th April. Foyt led the field for the first 36 laps, before Petty took over for the next 15. While there would be several lap leaders, the race would primarily be between Foyt and Petty, with The New York Times stating that "The race was essentially a private battle between Foyt and Petty, NASCAR's super star, with the 38 other starters simply providing background color and sound." Indeed, Foyt and Petty proved evenly matched, with Petty holding an advantage by having his pit stops take slightly less time than his rival, with Foyt also hampered at one point because of a flat tyre. With 25 laps still to run, Foyt made his final pit stop, allowing Petty to take over the lead. While he tried to stay out for the remainder of the race, the Plymouth was forced to come in seven laps after Foyt so it could receive the fuel needed to complete the event.

This enabled Foyt to close the gap, where he admitted post-race that chasing Petty was a gamble, as he nearly spun his Mercury on several occasions. Ultimately, he completed the overtake on the back straight of the 316th lap, thus moving back into the first position. He held onto it for the remaining laps to claim victory and $19,200 in prize money. Petty finished second, 1.8 seconds behind, with fellow 1971 Plymouth driver Pete Hamilton a lap down in third.

Availability

According to NASCAR on TV, the final hour and a half of the race was televised live by ABC under the title of ABC Championship Auto Racing. However, this broadcast has yet to publicly resurface, with no footage of the race currently being publicly viewable. Nevertheless, a few photographs and newspaper clippings help document the event.

Gallery

Images

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  Spartanburg Herald report of the race.

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  Wilmington Star-News reporting on the Atlanta 500 being kept following a bankruptcy petition.

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  Spartanburg Herald reporting on Foyt apologising to the other drivers prior to the race.

See Also

• 1960 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1960)
• 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
• 1961 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1961)
• 1962 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
• 1962 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
• 1963 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1963)
• 1963 Richmond 250 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session and race; 1963)
• 1964 Atlanta 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
• 1964 National 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
• 1964 Richmond 250 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session; 1964)
• 1965 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
• 1965 Rebel 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
• 1966 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
• 1966 Southern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
• 1967 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
• 1967 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
• 1967 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
• 1968 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1968)
• 1970 Alabama 500 (found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 Wilkes 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1971 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Myers Brothers 250 (lost footage and official documents of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1971)
• 1972 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Bowman-Gray 100 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand American Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Firecracker 400 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Rebel 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1973 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
• 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
• 1974 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
• 1974 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
• 1974 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1974)
• 1975 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Dixie 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1975)
• 1975 World 600 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1976 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Dixie 500 (lost CBS footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Rebel 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Riverside 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Talladega 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Winston 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1978 NAPA National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1978)
• 1979 Daytona ARCA 200 (lost footage of ARCA Racing Series race; 1979)
• 1979 Dixie 500 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1979)
• 1979 Southeastern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1979)
• 1981 Coca-Cola 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1981)
• 1981 CRC Chemicals 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1981)
• 1982 CRC Chemicals 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Eastern 150 (lost footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Goody's Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Twin 125s race 1 (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
• 1982 Winston Western 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
• 1983 Goody's Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1983)
• 1983 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1983)
• 1983 Southern 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1983)
• 1984 Delaware 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1984)
• 1984 Goody's Sportsman 300 (lost footage of NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race; 1984)
• 1984 Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1984)‎
• 1985 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1985)
• 1986 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1986)
• 1989 Busch Clash (lost footage of pre-season NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1989)
• 1992 Atlanta 300 (lost footage of NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race; 1992)
• 1996 DeVilbiss SuperFinish 200 (partially found televised footage of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race; 1996)
• Jeff Gordon's 2008 UAW-Dodge 400 crash (lost on-board footage of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race crash; 2008)
• NASCAR (partially found uncut footage of stock car races; 1960-present)