1971 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:11, 31 January 2023

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.^[1] It was one of two 1971 Winston Cup Series races conducted at Atlanta Motor Speedway,^[2] the other being the Dixie 500,^[1] which in 1971 occurred on 1st August and was won by Richard Petty in a 1971 Plymouth.^[3] 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.^[4]^[5] 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.^[6]^[7] 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.^[6]^[7]

Prior to the race, qualifying commenced with A.J. Foyt winning the pole position with a speed of 155.152 mph.^[8]^[9] Directly behind him was Bobby Isaac in a 1971 Dodge, and Richard Petty.^[9] 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.^[8] 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.^[10]^[11]^[7] Foyt denied he made said comments however, and sued Sports Illustrated's parent company Time, winning $75,000 in damages in 1973.^[7]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1971 Atlanta 500 occurred on 4th April.^[9] Foyt led the field for the first 36 laps, before Petty took over for the next 15.^[9] While there would be several lap leaders,^[9]^[7] 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."^[11] 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.^[11] With 25 laps still to run, Foyt made his final pit stop, allowing Petty to take over the lead.^[7]^[9] 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.^[7]^[11]

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.^[11] Ultimately, he completed the overtake on the back straight of the 316th lap, thus moving back into the first position.^[11]^[9] He held onto it for the remaining laps to claim victory and $19,200 in prize money.^[9] Petty finished second, 1.8 seconds behind, with fellow 1971 Plymouth driver Pete Hamilton a lap down in third.^[11]^[9]

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.^[12] 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

Spartanburg Herald report of the race.
Wilmington Star-News reporting on the Atlanta 500 being kept following a bankruptcy petition.
Spartanburg Herald reporting on Foyt apologising to the other drivers prior to the race.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Racing Circuits documenting the Atlanta 500 and the Dixie 500. Retrieved 5 Mar '22
↑ Racing-Reference detailing the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series calendar. Retrieved 5 Mar '22
↑ Racing-Reference detailing the results of the 1971 Dixie 500. Retrieved 5 Mar '22
↑ NASCAR linking the Atlanta 500 with the Quaker State 400. Retrieved 5 Mar '22
↑ Beyond the Flag noting Atlanta 500 being removed from the 2011 schedule. Retrieved 5 Mar '22
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Wilmington Star-News reporting on the race being saved as part of a bankruptcy petition (article found on Bench-Racing). Retrieved 5 Mar '22
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 ^7.2 ^7.3 ^7.4 ^7.5 ^7.6 Bench-Racing detailing the race, how it almost never transpired, and Foyt's Sports Illustrated controversy. Retrieved 5 Mar '22
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 The New York Times reporting on qualifying for the race. Retrieved 5 Mar '22
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 ^9.3 ^9.4 ^9.5 ^9.6 ^9.7 ^9.8 Racing-Reference providing qualifying and race results of the event. Retrieved 5 Mar '22
↑ Spartanburg Herald reporting on Foyt's apology at the drivers' meeting (article found on Bench-Racing). Retrieved 5 Mar '22
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 ^11.2 ^11.3 ^11.4 ^11.5 ^11.6 The New York Times reporting on Foyt winning the race. Retrieved 5 Mar '22
↑ NASCAR on TV detailing ABC's broadcast of the race. Retrieved 5 Mar '22

[circuit-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Racing Circuits documenting the Atlanta 500 and the Dixie 500. Retrieved 5 Mar '22

[2] Racing-Reference detailing the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series calendar. Retrieved 5 Mar '22

[3] Racing-Reference detailing the results of the 1971 Dixie 500. Retrieved 5 Mar '22

[4] NASCAR linking the Atlanta 500 with the Quaker State 400. Retrieved 5 Mar '22

[5] Beyond the Flag noting Atlanta 500 being removed from the 2011 schedule. Retrieved 5 Mar '22

[wsn-6] 6.0 ^6.1 Wilmington Star-News reporting on the race being saved as part of a bankruptcy petition (article found on Bench-Racing). Retrieved 5 Mar '22

[bench-7] 7.0 ^7.1 ^7.2 ^7.3 ^7.4 ^7.5 ^7.6 Bench-Racing detailing the race, how it almost never transpired, and Foyt's Sports Illustrated controversy. Retrieved 5 Mar '22

[qualifying-8] 8.0 ^8.1 The New York Times reporting on qualifying for the race. Retrieved 5 Mar '22

[results-9] 9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 ^9.3 ^9.4 ^9.5 ^9.6 ^9.7 ^9.8 Racing-Reference providing qualifying and race results of the event. Retrieved 5 Mar '22

[10] Spartanburg Herald reporting on Foyt's apology at the drivers' meeting (article found on Bench-Racing). Retrieved 5 Mar '22

[nyt-11] 11.0 ^11.1 ^11.2 ^11.3 ^11.4 ^11.5 ^11.6 The New York Times reporting on Foyt winning the race. Retrieved 5 Mar '22

[12] NASCAR on TV detailing ABC's broadcast of the race. Retrieved 5 Mar '22

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{InfoboxLost
 |title=<center>1971 Atlanta 500</center>
-|image=1971atlanta5001.png
+|image=1971atlanta5005.jpg
-|imagecaption=The race was known for its duel between Richard Petty and A.J. Foyt.
+|imagecaption=Program for the race.
 |status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 }}
@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 ===Images===
 <gallery mode=packed heights=250px>
-atlanta5002.jpg|Foyt during the race.
-atlanta5003.jpg|Petty leading the field.
-atlanta5004.jpg|Fred Lorenzen in a 1971 Plymouth.
-atlanta5005.jpg|Program for the race.
 atlanta5006.png|''Spartanburg Herald'' report of the race.
-atlanta5007.jpeg|''National Speed Sport News'' report of the race.
 atlanta5008.png|''Wilmington Star-News'' reporting on the Atlanta 500 being kept following a bankruptcy petition.
 atlanta5009.png|''Spartanburg Herald '' reporting on Foyt apologising to the other drivers prior to the race.
@@ Line 34: / Line 29: @@
 ==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)]]
@@ Line 42: / Line 37: @@
 *[[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 Rebel 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)]]
@@ Line 115: / Line 112: @@
 {{reflist}}
-[[Category:Lost recordings of real incidents]]
+[[Category:Lost recordings of sports events]]
-[[Category:Lost TV]]
 [[Category:Completely lost media]]