1971 Miller High Life 500

Two hundred laps were raced on the paved oval track spanning 2.500 miles (4.023 km).[2] The total time of the race was three hours, forty-three minutes, and thirty-six seconds.[2] Held on February 28, 1971, this would be the first stock car event to take place at Ontario Motor Speedway.[2] The only Cup race with a driver from Utah entered.[2] Art Pollard was a DNQ and the sole Utahan to enter a national level NASCAR race until Michael Self's Xfinity starts 44 years later.[2]

The average speed was 134.168 miles per hour (215.922 km/h) and the pole position speed was 151.711 miles per hour (244.155 km/h).[2] There were five cautions for 21 laps and the margin of victory was 8½ seconds.[2] With an attendance of nearly seventy-nine thousand people.[2][3] Notable crew chiefs at this event included Paul Goldsmith, Richard Elder, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Lee Gordon and Paul Burchard.[4]

In the 51-car racing grid, there were 50 Americans and one Mexican, Pedro Rodríguez who finished in 47th due to an electrical fault.[2] It was the 1000th race in NASCAR history. It would be Rodríguez' final NASCAR Winston Cup Series start. Dean Dalton would finish in last place due to being black flagged and disqualified on lap 2. The only car in the same league with Foyt was Fred Lorenzen until Lorenzen's engine blew and he crashed on the front straight with a fire. At the end, Petty had a chance to win, but he missed his pit under the green flag and had to come back in and finished third. Foyt won the first two Ontario races.[2]

The total winnings of the race were $180,200 ($1,302,118.98 when adjusted for inflation) - making it the biggest non-Daytona purse during that era.[2] Manufacturers involved in the event included Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Mercury, and Plymouth.[2] Other notable drivers included Elmo Langley, Fred Lorenzen, and Ron Hornaday, Sr. (whose son is a four-time Craftsman Truck Series champion).[2] Marty Kinerk, Jim McElreath, Pedro Rodríguez and Johnny Steele all made what would be their final starts in NASCAR's top series.[5]

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