The 1971 Delaware 500 was a 500-lap NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on October 17th at Dover Downs International Speedway in Delaware. A crowd of 18,000 fans watched a full 40-car field take the green flag.
Bobby Allison won the pole position with a speed of 132.811 mph and was clearly the car to beat for most of the afternoon. The race ran very cleanly with only two cautions for 9 laps and an impressive average speed of 123.254 mph. However, Allison’s chances for victory disappeared on lap 399 when he suffered a broken lug bolt during a pit stop, forcing him to lose nearly four minutes on pit road.
Richard Petty capitalized on Allison’s misfortune and went on to win by a full lap over Charlie Glotzbach. Bobby Isaac finished third, followed by Bobby Allison in fourth and Bill Dennis in fifth. Petty earned $14,570 for the victory — his 137th career NASCAR win. The race saw only three lead changes.
This win was a fortunate one for Petty rather than a dominant performance, as he took full advantage of Allison’s late-race misfortune at the Monster Mile.
