The 1971 Mason-Dixon 500 was a 500-lap NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on May 16, 1971, at Dover Downs International Speedway in Delaware. The event drew an attendance of 25,000 fans for a competitive 40-car field on the high-banked one-mile concrete oval.
Richard Petty won the pole position with a speed of 129.486 mph. In extremely hot weather conditions, the race ran caution-free and was completed at a strong average speed of 123.119 mph. Bobby Allison, driving the #12 Coca-Cola Mercury for Holman-Moody, dominated the race by leading 245 laps and winning by a full lap over Fred Lorenzen. Richard Petty finished third, followed by Bobby Isaac in fourth and G.C. Spencer in fifth. Allison earned $15,720 for the victory and was the only driver among the top four finishers who did not use relief help during the scorching afternoon.
This impressive win highlighted Allison’s endurance and skill in tough conditions and marked one of his strongest performances of the 1971 season at the Monster Mile.
