On January 10, 1971, a crowd of 23,000 fans attended Riverside International Raceway in California for the Motor Trend 500. The 2.62-mile road course hosted a 40-car field for the season-opening event, which marked the first NASCAR race under the new Winston sponsorship. Richard Petty captured the pole position with a qualifying speed of 107.084 mph, but it was part-time driver and full-time farmer Ray Elder who stole the headlines.
Driving the #96 Mercury, Elder scored his first career NASCAR victory, holding off Bobby Allison by 10.5 seconds. Benny Parsons finished third, followed by Bobby Isaac in fourth and James Hylton in fifth. The race was slowed by just one caution period for nine laps, with Elder posting a winning average speed of 100.783 mph. He earned $18,715 for the triumph and was the only car among the leaders running on Firestone tires.
This unexpected win by the California-based independent driver provided one of the biggest upsets of the young 1971 season and set the tone for an exciting year under Winston’s sponsorship.
