The Virginia 500 was held at Martinsville Speedway on May 2, 1971, with approximately 20,000 fans in attendance for a 30-car field. Donnie Allison started from the pole position driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Mercury. Allison dominated much of the race, leading five times for 367 laps in his first start with the Wood Brothers, but his day ended on lap 412 when an engine failure forced him out of contention.
Richard Petty, who started third, took advantage of the late-race developments and went on to win by 1.6 seconds over David Pearson. Bobby Isaac finished third, followed by Dave Marcis and James Hylton. Petty averaged 77.707 mph in a race that featured only one caution period for three laps and earned $5,075 for the victory. The finish was delayed by controversy following a quick pit stop by Petty during which the fuel cap was not properly secured. A protest was filed after the race, and NASCAR took five days to review the results before officially declaring Petty the winner.
