July 24, 1971 - 250 Miles - Purse $20,980

Coo Coo Marlin of Columbia, TN looks dejectedly at what remained of his race car after smashing into the wall during practice runs for the Nashville 420.  A spindle broke causing the driver to loss control of the car and hit the wall in the number two turn of the Speedway.   (Photo:  Nashville Tennessean Bob Ray)

 

  Richard Petty captured his seventh victory at the Fairgrounds and his 133rd career win.  "I'm tired," stated Petty after the race, "this track beats you to death." Petty would also go on to capture the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup title.

James Harvey Hylton finished second in his 1969 Ford Torino (NASCAR used the car year & model from the entry blank, thus the year discrepancy between the results and actual).  The Inman, South Carolina driver finished second in 1967 and third in 1969 at Nashville.

It would be the best career Grand National finish for Earl Brooks.  During his 18 year career, Brooks would compete in 262 Grand National (Winston Cup) Events.

The race marked the first of 26 career Fairgrounds appearances for Richard Childress.  He is in tenth place in  all-time starts at the track.

Wendell Scott would record the last of his 12 Nashville starts. Scott is tied for 22 in all-time career starts at the track.

   

James Harvey Hylton pulls his Ford Torino into the Fairgrounds 

 
Hylton with same trailer in 2009 at ARCA race in Salem, Indiana
 

Cecil Gordon and crew make a pit stop (Photo: Jimmy Ellis The Tennessean)
 
 Race winner Richard Petty battles with Bobby Allison

 

Average Speed:   89.667 mph Time of Race:    2:47:30 Margin:     4 laps
Pole Winner:       Richard Petty /  114.628 Attendance:        10,000 Cautions:  4 for 46
Lap Leaders:       Petty 1, Allison 2-21, Petty 22-420
 
DriverDDriver Fin Str Car Team / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led
Richard Petty 1 1 43 Plymouth  - 
Petty Enterprises
70 Plymouth 420 4,325 Running 400
James Hylton 2 10 48 Mullins Ford -
James Hylton
70 Ford 416 2,415 Running 0
Benny Parsons 3 9 72 L.G. DeWitt 70 Mercury 416 1,600 Running 0
Earl Brooks 4 11 26 Earl Brooks 69 Ford 411 1,160 Running 0
J.D. McDuffie 5 7 70 J.D. McDuffie 69 Mercury 403 1,025 Running 0
Walter Ballard 6 25 30 Hekimiam Foreign Parts - Ballard Racing 71 Ford 398 815 Running 0
Jabe Thomas 7 19 23 Don Robertson 69 Plymouth 385 765 Running 0
Henley Gray 8 29 19 Henley Gray 69 Ford 379 740 Running 0
Ben Arnold 9 8 76 Ben Arnold 69 Ford 375 715 Running 0
Bill Hollar 10 27 28 Earl Brooks 69 Ford 375 690 Running 0
Ed Negre 11 6 8 Ed Negre 69 Ford 374 665 Throttle 0
  Ken Meisenhelder 12 20 41 Ken Meisenhelder 69 Chevrolet 359 640 Running 0
Dean Dalton 13 5 7 Belden Asphalt -
Dean Dalton
69 Ford 329 590 Engine 0

Jerry Churchill 14 21 73 Jerry Churchill 69 Ford 323 540 Running 0
Frank Warren 15 24 79 Frank Warren 69 Dodge 249 490 Running 0
Cecil Gordon 16 3 24 Casa Linda Motel -
Cecil Gordon
69 Mercury 236 415 Running 0
Elmo Langley 17 4 64 Elmo Langley 71 Ford 167 340 Water pump 0
Bill Champion 18 13 10 Bill Champion 69 Ford 154 290 Rear end 0

David Sisco 19 12 05 Charlie McGee 70 Chevrolet 141 265 Crash 0
Wendell Scott 20 26 34 Wendell Scott 69 Ford 121 250 Engine 0
Richard Childress 21 18 96 Tom Garn 70 Chevrolet 108 250 Engine 0
Bill Shirey 22 16 74 Bill Shirey 69 Plymouth 102 250 Throttle 0
Robert Brown 23 15 58 Allan Brown 70 Chevrolet 73 250 Suspension 0
D.K. Ulrich 24 17 40 D.K. Ulrich 70 Ford 60 250 Flat tire 0
Coo Coo Marlin 25 22 07 Cunningham-Kelley
H.B. Cunningham
69 Chevrolet 51 250 Crash 0
Wayne Smith 26 14 38 Wayne Smith 69 Chevrolet 49 245 Engine 0
Bobby Allison 27 2 12 Coca-Cola -
Bobby Allison
71 Dodge 22 295 Suspension 20
Bill Seifert 28 28 25 Don Robertson 70 Plymouth 9 240 Quit 0
Dick May 29 23 67 Ron Ronacher 69 Ford 5 215 Suspension 0