| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 25 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
| Date | June 23, 1971 | ||
| Official name | Space City 300 | ||
| Location | Meyer Speedway, Houston, Texas | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.500 mi (0.744 km) | ||
| Distance | 300 laps, 150 mi (200 km) | ||
| Weather | Hot with temperatures of 91 °F (33 °C); wind speeds of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 73.489 miles per hour (118.269 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 9,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Bobby Allison Motorsports | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bobby Allison | Bobby Allison Motorsports | |
| Laps | 253 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 12 | Bobby Allison | Bobby Allison Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1971 Space City 300 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 23, 1971, at Meyer Speedway in Houston, Texas. While Houston was considered to be one of the epicenters of stock car racing during the 1950s and 1960s, the local passion for the motorsport died out starting in the 1970s.[3]
Meyer Speedway was bumpy enough to loosen bolts off of a typical NASCAR vehicle.[citation needed]
With only 14 cars entering the 1971 Space City 300, this event was one of many in 1971 that contributed to significant changes demanded by new series sponsor Winston for the 1972 season, when the number of races was reduced from 48 to 31, all dirt tracks were removed from the schedule, and a minimum race distance of 250 miles (400 km) was established for races on oval tracks. While NASCAR's top series had a successful 48 race schedule in previous years, by 1971 the reduced sponsorship money being given out by the "Big Three" automobile companies made it difficult for race car drivers to justify driving their "stock" race cars under their own power (as required by the homologation rules until 1975) to events offering only small prize money.[4]