Los Angeles Times 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
VenueOntario Motor Speedway
Corporate sponsorLos Angeles Times
First race1971
Last race1980
Distance500 miles (805 km)
Laps200
Previous namesMiller High Life 500 (1971–1972)
Los Angeles Times 500 (1974–1980)

The Los Angeles Times 500 was an annual NASCAR Winston Cup race held at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, United States, in February from 1971 to 1972 and in November from 1974 to 1980.

Past winners

Year Date No. Driver Team Manufacturer Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)		 Report Ref
Laps Miles (km)
1971 February 28 21 A. J. Foyt Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 200 500 (804.672) 3:43:36 134.168 Report [1]
1972 March 5 21 A. J. Foyt Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 200 500 (804.672) 3:56:04 127.082 Report [2]
1973 March 4 Not held
1974 November 24 12 Bobby Allison Penske Racing AMC 200 500 (804.672) 3:42:17 134.963 Report [3]
1975 November 23 15 Buddy Baker Bud Moore Engineering Ford 200 500 (804.672) 3:33:12 140.712 Report [4]
1976 November 21 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 200 500 (804.672) 3:38:49 137.101 Report [5]
1977 November 20 5 Neil Bonnett Jim Stacy Dodge 200 500 (804.672) 3:53:50 128.296 Report [6]
1978 November 19 15 Bobby Allison Bud Moore Engineering Ford 200 500 (804.672) 3:37:44 137.783 Report [7]
1979 November 18 27 Benny Parsons M.C. Anderson Racing Chevrolet 200 500 (804.672) 3:45:52 132.822 Report [8]
1980 November 15 27 Benny Parsons M.C. Anderson Racing Chevrolet 200 500 (804.672) 3:51:46 129.441 Report [9]

Multiple winners (drivers)

# Wins Driver Years Won Ref(s)
2 A. J. Foyt 1971, 1972 [1][2]
Bobby Allison 1974, 1978 [3][7]
Benny Parsons 1979, 1980 [8][9]

Multiple winners (teams)

# Wins Team Years Won Ref(s)
3 Wood Brothers Racing 1971, 1972, 1976 [1][2][5]
2 Bud Moore Engineering 1975, 1978 [4][7]
M.C. Anderson Racing 1979, 1980 [8][9]

Manufacturer wins

# Wins Manufacturer Years Won Ref(s)
3 Mercury 1971, 1972, 1976 [1][2][5]
2 Ford 1975, 1978 [4][7]
Chevrolet 1979, 1980 [8][9]
1 AMC 1974 [3]
Dodge 1977 [6]

Notes

  • Ontario's first two NASCAR 500s were run in late February and early March and both were won by A. J. Foyt in the Wood Brothers Mercury. Foyt's 1972 win was his final NASCAR-sanctioned win. The purse for these races were $180,200 and $175,345 respectively, surpassing the Daytona 500's as the highest in the series.
  • Ownership changes at Ontario Motor Speedway kept the scheduled March 4, 1973 NASCAR event from running.
  • Bobby Allison won the 1974 running for Roger Penske's first win on a NASCAR oval; Allison was fined nearly $10,000 after the race when postrace inspection discovered unapproved valve lifters.
  • David Pearson led the final 120 laps in a runaway win in 1976; it was his tenth big-track win of the season.
  • Bonnett's 1977 win was his first on a superspeedway and the last for the Dodge marque until 2001. Dodges finished 1-2 as Richard Petty skidded through Turn Four in a last-lap bid for the win.
  • Janet Guthrie in 1977 would lead five laps under caution it was the first time a woman led a lap in Cup Series, and it would not happen again until 2013 when a woman would lead laps in a race in Cup Series.
  • Bobby Allison posted his fifth win of 1978 in the Times 500. Richard Petty engaged Allison and others in a huge battle for the lead in the first half of the race, driving a Chevrolet, before blowing his engine. Cale Yarborough pitted on the pace lap with distributor problems but rallied to finish third.
  • The 1979 500 was the race that clinched the seventh driving title for Richard Petty, while the 1980 500 clinched the first driving title for Dale Earnhardt. Benny Parsons won both times. The 1980 race also was contested on a Saturday.
  • The 500 was a combination race between Winston Cup and NASCAR's Winston West series. The Winston West series staged two stand-alone races at Ontario — on May 15, 1977, Gary Johnson edged Bill Schmitt in the Winston 250, while on April 13, 1980, Canadian racer Roy Smith passed Schmitt with eleven laps to go to win the Datsun 200.
  • Ontario also hosted double-header races, the Datsun Twin 200, for Indy cars and stock cars under United States Auto Club sanction, which also drew numerous NASCAR competitors. On March 6, 1977 Jimmy Insolo edged Bobby Unser and A. J. Foyt in the stock car 200; on March 26, 1978, Foyt led 71 of 80 laps to beat Jim Thirkettle and Insolo; on March 25, 1979, Foyt beat Joe Ruttman and Rusty Wallace for the 200-mile win.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "1971 Miller High Life 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "1972 Miller High Life 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "1974 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "1975 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 "1976 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "1977 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "1978 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "1979 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "1980 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
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