Winston Western 500

The Winston Western 500 was an annual NASCAR Winston Cup race held at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, United States, in January, and then in later years, November. From 1963 to 1981, the race was held in January and was the season opening race. NASCAR elected to start its season with the Daytona 500 beginning in 1982, so a second Winston Western 500 was run in November to accommodate the change; the change resulted in Riverside hosting three Winston Cup races in 1981. The race ran in November from 1981 to 1987, serving as the Winston Cup Series' final race of the year from 1981 to 1986. The race distance was 500 miles until 1977 when it was shortened to 311 miles (500 kilometers). The other race held at Riverside, the Budweiser 400, was held in June.

Winston Western 500

NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Venue	Riverside International Raceway
Location	Moreno Valley, California
Corporate sponsor	Winston
First race	1958 Crown America 500
Last race	1987 Winston Western 500
Distance	311.8 miles (502 km)
Laps	119
Previous names	Crown America 500 (1958) Unnamed (1961) Riverside 500 (1963) Motor Trend 500 (1964–1971) Winston Western 500 (1972–1987)
Most wins (driver)	Dan Gurney (5)
Most wins (manufacturer)	Ford (11)

Past winners

Year	Date	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Report	Ref
						Laps	Miles (km)
1958	June 1	98	Eddie Gray	Vel Miletich	Ford	190	499.89 (804.494)	6:17:00	79.481	Report	[1]
1959 – 1960	Not held
1961	May 21	44	Lloyd Dane	Lloyd Dane	Chevrolet	39	100.62 (161.932)	1:13:10	82.512	Report	[2]
1962	Not held
1963	January 20	28	Dan Gurney	Holman-Moody	Ford	185	499.5 (803.867)	5:53:20	84.965	Report	[3]
1964	January 19	121	Dan Gurney	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	185	499.5 (803.867)	5:28:47	91.245	Report	[4]
1965	January 17	121	Dan Gurney	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	185	499.5 (803.867)	5:41:42	87.708	Report	[5]
1966	January 23	121	Dan Gurney	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	185	499.5 (803.867)	5:05:58	97.952	Report	[6]
1967	January 22	115	Parnelli Jones	Bill Stroppe	Ford	185	499.5 (803.867)	5:29:03	91.08	Report	[7]
1968	January 21	121	Dan Gurney	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	186	502.2 (808.212)	4:57:55	100.598	Report	[8]
1969	February 1	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Ford	186	502.2 (808.212)	4:45:37	105.498	Report	[9]
1970	January 18	11	A. J. Foyt	Jack Bowsher	Ford	193	505.66 (813.78)	5:11:19	97.45	Report	[10]
1971	January 10	96	Ray Elder	Fred Elder	Dodge	191	500.42 (805.347)	4:57:55	100.783	Report	[11]
1972	January 23	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	149*	390.38 (628.255)	3:45:11	104.016	Report	[12]
1973	January 21	16	Mark Donohue	Penske Racing	Matador	191	500.42 (805.347)	4:48:33	104.055	Report	[13]
1974	January 26	11	Cale Yarborough	Richard Howard	Chevrolet	191	500.42 (805.347)	4:56:52	101.14	Report	[14]
1975	January 19	16	Bobby Allison	Penske Racing	Matador	191	500.42 (805.347)	5:04:25	98.627	Report	[15]
1976	January 18	21	David Pearson	Wood Brothers Racing	Mercury	191	500.42 (805.347)	5:02:44	99.18	Report	[16]
1977	January 16	21	David Pearson	Wood Brothers Racing	Mercury	119	311.78 (501.761)	2:54:46	107.038	Report	[17]
1978	January 22	11	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Oldsmobile	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:02:55	102.269	Report	[18]
1979	January 14	88	Darrell Waltrip	DiGard Motorsports	Chevrolet	119	311.78 (501.761)	2:53:30	107.82	Report	[19]
1980	January 13/19*	88	Darrell Waltrip	DiGard Motorsports	Chevrolet	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:16:58	94.974	Report	[20]
1981	January 11	28	Bobby Allison	Ranier-Lundy	Chevrolet	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:16:18	95.263	Report	[21]
	November 22	28	Bobby Allison	Ranier-Lundy	Buick	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:16:19	95.288	Report	[22]
1982	November 21	2	Tim Richmond	Jim Stacy	Buick	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:07:24	99.823	Report	[23]
1983	November 20	9	Bill Elliott	Melling Racing	Ford	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:15:09	95.859	Report	[24]
1984	November 18	5	Geoffrey Bodine	All-Star Racing	Chevrolet	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:10:01	98.448	Report	[25]
1985	November 17	15	Ricky Rudd	Bud Moore Engineering	Ford	119	311.78 (501.761)	2:58:03	105.065	Report	[26]
1986	November 16	25	Tim Richmond	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:04:48	101.246	Report	[27]
1987	November 8	27	Rusty Wallace	Blue Max Racing	Pontiac	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:10:49	98.035	Report	[28]

• 1964: Two-time defending champion Joe Weatherly was killed instantly when he struck the turn 6 wall on lap 86. Weatherly was 41 years old.
• 1972: Race shortened due to fog.
• 1980: Race started on January 13; finished on January 19 because of rain.
• 1984: Race delayed several hours due to rain during the day - NASCAR was able to get the race in with darkness threatening. The race ended close to sunset (5 PM PT).

Multiple winners (drivers)

# Wins	Manufacturer	Years Won
5	Dan Gurney	1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968
3	Bobby Allison	1975, 1981 (Jan), 1981 (Nov)
2	Richard Petty	1969, 1972
	David Pearson	1976, 1977
	Cale Yarborough	1974, 1978
	Darrell Waltrip	1979, 1980
	Tim Richmond	1982, 1986

Multiple winners (manufacturers)

# Wins	Manufacturer	Years Won
11	Ford	1958, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1983, 1985
7	Chevrolet	1961, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986
2	Matador	1973, 1975
	Mercury	1976, 1977
	Buick	1981, 1982

References

1. "1958 Crown America 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
2. "1961-22". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
3. "1963 Riverside 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
4. "1964 Motor Trend 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
5. "1965 Motor Trend 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
6. "1966 Motor Trend 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
7. "1967 Motor Trend 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
8. "1968 Motor Trend 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
9. "1969 Motor Trend 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
10. "1970 Motor Trend 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
11. "1971 Motor Trend 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
12. "1972 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
13. "1973 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
14. "1974 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
15. "1975 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
16. "1976 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
17. "1977 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
18. "1978 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
19. "1979 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
20. "1980 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
21. "1981 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
22. "1981 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
23. "1982 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
24. "1983 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
25. "1984 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
26. "1985 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
27. "1986 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
28. "1987 Winston Western 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2021.

External links

• Riverside International Raceway race results at Racing-Reference