Winston Western 500

Winston Western 500

Venue	Riverside International Raceway
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)

The Winston Western 500 was an annual NASCAR Winston Cup race held at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, USA, 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.

Past winners

Year	Date	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Report
					Laps	Miles (km)
1958	June 1	Eddie Gray	Vel Miletich	Ford	190	499.89 (804.494)	6:17:00	79.481	Report
1959 – 1960	Not held
1961	May 21	Lloyd Dane	Lloyd Dane	Chevrolet	39	100.62 (161.932)	1:13:10	82.512	Report
1962	Not held
1963	January 20	Dan Gurney	Holman-Moody	Ford	185	499.5 (803.867)	5:53:20	84.965	Report
1964	January 19	Dan Gurney	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	185	499.5 (803.867)	5:28:47	91.245	Report
1965	January 17	Dan Gurney	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	185	499.5 (803.867)	5:41:42	87.708	Report
1966	January 23	Dan Gurney	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	185	499.5 (803.867)	5:05:58	97.952	Report
1967	January 22	Parnelli Jones	Bill Stroppe	Ford	185	499.5 (803.867)	5:29:03	91.08	Report
1968	January 21	Dan Gurney	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	186	502.2 (808.212)	4:57:55	100.598	Report
1969	February 1	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Ford	186	502.2 (808.212)	4:45:37	105.498	Report
1970	January 18	A.J. Foyt	Jack Bowsher	Ford	193	505.66 (813.78)	5:11:19	97.45	Report
1971	January 10	Ray Elder	Fred Elder	Dodge	191	500.42 (805.347)	4:57:55	100.783	Report
1972	January 23	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	149*	390.38 (628.255)	3:45:11	104.016	Report
1973	January 21	Mark Donohue	Penske Racing	Matador	191	500.42 (805.347)	4:48:33	104.055	Report
1974	January 26	Cale Yarborough	Richard Howard	Chevrolet	191	500.42 (805.347)	4:56:52	101.14	Report
1975	January 19	Bobby Allison	Penske Racing	Matador	191	500.42 (805.347)	5:04:25	98.627	Report
1976	January 18	David Pearson	Wood Brothers Racing	Mercury	191	500.42 (805.347)	5:02:44	99.18	Report
1977	January 16	David Pearson	Wood Brothers Racing	Mercury	119	311.78 (501.761)	2:54:46	107.038	Report
1978	January 22	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Oldsmobile	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:02:55	102.269	Report
1979	January 14	Darrell Waltrip	DiGard Motorsports	Chevrolet	119	311.78 (501.761)	2:53:30	107.82	Report
1980	January 13	Darrell Waltrip	DiGard Motorsports	Chevrolet	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:16:58	94.974	Report
1981	January 11	Bobby Allison	Ranier-Lundy	Chevrolet	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:16:18	95.263	Report
	November 22	Bobby Allison	Ranier-Lundy	Buick	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:16:19	95.288	Report
1982	November 21	Tim Richmond	Jim Stacy	Buick	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:07:24	99.823	Report
1983	November 20	Bill Elliott	Melling Racing	Ford	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:15:09	95.859	Report
1984	November 18	Geoffrey Bodine	All-Star Racing	Chevrolet	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:10:01	98.448	Report
1985	November 17	Ricky Rudd	Bud Moore Engineering	Ford	119	311.78 (501.761)	2:58:03	105.065	Report
1986	November 16	Tim Richmond	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:04:48	101.246	Report
1987	November 8	Rusty Wallace	Blue Max Racing	Pontiac	119	311.78 (501.761)	3:10:49	98.035	Report

• 1972: Race shortened due to fog.

Multiple winners (drivers)

# Wins	Manufacturer	Years Won
5	Dan Gurney	1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968
3	Bobby Allison	1975, 1981, 1981
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

Television broadcasters

Year	Network	Lap-by-lap	Color commentator(s)
1987	TBS	Ken Squier	Johnny Hayes Buddy Baker
1986			Phil Parsons
1985			Benny Parsons
1984			Phil Parsons
1983			Cale Yarborough
1982			Buddy Baker

References

• Racing-Reference.info

External links

• NASCAR Commentators Crews and Networks