Los Angeles Times 500 Explained

Jeff Fisher 0.500
Series Long:	NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Venue:	Ontario Motor Speedway
Sponsor:	Los Angeles Times
First Race:	1971
Last Race:	1980
Distance:	500 miles (805 km)
Laps:	200
Previous Names:	Miller 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		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
	Bobby Allison	1974, 1978
	Benny Parsons	1979, 1980

Multiple winners (teams)

Wins	Team	Years Won	Ref(s)
3	Wood Brothers Racing	1971, 1972, 1976
2	Bud Moore Engineering	1975, 1978
	M.C. Anderson Racing	1979, 1980

Manufacturer wins

Wins	Manufacturer	Years Won	Ref(s)
3	Mercury	1971, 1972, 1976
2	Ford	1975, 1978
	Chevrolet	1979, 1980
1	AMC	1974
	Dodge	1977

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.

Notes and References

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