The Los Angeles Times 500 was an annual NASCAR Winston Cup race held at

Ontario Motor Speedway Ontario Motor Speedway was a motorsport venue located in Ontario, California. It was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies: USAC (and now In ...

in Ontario, California, United States, in February from 1971 to 1972 and in November from 1974 to 1980.

Past winners

Multiple winners (drivers)

Multiple winners (teams)

Manufacturer wins

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 Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

. 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 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

's as the highest in the series. * Ownership changes at

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 David or Dave Pearson may refer to: * David Pearson (librarian) (born 1955), British librarian and scholar * David Pearson (racing driver) (1934–2018), American car racing champion * David Pearson (scientist) (born 1942), Canadian scientist, a ...

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 Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

marque until 2001. Dodges finished 1-2 as

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...

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.

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 William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (born March 27, 1939) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, and farmer. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in 1 ...

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

, 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

External links

* 1971 establishments in California 1980 disestablishments in California Former NASCAR races Los Angeles Times NASCAR races at Ontario Motor Speedway, Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1980 Recurring sporting events established in 1971 {{California-sport-stub