Though Riverside was one of the western most tracks on which the NASCAR GN / Cup cars raced from the late 1950s through 1988, the races were more often than not won by the Southern based regulars. Well, except for much of the 1960s when Dan Gurney could generally be penciled in as the winner a year in advance.
Another exception to this generalization was in January 1971 when left coast legend Ray Elder let the visitors know who was boss by winning the 1971 Motor Trend 500 [ posted about here by Tim Leeming].
Elder raced in 31 GN / Cup events over a 12 year period from 1967 through 1978. Of those 31 starts, 19 were at Riverside. He also notched 2 career Cup wins. One was the 1971 Motor Trend 500 - the other was the 1972 Golden State 400 at Riverside on June 18, 1972.
Elder's sponsor in the race was Olympia Beer - who also sponsored Hershel McGriff. Though I've only had 1 Oly that I can remember, I have a soft spot for the brew. Its corporate parent is Pabst Brewing - the same current owner of Schaefer. So Schaef and Oly are cousins of sorts. Or half-siblings. Or step-siblings. Or something like that.
King Richard - who won the [ 1972 season opener at Riverside ] in his debut race with STP as a sponsor - kept the road course mojo rolling by nabbing the pole for the Golden State 400. Bobby Isaac put his #71 Dodge on the front row with Petty. Bobby Allison, who won the 1971 and 1973 400-milers at Riverside, timed 3rd. Two west coasters, Dick Bown and Hershel McGriff rounded out the top 5.
Petty's 43 Plymouth kept the competition at bay for much of the race much as he had done 5 months earlier at the track. He led 85 of the race's first 96 laps. He had a half-lap lead on Isaac and a full lap on Elder. Then while leading, Maurice Petty's Mopar engine inexplicably broke. Petty's day was done.
Isaac then inherited the lead in his Harry Hyde-prepared Dodge and maintained his 1 lap lead advantage over Elder for the next 13 laps. But then on lap 109, Isaac's transmission gave way and he too was done.
Ray Elder then found himself in 2nd for a full 'extra' lap to unlap himself and then took over the lead. He paced the field for the remaining 44 laps to take his 2nd and final career Cup victory.
Almost as surprising as Elder's win was Benny Parsons' 2nd place finish. Over the next year or so though, fans came to appreciate Parsons moxie as he won the 1973 title and eventually got himself a win at Riverside in 1978.
A couple of years during Bobby Allison's career, he drove for Roger Penske - in an AMC Matador and in the CAM2 Mercury. But on this date, DONNIE Allison finished 3rd in his only start in a Penske Racing Matador. Mark Donohue was slated to race the Penske car, but USAC ended up refusing to give him permission to run in the NASCAR event. Oh the childish games these territorial series owners played - then and perhaps even today.
Though Donnie ended up P3, car owner Penske believed the team left money on the table. D. Allison spun a couple of times, went off-roading so to speak, and had to rally back to get the finish he did. The Captain firmly believed the car was capable of winning - and would've done so had Donohue been allowed to race.
from Andy Towler
Race report from Hendersonville NC's Times-News
Elder's win was relevant enough to earn him the cover of Competition Press & Autoweek.
Though he only won twice at the Cup level, Elder still made a bit of dough on the 2 wins he did get by being featured in a Pennzoil ad.
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Ray Elder | '71 Dodge |
| 2 | Benny Parsons | '71 Mercury |
| 3 | Donnie Allison | '72 Matador |
| 4 | James Hylton | '70 Ford |
| 5 | Carl Joiner | '72 Chevrolet |
| 6 | Bobby Allison | '72 Chevrolet |
| 7 | Carl Adams | '71 Ford |
| 8 | Cecil Gordon | '71 Mercury |
| 9 | Frank James | '72 Chevrolet |
| 10 | Dick May | '71 Ford |
| 11 | Charlie Roberts | '71 Ford |
| 12 | Hershel McGriff | '70 Plymouth |
| 13 | Dick Bown | '72 Plymouth |
| 14 | Chuck Bown | '70 Plymouth |
| 15 | Henley Gray | '71 Ford |
| 16 | Dick Kranzler | '72 Chevrolet |
| 17 | Kevin Terris | '70 Plymouth |
| 18 | Paul Dorrity | '72 Chevrolet |
| 19 | Jimmy Insolo | '72 Chevrolet |
| 20 | Bill Butts | '72 Dodge |
| 21 | Bobby Isaac | '72 Dodge |
| 22 | Dean Dalton | '71 Mercury |
| 23 | Richard Petty | '72 Plymouth |
| 24 | Bill Champion | '71 Ford |
| 25 | Walter Ballard | '71 Mercury |
| 26 | Ray Johnstone | '72 Oldsmobile |
| 27 | Johnny Anderson | '72 Chevrolet |
| 28 | J.D. McDuffie | '71 Chevrolet |
| 29 | John Hren | '70 Chevrolet |
| 30 | Clem Proctor | '72 Oldsmobile |
| 31 | Sonny Easley | '72 Chevrolet |
| 32 | Dick Guldstrand | '72 Chevrolet |
| 33 | Dick Brooks | '72 Ford |
| 34 | Sam Stanley | '71 Ford |
| 35 | John Soares, Jr. | '70 Dodge |
| 36 | Tru Cheek | '70 Ford |
| 37 | Ed Negre | '70 Dodge |
| 38 | Jack McCoy | '72 Dodge |
| 39 | Bob Kauf | '72 Chevrolet |
| 40 | Markey James | '72 Chevrolet |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 06/18/18 09:23:52AM