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NASCAR Cup Series at Riverside International Raceway

Auto race held in Riverside, United States

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
6 min read
Source updated September 10, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Stock car races in the then-NASCAR Winston Cup Series have been held at the Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California during numerous times of year and season from 1958 to 1988.

01November race

Winston Western 500
VenueRiverside International Raceway
Corporate sponsorWinston
First race1958 Crown America 500
Last race1987 Winston Western 500
Distance311.8 miles (502 km)
Laps119
Previous namesCrown 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)

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.

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
1959
,
1960		 Not held
1961 May 21 44 Lloyd Dane Lloyd Dane Chevrolet 39 100.62 (161.932) 1:13:10 82.512 Report
1962 Not held
1963 January 20 28 Dan Gurney Holman-Moody Ford 185 499.5 (803.867) 5:53:20 84.965 Report
1964 January 19 121 Dan Gurney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 185 499.5 (803.867) 5:28:47 91.245 Report
1965 January 17 121 Dan Gurney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 185 499.5 (803.867) 5:41:42 87.708 Report
1966 January 23 121 Dan Gurney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 185 499.5 (803.867) 5:05:58 97.952 Report
1967 January 22 115 Parnelli Jones Bill Stroppe Ford 185 499.5 (803.867) 5:29:03 91.08 Report
1968 January 21 121 Dan Gurney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 186 502.2 (808.212) 4:57:55 100.598 Report
1969 February 1 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Ford 186 502.2 (808.212) 4:45:37 105.498 Report
1970 January 18 11 A. J. Foyt Jack Bowsher Ford 193 505.66 (813.78) 5:11:19 97.45 Report
1971 January 10 96 Ray Elder Fred Elder Dodge 191 500.42 (805.347) 4:57:55 100.783 Report
1972 January 23 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Plymouth 149* 390.38 (628.255) 3:45:11 104.016 Report
1973 January 21 16 Mark Donohue Penske Racing Matador 191 500.42 (805.347) 4:48:33 104.055 Report
1974 January 26 11 Cale Yarborough Richard Howard Chevrolet 191 500.42 (805.347) 4:56:52 101.14 Report
1975 January 19 16 Bobby Allison Penske Racing Matador 191 500.42 (805.347) 5:04:25 98.627 Report
1976 January 18 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 191 500.42 (805.347) 5:02:44 99.18 Report
1977 January 16 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 119 311.78 (501.761) 2:54:46 107.038 Report
1978 January 22 11 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates Oldsmobile 119 311.78 (501.761) 3:02:55 102.269 Report
1979 January 14 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet 119 311.78 (501.761) 2:53:30 107.82 Report
1980 January 13/19* 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet 119 311.78 (501.761) 3:16:58 94.974 Report
1981 January 11 28 Bobby Allison Ranier-Lundy Chevrolet 119 311.78 (501.761) 3:16:18 95.263 Report
November 22 28 Bobby Allison Ranier-Lundy Buick 119 311.78 (501.761) 3:16:19 95.288 Report
1982 November 21 2 Tim Richmond Jim Stacy Buick 119 311.78 (501.761) 3:07:24 99.823 Report
1983 November 20 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 119 311.78 (501.761) 3:15:09 95.859 Report
1984 November 18 5 Geoff Bodine All-Star Racing Chevrolet 119 311.78 (501.761) 3:10:01 98.448 Report
1985 November 17 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 119 311.78 (501.761) 2:58:03 105.065 Report
1986 November 16 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 119 311.78 (501.761) 3:04:48 101.246 Report
1987 November 8 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 119 311.78 (501.761) 3:10:49 98.035 Report
  • 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

02June race

Budweiser 400
Corporate sponsorBudweiser
First race1963
Last race1988
Distance249 miles (400 km)
Laps95
Previous namesGolden State 400 (1963, 1971-1972)
Falstaff 400 (1970)
Tuborg 400 (1973-1975)
Riverside 400 (1976)
NAPA 400 (1977-1978)
NAPA Riverside 400 (1979)
Warner W. Hodgdon 400 (1980-1981)
Budweiser 400 (1982-1988)

The Budweiser 400 was an annual summer NASCAR Winston Cup race held from 1970 to 1988 at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, United States. A 400-mile race was also run at the track in November 1963. The race distance was 400 miles until 1976 when it was shortened to 249 miles (400 kilometers). The other race at Riverside, the Winston Western 500, was held in January from 1965 to 1981 and November from 1981 to 1987.

Past winners

Year Date No. Driver Team Manufacturer Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)		 Report Ref
Laps Miles (km)
1963 Nov 3 16 Darel Dieringer Bill Stroppe Mercury 148 399.6 (643.093) 4:21:37 91.465 Report
1964
,
1969		 Not held
1970 June 14 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Plymouth 153 400.86 (645.121) 3:57:51 101.12 Report
1971 June 20 12 Bobby Allison Holman-Moody Dodge 153 400.86 (645.121) 4:17:05 93.427 Report
1972 June 18 96 Ray Elder Fred Elder Dodge 153 400.86 (645.121) 4:03:32 98.761 Report
1973 June 17 12 Bobby Allison Bobby Allison Chevrolet 153 400.86 (645.121) 4:00:00 100.215 Report
1974 June 9 11 Cale Yarborough Richard Howard Chevrolet 138* 361.56 (581.874) 3:31:40 102.489 Report
1975 June 8 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 153 400.86 (645.121) 3:58:04 101.028 Report
1976 June 13 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:20:31 106.279 Report
1977 June 12 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:22:12 105.021 Report
1978 June 11 72 Benny Parsons L.G. DeWitt Chevrolet 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:23:10 104.311 Report
1979 June 10 15 Bobby Allison Bud Moore Engineering Ford 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:23:58 103.732 Report
1980 June 8 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:26:38 101.846 Report
1981 June 14 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Buick 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:39:30 93.597 Report
1982 June 13 2 Tim Richmond Jim Stacy Buick 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:23:51 103.816 Report
1983 June 5 3 Ricky Rudd Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:49:35 88.063 Report
1984 June 3 44 Terry Labonte Billy Hagan Chevrolet 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:25:07 102.91 Report
1985 June 2 44 Terry Labonte Billy Hagan Chevrolet 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:23:13 104.276 Report
1986 June 1 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:22:07 105.083 Report
1987 June 21 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:26:09 102.183 Report
1988 June 12 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 95 248.9 (400.565) 2:43:03 88.341 Report
  • 1974: The race was shortened by 10% in response to the fuel crisis.

Multiple winners (drivers)

# Wins Driver Years won
3 Richard Petty 1970, 1975, 1977
Bobby Allison 1971, 1973, 1979
Darrell Waltrip 1980, 1981, 1986
2 Terry Labonte 1984, 1985
Tim Richmond 1982, 1987

Multiple winners (manufacturers)

# Wins Manufacturer Years won
9 Chevrolet 1973, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987
4 Dodge 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977
2 Mercury 1963, 1976
Buick 1981, 1982
Watch videos about NASCAR Cup Series at Riverside International RacewayExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “NASCAR Cup Series at Riverside International Raceway”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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