The 1971 Winchester 400 motor race, the second annual (run yearly since 1970), was held as the "Dri-Power 400" under American Speed Association sanction on October 3, 1971, at the Winchester Speedway, in Indiana (USA).
Denny Miles of Muncie, Indiana lead 101 of the 400 laps and collected $2,128 in winning the Winchester 400. A late race accident with Jim Blount sent Miles to the pits on lap 321, but he returned to lead the final 56 laps as he streaked to an event-record eight-lap winning margin over runner-up Carl Sommers of Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Les Snow was fast-qualifier and started from the pole position, but it was Eldon Byler who led at the drop of the green flag. Snow moved to the front on lap four and showed the field the way until being passed by Jim Robinson on lap 43. Ron North took a turn in the lead on lap 68 and would hold the position until surrendering to Bill Clemons on lap 143. North would retake the top spot on lap 171 only to lose it again to Clemons on lap 264.
Miles would make his first appearance in the lead on lap 271 and would hold it until being involved in the accent 50 laps later. With Miles in the pits, Sommers moved to the top spot until Miles retook the lead on lap 354 and cruised to the win. Following Miles and Sommers across the line were Snow (with relief from Jack Shanklin), Tom Galloway, and John Sommerville.
| Results of the 2nd Annual DRI-POWER Winchester 400 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Start | Car # | Driver/Hometown | Sponsor/Make | Laps | Winnings (in US$) |
Status | |
| 1 | 6 | 52 | Denny Miles / Muncie, IN | Chevrolet | 400 | $2,128 | Running | |
| 2 | 32 | 44 | Carl Sommers / Indianapolis, IN | Chevrolet | 392 | $1,550 | ||
| 3 | 5 | 99 | Les Snow / Bloomington, IL Jack Shanklin / Indianapolis, IN |
Plymouth | $1,358 | |||
| 4 | 27 | 94 | Tom Galloway | Chevrolet | $1,000 | |||
| 5 | 16 | 99 | John Sommerville / Clarksville, IN | Chevrolet | $900 | |||
| 6 | 19 | 78 | Warren Howard / Fort Wayne, IN | Chevrolet | $700 | |||
| 7 | 36 | 67 | George Coonrod / Monticello, IN | Plymouth | $600 | |||
| 8 | 29 | 2T | Art Terlosky / Fort Wayne, IN | Ford | $440 | |||
| 9 | 21 | 58 | Gene Cook / Wilkinson, IN | Chevrolet | $440 | |||
| 10 | 23 | 34 | Don Rogan | Chevrolet | $300 | |||
| 11 | 28 | 96 | Jim Jones / New Castle, IN | Chevrolet | $1,042 | |||
| 12 | 12 | 37 | Don Andrews / Parker, IN | Chevrolet | $325 | |||
| 13 | 3 | 71 | Ron North / Huntington, IN | Oldsmobile | $276 | |||
| 14 | 13 | 38 | Larry Geiger / Anderson, IN | Ford | $257 | |||
| 15 | 40 | 70 | Dick Hinshaw / Millville, IN | Chevrolet | $250 | |||
| 16 | 14 | 73 | Jim Blount / LaPaz, IN | Chevrolet | $230 | |||
| 17 | 2 | 25 | Eldon Byler / Goshen, IN | Ford | $210 | |||
| 18 | 20 | 16 | Bill Clemons / New Albany, IN | AMC | $190 | |||
| 19 | 11 | 84 | Pete Stringer | Chevrolet | $190 | |||
| 20 | 31 | 20 | Bill Wyrick / Marion, IN | Chevrolet | $165 | |||
| 21 | 22 | 32 | Wayne Trinkle | Chevrolet | $160 | |||
| 22 | 17 | 69 | Cliff Hamm / Cumberland, IN | Ford | $154 | |||
| 23 | 15 | 62 | Jim Robinson / New Albany, IN | Dodge | $150 | |||
| 24 | 26 | 97 | Bobby Wawak / Avilla Park, IL | Dodge | $147 | |||
| 25 | 37 | 87 | Don King / Muncie, IN | Chevrolet | $144 | |||
| 26 | 24 | 3 | Ronald VanArsdale / Indianapolis, IN | Dodge | $144 | |||
| 27 | 10 | 10 | Dave Dayton / Indianapolis, IN | Chevrolet | $143 | |||
| 28 | 25 | 23 | Bob Coffey / Indianapolis, IN | Chevrolet | $142 | |||
| 29 | 9 | 80 | Vern Schrock / Middlebury, IN | Chevrolet | $141 | |||
| 30 | 38 | 7 | Ray Fullen / Anderson, IN | Chevrolet | $138 | |||
| 31 | 18 | 33 | Gene Christie / Gaston, IN | Plymouth | $135 | |||
| 32 | 8 | 82 | Larry Cope / LeRoi, IN | Chevrolet | $132 | |||
| 33 | 5 | 11 | Dave Sorg / Fort Wayne, IN | Chevrolet | $126 | |||
| 34 | 7 | 42 | Larry Gilmer | Chevrolet | $120 | |||
| 35 | 4 | 43 | Denny Nyari / South Bend, IN | Ford | $118 | |||
| 36 | 34 | 14P | Spike Pritchard / Fortville, IN | Ford | $108 | |||
| 37 | 39 | 07 | Kenny Wagner | Chevrolet | $106 | |||
| 38 | 30 | 21C | Jim Carter / Indianapolis, IN | Chevrolet | $104 | |||
| 39 | 35 | 09 | Don Skaggs / Cambridge City, IN | Chevrolet | $102 | |||
| 40 | 33 | 31 | Darwin Blankenship / Anderson, IN | Ford | $100 | |||
| Preceded by 1970 Winchester 400 |
1971 Winchester 400 Winner: Denny Miles |
Succeeded by 1972 Winchester 400 |