The California 100 for Sportsman Cars was run on the day before this race, the winner was Hershel McGriff followed by Ron Hornaday Sr., Roy Bleckert, Ivan Baldwin, and Jim Sanderson.
Race report
153 laps were completed on the road course spanning 2.620 miles (4.216 km) per lap.[2] The race was completed in exactly four hours with Bobby Allison picking up the second of his six career wins at Riverside against Richard Petty by one minute and thirteen seconds in front of 43,700 spectators.[2] All of the other drivers were lapped by Bobby Allison and Richard Petty.[2] Petty's second-place finish marked the first time that he finished a race at Riverside but did not win.[2]
Dean Dalton was credited with a last-place finish due to an engine problem on lap 7.[2] 19-year-old Chuck Bown received his first top ten.[3]
There were 40 drivers on the grid. Four cautions slowed the race for 22 laps and the average speed was 100.215 miles per hour (161.280 km/h).[2] Petty earned the pole position with a qualifying speed of 110.027 miles per hour (177.071 km/h).[2]Ron Hornaday, Sr. retired from NASCAR after this race. George Behlman made his NASCAR debut in this race. Other notable racers in this event include: Benny Parsons, J.D. McDuffie, Richard Childress, and Buddy Baker.[2]
Winston West driver Jimmy Insolo finished a strong fourth.[2]
Individual race earnings for each driver ranged from $12,750 for the winning driver ($87,510.49 when adjusted for inflation) to $1,125 for the last-place driver ($7,721.51 when adjusted for inflation). A grand total of $75,295 in prize money went to all the drivers. ($516,792.37 when adjusted for inflation).[4]