The 1971 Daytona 500, the 13th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on February 14, 1971 at Daytona International Speedway. Spanning 500 miles  on the paved oval track, all of the racing action commenced during daytime hours and ended prior to dusk since there was no lighting available until at least the 1998 season. It was the first Daytona 500 in the Winston Cup era of NASCAR. During this time, Richard Petty (the race winner and the eventual Winston Cup champion) was becoming one of the winningest veterans on the NASCAR circuit.[