[oldskool]

The main change in '71, that affected Pontiac drag racing, was the arrival of the round port 455HO engine. This prompted lots of private & dealer sponsored racers to buy a 455HO Pontiac & put it on the track.

Also, rather than buying either a Bird or GTO, racers could get the 455HO engine in a T-37, which many did. The 1st one I remember was raced by Rock Running, who named it the "Super Sleeper". IIRC, I've read that Ken Shawver & Danny Ashley were 2 of the later owners, before current owner Don Turk got it.

1st '71 GTO Stocker I remember was driven by Mick Leiferman. He's known for being Stock RU @ Indy 3 years in a row.

Some racers begin running a '71 Bird, then for some reason they'd switch it over to a '72 model. Main cosmetic differences I'm aware of are that the '71 non-T/A Birds had a rectangular fender vent on the front fenders, behind the wheel wells, and the '72's had honeycomb pattern grills, rather than the small squares pattern of the '70-'71 models.

I think '71 is the year the Birds began using the corporate 8.5" rear ends. That don't mean much now, since a 12-bolt can be used. But, it was probably welcomed by the early races, who had to run the type that came in the car.

I've read that Gary Moore's 2nd gen was a '71. He won class with it at a national event, in Stock.