1970 American 500

Last updated

1970 American 500
Race details [1]
Race 47 of 48 in the 1970 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Rockingham Speedway.svg
Layout of Rockingham Speedway
Date November 15, 1970 (1970-11-15)
Official name American 500
Location North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 1.636 km (1.017 miles)
Distance 492 laps, 500 mi (804 km)
Weather Chilly with temperatures of 65.3 °F (18.5 °C); wind speeds of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed 117.811 miles per hour (189.598 km/h)
Attendance 20,000 [2]
Pole position
Driver
 Nichels Engineering
Most laps led
Driver Cale Yarborough Wood Brothers Racing
Laps 205
Winner
No. 21Cale YarboroughWood Brothers Racing
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1970 American 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on November 15, 1970, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina. Jim Paschal qualified the #40 vehicle for Pete Hamilton.

Contents

Race report

Twenty thousand people watched Cale Yarborough win the race which lasted 4 hours, 14 minutes, and 24 seconds. [2] The average speed was 117.811 miles per hour (189.598 km/h) while the pole speed was 136.496 miles per hour (219.669 km/h). [2] There were seven cautions that lasted for forty-six laps and the margin of victory was four seconds. [2] As the penultimate race in NASCAR's Grand National era, this race was crucial for people wanting to win the 1970 NASCAR Grand National Championship. Bobby Isaac finished the race in 7th place, good enough for him to clinch the championship. [3]

492 laps were completed on the paved oval track spanning 1.017 miles (1.637 km). [2] The winner's purse was $20,445 [2] ($160,407 when adjusted for inflation) while last place (40th) paid $540 [2] ($3,923 when adjusted for inflation). Drivers who were eliminated from the race had to deal with engine problems, crashes, transmission problems, and problems with their fan pulley (in addition to their rear end). [2] Pete Hamilton would drive in his final race for Petty Enterprises here while Cale Yarborough would complete his final race for the Wood Brothers. Future winning team owner Hoss Ellington would retire from driving after this race. [4] Cale Yarborough would eventually transfer himself to the USAC Indy Car Series in 1971. [5]

Notable crew chiefs in this race included Herb Nab, Junie Donlavey, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Maurice Petty, Tom Vandiver and Banjo Matthews. [6]

Qualifying

GridNo.DriverManufacturerSpeed [7] Qualifying time [7] Owner
199Charlie Glotzbach'69 Dodge 136.49626.823 Ray Nichels
221Cale Yarborough'69 Mercury 135.98526.923 Wood Brothers
322Bobby Allison'69 Dodge 135.98527.037 Mario Rossi
432Dick Brooks'70 Plymouth 135.28227.063 Dick Brooks
571Bobby Isaac'69 Dodge 135.07227.105 Nord Krauskopf
617David Pearson'69 Ford 135.05227.109 Holman-Moody
743Richard Petty'70 Plymouth 134.98827.122 Petty Enterprises
830Dave Marcis'69 Dodge 134.19627.282 Dave Marcis
96Buddy Baker'69 Dodge 134.17627.286 Cotton Owens
1040Pete Hamilton'70 Plymouth 133.98427.326 Petty Enterprises

Failed to qualify: Dick Poling (#65), Roy Mayne (#46) [7]

Finishing order

Section reference: [2]

  1. Cale Yarborough Ford
  2. David Pearson Mercury
  3. Bobby Allison
  4. Donnie Allison
  5. Buddy Baker
  6. Richard Petty
  7. Bobby Isaac
  8. James Hylton
  9. Friday Hassler
  10. Buddy Young
  11. Joe Frasson
  12. Neil Castles
  13. Elmo Langley
  14. Jabe Thomas
  15. Pete Hamilton*
  16. Jim Vandiver
  17. Ben Arnold
  18. J.D. McDuffie
  19. Raymond Williams
  20. Wendell Scott*
  21. Cecil Gordon
  22. Johnny Halford
  23. Roy Mayne
  24. Larry Baumel
  25. Bill Champion*
  26. Frank Warren
  27. Hoss Ellington*
  28. Henley Gray
  29. LeeRoy Yarbrough*
  30. John Sears*
  31. Charlie Glotzbach*
  32. Dave Marcis*
  33. Benny Parsons*
  34. Bill Seifert*
  35. Tiny Lund*
  36. Bill Shirey*
  37. Bill Dennis*
  38. Roy Tyner*
  39. Dick Brooks*
  40. Buddy Arrington*

* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

Cale Yarborough
David Pearson
Cale Yarborough
Cale Yarborough
David Pearson
Cale Yarborough
David Pearson
Cale Yarborough
│
1
│
16
│
31
│
46
│
61
│
76
│
91
│
106
│
121
│
136
│
151
│
166
│
181
│
196
│
211
│
226
│
241
│
256
│
271
│
286
│
301
│
316
│
331
│
346
│
361
│
376
│
391
│
406
│
421
│
436
│
451
│
466
│
481

References

  1. ↑ "1970 American 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "1970 American 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
  3. ↑ Lehto, Steve (January 15, 2016). Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird. ISBN   9781613252048 . Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  4. ↑ Retirements from NASCAR at Race Database
  5. ↑ "Cale Yarborough's post-race decision". How Stuff Works (Auto). Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  6. ↑ "1970 American 500 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 "1970 American 500 qualifying information". Racing Reference. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Season
1970		Succeeded by
Preceded by American 500 races
1970		Succeeded by
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