1970 Georgia 500

Last updated
1970 Georgia 500
Race details [1] [2]
Race 46 of 48 in the 1970 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date November 8, 1970;52 years ago (1970-11-08)
Official name Georgia 250
Location Middle Georgia Raceway, Byron, Georgia
Course Permanent racing facility
0.548 mi (0.882 km)
Distance 500 laps, 227 mi (441 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching of 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds of 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
Average speed 83.284 miles per hour (134.033 km/h)
Attendance 6,500 [3]
Pole position
Driver
 Petty Enterprises
Most laps led
Driver Bobby Isaac K&K Insurance Racing
Laps 226
Winner
No. 43Richard PettyPetty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1970 Georgia 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on November 8, 1970, at Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia.

Contents

NASCAR officials would record four engine-related incidents, one major fire, two issues related to the vehicle's suspension and an oil leak. [3]

Race report

The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.

Five hundred laps took place on a paved oval track spanning .548 miles (0.882 km) for a grand total of 274.0 miles (441.0 km). [2] [3] The race took three hours, thirteen minutes, and thirty-three seconds to reach its conclusion; Richard Petty (racing for Petty Enterprises) defeated Bobby Isaac in fourteen seconds. [2] [3] The pole position speed was 94.064 miles per hour (151.381 km/h); accomplished by Richard Petty. [2] [3] Total winnings for this race were $20,000 ($150,711 when considering inflation) with the winner receiving most of $3,275 ($24,679 when considering inflation). This event would be the first of two career starts for Jimmy Watson. [2] [3] Notable crew chiefs for this race included Harry Hyde, Dale Inman and Lee Gordon. [4]

Petty's wins in 1970 came at 18 different tracks. He didn't have any sweeps. [5]

This would be the final career start for Lee Roy Carrigg; whose NASCAR Winston Cup Series race spanned nine races and 1002 laps of racing action. [6]

Earlier that year, the second annual Atlanta International Pop Festival was held in the same venue as this racing event. Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers Band performed in front of 300,000 concertgoers; the town had a population of about 2,000. [7]

In comparison to this summer musical festival that took place from July 3–5, this autumn racing event only attracted 6500 people in order to see stock car vehicles travel at speeds averaging 83.284 miles per hour or 134.033 kilometres per hour throughout the entire event. [2] [3]

Qualifying

Grid [3] No.DriverManufacturerOwner
143Richard Petty'70 PlymouthPetty Enterprises
222Bobby Allison'69 DodgeBobby Allison
372Benny Parsons'69 FordL.G. DeWitt
432Dick Brooks'69 PlymouthDick Brooks
571Bobby Isaac'70 DodgeNord Krauskopf
606Neil Castles'69 DodgeNeil Castles
74John Sears'69 DodgeJohn Sears
848James Hylton'70 FordJames Hylton
964Elmo Langley'69 FordElmo Langley
1026Dave Marcis'69 FordEarl Brooks
1125Jabe Thomas'69 PlymouthDon Robertson
1279Frank Warren'69 PlymouthFrank Warren
1310Bill Champion'69 FordBill Champion
148Joe Frasson'69 FordEd Negre
1567Dick May'69 FordRon Ronacher
1624Cecil Gordon'68 FordCecil Gordon
1754Bill Dennis'69 ChevroletBill Dennis
1868Larry Baumel'69 FordAllan Schulauer
1993Morgan Shepherd'69 ChevroletBill Flowers
2002E.J. Trivette'69 ChevroletCrawford Brothers
2176Ben Arnold'69 FordBen Arnold
2234Wendell Scott'69 FordWendell Scott
2377Roy Mayne'69 FordBob Freeman
2419Henley Gray'69 FordHenley Gray
2558Jim Vandiver'70 ChevroletBub Strickler
2689Rod Eulenfield'69 FordMorris Davis
2716Jimmy Watson'70 ChevroletKen Spires
2874Bill Shirey'69 PlymouthBill Shirey
2939Friday Hassler'69 ChevroletJames Hanley
3087Lee Roy Carrigg'68 FordJohn Pemberton

Finishing order

Section reference: [3]

  1. Richard Petty (No. 43)
  2. Bobby Isaac† (No. 71)
  3. Dick Brooks† (No. 32)
  4. Bobby Allison (No. 22)
  5. John Sears† (No. 4)
  6. James Hylton† (No. 48)
  7. Benny Parsons† (No. 72)
  8. Elmo Langley† (No. 64)
  9. Jabe Thomas (No. 25)
  10. Cecil Gordon† (No. 24)
  11. Neil Castles (No. 06)
  12. Ben Arnold (No. 76)
  13. Bill Champion† (No. 10)
  14. Jimmy Watson (No. 16)
  15. Friday Hassler† (No. 39)
  16. Henley Gray (No. 19)
  17. Bill Shirey (No. 74)
  18. Roy Mayne*† (No. 77)
  19. Jim Vandiver* (No. 58)
  20. Morgan Shepherd* (No. 93)
  21. Wendell Scott*† (No. 34)
  22. Joe Frasson*† (No. 8)
  23. Lee Roy Carrigg* (No. 87)
  24. Dave Marcis* (No. 26)
  25. Bill Dennis* (No. 54)
  26. Rod Eulenfield* (No. 89)
  27. Frank Warren* (No. 79)
  28. E.J. Trivette* (No. 02)
  29. Dick May*† (No. 67)
  30. Larry Baumel* (No. 68)

* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased

Timeline

Section reference: [3]

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References

  1. ↑ "1970 Georgia 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "1970 Georgia 500 information (third reference)". Race Database. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "1970 Georgia 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  4. ↑ "1970 Georgia 500 crew chief information". Racing Reference. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  5. ↑ [https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/pettyri01/1970/W Richard Petty 1970 NASCAR Grand National Results] at Racing Reference
  6. ↑ "Lee Roy Carrigg career information". Racing Reference. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  7. ↑ Morris, Linda S. (16 July 2011). "Byron raceway roars back to life in car ads". Macon.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Races
1970		Succeeded by
Preceded by Richard Petty's Career Wins
1960-1984		Succeeded by
Preceded by Georgia 500 races
1970		Succeeded by
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