1970 American 500 Explained

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.

Race report

Twenty thousand people watched Cale Yarborough win the race which lasted 4 hours, 14 minutes, and 24 seconds. The average speed was while the pole speed was . There were seven cautions that lasted for forty-six laps and the margin of victory was four seconds. 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.[1]

492 laps were completed on the paved oval track spanning 1.017miles. The winner's purse was $20,445 ($ when adjusted for inflation) while last place (40th) paid $540 ($ 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). 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.[2] Cale Yarborough would eventually transfer himself to the USAC Indy Car Series in 1971.[3]

Notable crew chiefs in this race included Herb Nab, Junie Donlavey, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Maurice Petty, Tom Vandiver and Banjo Matthews.[4]

Qualifying

GridDriverManufacturer[5] Owner
199 Charlie Glotzbach 136.496 26.823 Ray Nichels
221 Cale Yarborough 135.985 26.923 Wood Brothers
322 Bobby Allison 135.985 27.037 Mario Rossi
432 Dick Brooks 135.282 27.063 Dick Brooks
571 Bobby Isaac 135.072 27.105 Nord Krauskopf
617 David Pearson 135.052 27.109 Holman-Moody
743 Richard Petty 134.988 27.122 Petty Enterprises
830 Dave Marcis 134.196 27.282 Dave Marcis
96 Buddy Baker 134.176 27.286 Cotton Owens
1040 Pete Hamilton 133.984 27.326 Petty Enterprises

Failed to qualify: Dick Poling (#65), Roy Mayne (#46)[5]

Finishing order

Section reference:

  1. Cale Yarborough
  2. David Pearson
  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*

Timeline

Section reference:

Notes and References

  1. Book: Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird . 15 January 2016. 9781613252048 . 2018-09-10. Lehto . Steve .
  2. http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1970&race=47&series_id=2 Retirements from NASCAR
  3. Web site: Cale Yarborough's post-race decision. How Stuff Works (Auto). 2010-09-23. 2011-06-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20110612132223/http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1970s/1970-nascar.htm/printable. dead.
  4. Web site: 1970 American 500 crew chief information . Racing Reference . 2018-07-30.
  5. Web site: 1970 American 500 qualifying information . Racing Reference . 2017-04-12.

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