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1970 American 500

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1970 American 500
Race details[1]
Race 47 of 48 in the 1970 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Layout of Rockingham Speedway
Layout of Rockingham Speedway
Date November 15, 1970 (1970-November-15)
Official name American 500
Location North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.017 mi (1.636 km)
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. 21 Cale Yarborough Wood 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.

Race report

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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

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Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Speed[7] Qualifying time[7] Owner
1 99 Charlie Glotzbach '69 Dodge 136.496 26.823 Ray Nichels
2 21 Cale Yarborough '69 Mercury 135.985 26.923 Wood Brothers
3 22 Bobby Allison '69 Dodge 135.985 27.037 Mario Rossi
4 32 Dick Brooks '70 Plymouth 135.282 27.063 Dick Brooks
5 71 Bobby Isaac '69 Dodge 135.072 27.105 Nord Krauskopf
6 17 David Pearson '69 Ford 135.052 27.109 Holman-Moody
7 43 Richard Petty '70 Plymouth 134.988 27.122 Petty Enterprises
8 30 Dave Marcis '69 Dodge 134.196 27.282 Dave Marcis
9 6 Buddy Baker '69 Dodge 134.176 27.286 Cotton Owens
10 40 Pete Hamilton '70 Plymouth 133.984 27.326 Petty Enterprises

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

Finishing order

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Section reference: [2]

* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

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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

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  1. ^ "1970 American 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "1970 American 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
  3. ^ Lehto, Steve (15 January 2016). Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird. ISBN 9781613252048. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  4. ^ Retirements from NASCAR at Race Database
  5. ^ "Cale Yarborough's post-race decision". How Stuff Works (Auto). Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  6. ^ "1970 American 500 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  7. ^ a b c "1970 American 500 qualifying information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Season
1970
Succeeded by
Preceded by American 500 races
1970
Succeeded by