1970 American 500

1970 American 500

Race details
Race 47 of 48 in the 1970 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Layout of Rockingham Speedway
Date	November 15, 1970 (1970-November-15)
Official name	American 500
Location	North Carolina Motor Speedway (Rockingham, North Carolina, USA)
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.636 km)
Distance	492 laps, 500 mi (804 km)
Weather	Chilly with temperatures approaching 65.3 °F (18.5 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed	117.811 miles per hour (189.598 km/h)
Attendance	20,000
Pole position
Driver	Charlie Glotzbach	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 (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on November 15, 1970 at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.

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 any more.

Summary

Twenty thousand people attended the race which lasted for 4 hours, 14 minutes, and 24 seconds. 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). There were seven cautions that lasted for forty-six laps and the margin of victory was four seconds. The top ten finishers of the race were Cale Yarborough (winner), David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker, Richard Petty (racing for Petty Enterprises), Bobby Isaac, James Hylton, Friday Hassler, and Buddy Young. As the second to final race in NASCAR's Grand National era, this race was crucial for people wanting to win the 1970 NASCAR Grand National Championship. Major sponsors for the drivers included 7-Up, Coca-Cola, and 60 Minute Cleaners. Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.

492 laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 1.017 miles (1.637 km). The winner's purse was considered to be $20,445 ($124,579.6 when adjusted for inflation) while last place (40th) paid $540 ($3,046.7 when adjusted for inflation). Drivers who were eliminated from the race had to deal with engine problems in addition to crashes, transmission problems, and problems with their fan pulley (in addition to their rear end). Pete Hamilton would do his final race for Petty Enterprises here while Cale Yarborough would do his final race for the Wood Brothers at the same location. Coincidentally, Hoss Ellington would retire from NASCAR after this race.

Cale Yarborough would eventually transfer himself to the USAC Indy Car Series in 1971.

Finishing order

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*

* Driver failed to finish race

References

Preceded by 1970 Georgia 500

NASCAR Grand National Season 1970

Succeeded by 1970 Tidewater 300

Preceded by 1969

American 500 races 1970

Succeeded by 1971