1970 American 500


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.
492 laps were completed on the paved oval track spanning. The winner's purse was $20,445 while last place paid $540. Drivers who were eliminated from the race had to deal with engine problems, crashes, transmission problems, and problems with their fan pulley. 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. Cale Yarborough would eventually transfer himself to the USAC Indy Car Series in 1971.
Notable crew chiefs in this race included Herb Nab, Junie Donlavey, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Maurice Petty, Tom Vandiver and Banjo Matthews.

Qualifying

Failed to qualify: Dick Poling, Roy Mayne

Finishing order

Section reference:
  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: