1970 Motor Trend 500
| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 48 in the 1970 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
 Layout of Riverside International Raceway | |||
| Date | January 18, 1970 | ||
| Official name | Motor Trend 500 | ||
| Location | Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.700 mi (4.345 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 502 mi (808 km) | ||
| Weather | Chilly with temperatures approaching 68.9 °F (20.5 °C); wind speeds up to 18.1 miles per hour (29.1 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 97.450 miles per hour (156.831 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Petty Enterprises | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Parnelli Jones | Wood Brothers Racing | |
| Laps | 88 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | A.J. Foyt | Jack Bowsher & Associates | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Untelevised | ||
| Announcers | None | ||
The 1970 Motor Trend 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on January 18, 1970 at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.
NASCAR's then-humble organization made it affordable for many local, regional, and obscure sponsors to appear on the Grand National Level; including stock car automobile magazines aimed at a small group of hardcore NASCAR fans.[3] Sponsorship today is very expensive for the NASCAR Cup Series and many corporate brands like Kellog's, M&M's and DuPont have scaled back their sponsorship due to recent changes in the American economy.
Summary
The Plymouth Superbird would make its first ever NASCAR appearance during this race. Six cautions were handed out by NASCAR for 31 complete laps.[2] A.J. Foyt was the winner of the race in his 1970 Ford Torino; defeating Roger McCluskey by 3½ seconds.[2] There were forty-four competitors in this race; 43 were from the United States of America while one competitor (Lothar Motschenbacher) was from Cologne, West Germany.[2] Jim Cook was involved in a major accident that would leave him using a wheelchair for the rest of his life on lap 94.[2] The other finishers in the top ten were: LeeRoy Yarbrough, Donnie Allison, Richard Petty, Dan Gurney (who would become a mainstay at the track during the 1960s and would leave NASCAR after this year[3]), Neil Castles, Friday Hassler, Jerry Oliver, and Dick Guldstrand.[2] Motschenbacher would start in 31st place and finish the race in 40th.[2]
The average speed of the race was 97.045 miles per hour (156.179 km/h) while Dan Gurney earned the pole position with a qualifying speed of 112.006 miles per hour (180.256 km/h).[2] There was a live attendance of 43,200 fans waiting to see 193 laps of action on a road course.[2] The previous year's event was notable for being a "perfect race."[4] However, this event included yellow flags.[2]
The winner's purse was considered to be $19,700 ($120,040.02 when adjusted for inflation) while the last-place finisher went home with a meager $800 ($4,874.72 when adjusted for inflation).[5] After combining the prize winnings from all the races, the total amount of money offered at this event was $84,235 ($513,826.11 when adjusted for inflation).[6]
Top twenty finishers
- A.J. Foyt
- Roger McCluskey
- LeeRoy Yarbrough
- Donnie Allison
- Richard Petty
- Dan Gurney
- Neil Castles
- Friday Hassler
- Jerry Oliver
- Dick Guldstrand
- Parnelli Jones
- Kevin Terris
- Bobby Allison
- Dave Marcis
- Sam Rose
- Dave Alonzo
- David Pearson
- Dick Kranzler
- Paul Dorrity
- Joe Frasson
Timeline
- Start: David Pearson's vehicle was the first to leave the start/finish line as the green flag was waved in the air
- Lap 26: A.J. Foyt took over the lead from David Pearson
- Lap 27: Richard Petty took over the lead from A.J. Foyt
- Lap 29: David Pearson took over the lead from Richard Petty
- Lap 35: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the lead from David Pearson
- Lap 36: A.J. Foyt took over the lead from LeeRoy Yarbrough
- Lap 43: Parnelli Jones took over the lead from A.J. Foyt
- Lap 44: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the lead from Parnelli Jones
- Lap 45: Donnie Allison took over the lead from LeeRoy Yarbrough
- Lap 65: A.J. Foyt took over the lead from Donnie Allison
- Lap 67: Parnelli Jones took over the lead from A.J. Foyt
- Lap 85: Donnie Allison took over the lead from Parnelli Jones
- Lap 87: David Pearson took over the lead from Donnie Allison
- Lap 95: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the leaf from David Pearson
- Lap 96: Roger McCluskey took over the lead from LeeRoy Yarbrough
- Lap 98: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the lead from Roger McCluskey
- Lap 99: Parnelli Jones took over the lead from LeeRoy Yarbrough
- Lap 110: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the lead from Parnelli Jones
- Lap 111: Parnelli Jones took over the lead from LeeRoy Yarbrough
- Lap 169: A.J. Foyt took over the lead from Parnelli Jones
- Finish: A.J. Foyt was officially declared the winner of the event
References
- ↑ "1970 Motor Trend 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "1970 Motor Trend 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
- 1 2 "Dan Gurney - Motor Trend 500". All American Races. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
- ↑ "1969 Motor Trend 500 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
- ↑ "1970 Motor Trend 500 information". Driver Averages. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
- ↑ "1970 Motor Trend 500 information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
| Preceded by 1969 Motor Trend 500 |
Motor Trend 500 races 1964-71 |
Succeeded by 1971 Motor Trend 500 |
| Preceded by 1969 Texas 500 |
NASCAR Grand National Series Season 1969 |
Succeeded by 1970 Daytona 500 |