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1970 Georgia 500

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1970 Georgia 500
Race details[1][2]
Race 46 of 48 in the 1970 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date November 8, 1970; 53 years ago (1970-11-08)
Official name Georgia 250
Location Middle Georgia Raceway, Byron, Georgia
Course Permanent racing facility
0.548 mi (0.882 km)
Distance 500 laps, 227 mi (441 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds up to 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
Average speed 83.284 miles per hour (134.033 km/h)
Attendance 6,500[3]
Pole position
Driver
Petty Enterprises
Most laps led
Driver Bobby Isaac K&K Insurance Racing
Laps 226
Winner
No. 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1970 Georgia 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on November 8, 1970, at Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia.

NASCAR officials would record four engine-related incidents, one major fire, two issues related to the vehicle's suspension and an oil leak.[3]

Summary

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.

Five hundred laps took place on a paved oval track spanning .548 miles (0.882 km) for a grand total of 274.0 miles (441.0 km).[2][3] The race took three hours, thirteen minutes, and thirty-three seconds to reach its conclusion; Richard Petty (racing for Petty Enterprises) defeated Bobby Isaac in fourteen seconds.[2][3] The pole position speed was 94.064 miles per hour (151.381 km/h); accomplished by Richard Petty.[2][3] Total winnings for this race were $20,000 ($156,915.17 when considering inflation) with the winner receiving most of $3,275 ($25,694.86 when considering inflation).[2][3]

Earlier that year, the second annual Atlanta International Pop Festival was held in the same venue as this racing event. Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers Band performed in front of 300,000 concertgoers; the town had a population of about 2,000.[4] In comparison to this summer musical festival that took place from July 3–5, this autumn racing event only attracted 6500 people in order to see stock car vehicles travel at speeds averaging 83.284 miles per hour or 134.033 kilometres per hour throughout the entire event.[2][3]

Finishing order

  1. Richard Petty (No. 43)
  2. Bobby Isaac† (No. 71)
  3. Dick Brooks† (No. 32)
  4. Bobby Allison (No. 22)
  5. John Sears† (No. 4)
  6. James Hylton (No. 48)
  7. Benny Parsons† (No. 72)
  8. Elmo Langley† (No. 64)
  9. Jabe Thomas (No. 25)
  10. Cecil Gordon† (No. 24)
  11. Neil Castles (No. 06)
  12. Ben Arnold (No. 76)
  13. Bill Champion† (No. 10)
  14. Jimmy Watson (No. 16)
  15. Friday Hassler† (No. 39)
  16. Henley Gray (No. 19)
  17. Bill Shirey (No. 74)
  18. Roy Mayne* (No. 77)
  19. Jim Vandiver* (No. 58)
  20. Morgan Shepherd* (No. 93)
  21. Wendell Scott*† (No. 34)
  22. Joe Frasson* (No. 8)
  23. Lee Roy Carrigg* (No. 87)
  24. Dave Marcis* (No. 26)
  25. Bill Dennis* (No. 54)
  26. Rod Eulenfield* (No. 89)
  27. Frank Warren* (No. 79)
  28. E.J. Trivette* (No. 02)
  29. Dick May*† (No. 67)
  30. Larry Baumel* (No. 68)

* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased

Timeline

  • Start: Richard Petty was leading the starting grid as the green flag was waved
  • Lap 4: Larry Baumel's vehicle developed engine problems
  • Lap 37: Dick Brooks took over the lead from Richard Petty
  • Lap 54: Dick May's vehicle developed problems with its suspension
  • Lap 68: E.J. Trivette managed to lose the rear end of his vehicle
  • Lap 78: Frank Warren's vehicle developed problems with its suspension
  • Lap 80: Rod Eulenfeld's vehicle caught on fire due to the high speeds
  • Lap 85: Richard Petty took over the lead from Dick Brooks
  • Lap 86: Dick Brooks took over the lead from Richard Petty
  • Lap 105: Bill Dennis' vehicle developed problems with its ignition
  • Lap 131: Dave Marcis' vehicle developed engine problems
  • Lap 139: Bobby Isaac took over the lead from Dick Brooks
  • Lap 141: Dick Brooks took over the lead from Bobby Isaac
  • Lap 173: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Dick Brooks
  • Lap 181: Lee Roy Carrig's vehicle developed engine problems
  • Lap 201: Bobby Isaac took over the lead from Bobby Allison
  • Lap 223: Oil started leaking out of Joe Frasson's vehicle; knocking him out the race
  • Lap 265: Wendell Scott's vehicle developed engine problems
  • Lap 285: Jim Vandiver managed to lose the rear end of his vehicle
  • Lap 404: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Isaac
  • Lap 405: Roy Mayne's vehicle developed engine problems
  • Lap 411: Bobby Isaac took over the lead from Richard Petty
  • Lap 413: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Isaac
  • Lap 426: Bobby Isaac took over the lead from Richard Petty
  • Lap 445: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Isaac
  • Finish: Richard Petty was officially declared the winner of the race

References

  1. ^ "1970 Georgia 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "1970 Georgia 500 information (third reference)". Race Database. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "1970 Georgia 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  4. ^ Morris, Linda S. (16 July 2011). "Byron raceway roars back to life in car ads". Macon.com. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Races
1970 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Richard Petty's Career Wins
1960-1984 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Georgia 500 races
1970 		Succeeded by
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