SEASON REWIND
BLAST
FROM THE
PAST
BY BEN WHITE BEST DRIVER RICHARD PETTY, driving the No. 43 Petty Enterprises Plymouth, enjoyed one of his best seasons in 1970
•• Buddy Baker – 1970 Southern 500 Bobby Isaac and Bobby Allison proved to be the top championship contenders of the 1970 NASCAR Cup Series season, collecting a combined 14 victories during the 48-race schedule. After years of success as a short-track racer around his home state of North Carolina, Isaac entered NASCAR’s top division in 1961. In his ninth Cup Series season, Isaac finally found success with a championship-caliber team owned by Nord Krauskopf. Isaac placed the No. 71 K&K Insurance Dodges on the pole 13 times with the help of such mechanical stars as Hall of Fame crew chiefs Harry Hyde and Buddy Parrott. Chrysler’s winged Dodges and Plymouths were in their second year of competition, but Isaac and Hyde discovered some of their greatest tricks in the square-nosed Dodge used on short tracks. Amazingly, Isaac won his lone championship by notching all 11 of his victories that season on short tracks. The native of Catawba, North Carolina, native logged 32 top-five finishes in 47 starts. By season’s end, Isaac accumulated 51 more points than Allison to claim the title.
with 18 NASCAR Cup Series victories. The native of Level Cross, North Carolina, led 5,007 of 10,536 laps completed during his 40-race schedule. However, 10 DNFs relegated Petty to fourth in the final standings. BEST RACE ON SEPT. 7, 1970, Buddy Baker wheeled a winged Dodge Charger to victory in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. The son of NASCAR champion Buck Baker led 88 of 367 laps for his third of 19-career victories in a car owned by former driver Cotton Owens.
SEASON RECAP DATE LOCATION January 18 Riverside International Raceway February 19 Daytona International Speedway February 19 Daytona International Speedway February 22 Daytona International Speedway March 1 Richmond Raceway March 8 Rockingham Speedway March 15 Savannah Speedway March 29 Atlanta Motor Speedway April 5 Bristol Motor Speedway April 12 Talladega Superspeedway April 18 North Wilkesboro Speedway April 30 Columbia Speedway May 9 Darlington Speedway May 15 Beltsville Speedway May 18 Langley Speedway May 24 Charlotte Motor Speedway May 28 Smoky Mountain Raceway May 31 Martinsville Speedway June 7 Michigan International Speedway June 14 Riverside International Raceway June 20 Hickory Motor Speedway June 26 Kingsport Speedway June 27 Greenville-Pickens Speedway July 4 Daytona International Speedway July 7 Albany-Saratoga Speedway July 9 Thompson Speedway July 12 Trenton Speedway July 19 Bristol Motor Speedway July 24 Smoky Mountain Raceway July 25 Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway August 2 Atlanta Motor Speedway August 6 Columbia Speedway August 11 International Raceway Park August 16 Michigan International Speedway August 23 Talladega Superspeedway August 28 Bowman Gray Stadium August 29 South Boston Speedway September 7 Darlington Raceway September 11 Hickory Motor Speedway September 13 Richmond Raceway September 20 Dover International Speedway September 30 State Fairgrounds Speedway October 4 North Wilkesboro Speedway October 11 Charlotte Motor Speedway October 18 Martinsville Speedway November 8 Middle Georgia Raceway November 15 Rockingham Speedway November 22 Langley Speedway
TOP CARS BOBBY ISAAC,
PRESIDENT
driving the No. 71
Richard Nixon
K&K Insurance Dodge
N O . 1 AT T H E B O X O F F I C E
owned by Nord
Love Story
Krauskopf, won 11 short-track races en route to claiming the 1970 NASCAR Cup Series championship. Bobby Allison’s No. 22 Coca-Cola Dodge owned by Mario Rossi was a threetime Cup Series winner that year.
66
POLE POSITION 2021
WINNER A.J. Foyt Cale Yarborough Charlies Glotzbach Pete Hamilton James Hylton Richard Petty Richard Petty Bobby Allison Donnie Allison Pete Hamilton Richard Petty Richard Petty David Pearson Bobby Isaac Bobby Isaac Donnie Allison Bobby Isaac Bobby Isaac Cale Yarborough Richard Petty Bobby Isaac Richard Petty Bobby Isaac Donnie Allison Richard Petty Bobby Isaac Richard Petty Bobby Allison Richard Petty Bobby Isaac Richard Petty Bobby Isaac Richard Petty Charlie Glotzbach Pete Hamilton Richard Petty Richard Petty Buddy Baker Bobby Isaac Richard Petty Richard Petty Richard Petty Bobby Isaac LeeRoy Yarbrough Richard Petty Richard Petty Cale Yarborough Bobby Allison
NO. 1 SONG
“Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel
1970
P O P C U LT U R E
Monday Night Football debuts on ABC GALLON OF GAS
36¢
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES
