1970 NASCAR Grand National Recap

Bobby Isaac overtook James Hylton in late August and won the 1970 NASCAR Grand National champion­ship. It was the most competitive title chase in NASCAR history. A total of seven drivers swapped the points lead on 12 occasions during the 48-race campaign, a record that still stands.

1970 NASCAR Grand National Champion Bobby Isaac

Isaac moved to the front with a ­runner-up finish in the Talladega 500 and stayed atop the standings for the final 14 events. Hylton lost his fading hopes for the championship when he crashed in Charlotte's National 500 in October. Bobby Allison surged past Hylton to capture second place in the final standings, 51 points behind Isaac.

For the second straight year, Richard Petty's hopes for a third title were dashed when he missed five races due to an injury suffered at Darlington. The King managed to climb to fourth place in the standings at the end of the ­season.

The seven drivers who led the points standings at one point in the 1970 season were Isaac, Hylton, Allison, Petty, Dave Marcis, Neil Castles, and LeeRoy Yarbrough. See the chart below for the complete 1970 NASCAR Grand National Standings.

1970 NASCAR Grand National Standings

Rank	Driver	Points	Wins	Earnings
1	Bobby Isaac	3,911	11	$199,600
2	Bobby Allison	3,860	3	149,745
3	James Hylton	3,788	1	78,201
4	Richard Petty	3,447	18	151,124
5	Neil Castles	3,158	0	49,746
6	Elmo Langley	3,154	0	45,193
7	Jabe Thomas	3,120	0	42,958
8	Benny Parsons	2,993	0	59,402
9	Dave Marcis	2,820	0	41,111
10	Frank Warren	2,697	0	35,161
11	Cecil Gordon	2,514	0	32,713
12	John Sears	2,465	0	32,675
13	Dick Brooks	2,460	0	53,754
14	Wendell Scott	2,425	0	28,518
15	Bill Champion	2,350	0	30,943
16	J.D. McDuffie	2,079	0	24,905
17	Ben Arnold	1,997	0	25,805
18	Bill Seifert	1,962	0	25,647
19	Henley Gray	1,871	0	23,130
20	Friday Hassler	1,831	0	27,535
21	Pete Hamilton	1,819	3	131,406
22	Joe Frasson	1,723	0	20,172
23	David Pearson	1,716	1	87,118
24	Buddy Baker	1,555	1	63,510
25	Bill Dennis	1,432	0	15,630
26	Ed Negre	1,413	0	14,580
27	G.C. Spencer	1,410	0	17,915
28	Charlie Glotzbach	1,358	3	50,649
29	Roy Mayne	1,333	0	16,910
30	Bill Shirey	1,244	0	12,215
31	Raymond Williams	1,204	0	12,535
32	Larry Baumel	1,138	0	16,645
33	Buddy Arrington	1,087	0	16,845
34	Cale Yarborough	1,016	3	115,875
35	Dr. Don Tarr	995	0	16,592
36	Johnny Halford	975	0	15,645
37	Earl Brooks	884	0	10,340
38	Coo Coo Marlin	876	0	14,799
39	Ron Keselowski	855	0	11,985
40	Donnie Allison	841	3	96,081
41	Ken Meisenhelder	812	0	7,020
42	Roy Tyner	631	0	5,565
43	LeeRoy Yarbrough	625	1	61,930
44	Dick May	551	0	4,510
45	Jim Vandiver	519	0	16,080
46	John Kenney	457	0	4,150
47	Dub Simpson	367	0	4,115
48	Leroy Carrigg	355	0	4,130
49	Joe Phipps	325	0	4,090
50	Wayne Smith	300	0	4,505

For more information on all things NASCAR, see:

• NASCAR Home Page
• NASCAR Season Recaps
• NASCAR Tracks
• NASCAR Results
• NASCAR Drivers
• How NASCAR Race Cars Work
• How the Daytona 500 Works