Tuesday, July 24, 2012

July 24 - This day in Petty history - part 1

1970 - After winning the pole position, Richard Petty leads 172 of 200 laps and battles Bobby Isaac down the stretch to win the East Tennessee 200 at Smoky Mountain Raceway in Maryville, TN for his 110th career NASCAR Grand National win.

I spotted the King's pole-winning trophy during my visit to the Richard Petty Museum in 2011. The trophy plates aren't stamped with 1970; however, Petty only won the pole in one of his ten career starts at the track.

The race was originally scheduled for Thursday, July 23rd. East Tennessee summer rains disrupted the track's plans; however, and the race was postponed until Friday. Though the teams found themselves with a newfound day off, they had to hustle after the race to Nashville for a Saturday night 420-lap event.

Source: Hendersonville NC Times-News via Google News Archive

Article and photo of Petty/Naman courtesy of Jerry Bushmire
TMC

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