Sunday 18th January 1970

A.J. Foyt won the Motor Trend 500 NASCAR Grand National race at Riverside International Raceway in a Ford. Foyt took the lead from Parnelli Jones with 25 laps to go and took the checkered 3.5 seconds ahead of a rapidly closing Roger McCluskey in a Plymouth Super Bird. Two drivers were badly injured in seperate crashes. Runner-up for 1969 Rookie of the Year, Buddy Young lost control on oil from a blown engine and flipped wildly end over end going into turn 1. The 27 year old driver, making his first start for the L.G. DeWitt team, suffered a concussion and internal injuries. 48 year old West Coast veteran Jim Cook was critically injured when his Ford went head-on into the end of the concrete wall in turn 9, the impact so great that the car was nearly bent double. Jones qualified at a record 113.310 mph, but was forced to start at the rear following a ruling that his tires were illegal. Jones, a Firestone dealer, had qualified on tires which NASCAR officials ruled were not available in sufficient quantity to make them eligible for competition. A crowd of 43,200 was on hand.