On June 14, 1970, a small crowd of 18,500 fans gathered at the 2.62-mile Riverside International Raceway road course in California for the Falstaff 400. A 40-car Grand National field took on the demanding layout for this mid-season NASCAR event.
Bobby Allison earned the pole position with a qualifying speed of 111.621 mph. The race saw three caution periods for a total of just 13 laps, keeping the action flowing on the tricky road course.
Richard Petty, in his Plymouth, put on a dominating performance. He led all but four laps and pulled away to win by a full lap over Bobby Allison. James Hylton finished third, followed by John Soares Jr. in fourth and Dick Gulstrand in fifth. Petty’s winning average speed was 101.120 mph.
Notably, there were no factory-backed Fords in the field that day. The victory paid $18,840 to Petty and marked his fifth win of the 1970 season, further strengthening his championship position.
