Three drivers entered the 1970 Wilkes 400 in a very close points race.
Bobby Isaac was just ahead of
James Hylton, and
Bobby Allison was close behind. But
Richard Petty, who was out of the points because of a shoulder injury suffered at Darlington in May, was considered the favorite to win the race. Isaac started from the pole for a record-tying fourth consecutive time, matching Fred Lorenzen and Herb Thomas with a qualifying lap time of 21.346 seconds / 105.406 mph. Fans were given quite a show as Isaac and Petty exchanged the lead 11 times throughout the race. Isaac, in the
Nord Krauskopf's K&K Insurance Dodge, led 179 laps and took the win by six car lengths over Petty. Petty, who had started the race in third position led the most laps in the race with 216. Bobby Allison started fourth and finished fourth behind his brother,
Donnie Allison. And Hylton finished fifth at the end of day. Isaac advanced to become the 1970 Winston Cup Champion at season's end, with Allison being the runner-up in points. Bad weather in 1971 caused the Wilkes 400 to be postponed to November 21. Due to the
Grand National Series' struggling car counts, cars from NASCAR's Grand American Series were allowed to run in this race.
Charlie Glotzbach broke the track record in qualifying at 20.919 seconds / 107.558 mph. It was the first lap ever run under 21 seconds at North Wilkesboro, ending
Bobby Isaac's run of five consecutive poles at the track.
Tiny Lund, driving a 1970 Camaro, qualified sixth and led just seven laps on his way to the victory. Lund also won another race driving the Camaro that season at Hickory. Glotzbach finished second, six seconds behind Lund, after leading 76 laps in the race.
Richard Petty started from the outside pole and led 306 laps to finish third.
Dave Marcis finished fourth, two laps down, and
Benny Parsons rounded out the top five.
Bobby Allison was the only other driver to lead, running 11 laps out front before losing an engine before the half. The Wilkes 400 in 1972 was one of the wildest finishes in
NASCAR Cup Series history.
Buddy Baker won the pole in the No. 71 K&K Insurance Dodge owned by
Nord Krauskopf, but he only led the first lap of the race.
Richard Petty and
Bobby Allison swapped the lead for the rest of the race, beating, and banging each other for the win. At times was more of a demolition derby than a race. Both cars were destroyed by the end, with Allison's car noticeably smoking. This was the peak of the Petty-Allison rivalry. Petty was declared the winner, but in Victory Lane, a fan tried to attack him. But he was defended by his helmet-wielding brother,
Maurice Petty. This was Richard Petty's last of 137 wins in a Plymouth. In the Gwyn Staley 400 of 1973,
Bobby Allison landed on the pole with a qualifying lap of 21.077 seconds / 106.750 MPH.
Richard Petty qualified on the outside pole, and in dominating fashion he led 386 laps, winning by over four laps. It was Petty's tenth career win at North Wilkesboro and his 151st career NASCAR victory.
Benny Parsons led six laps and finished second.
Buddy Baker finished third in the No. 71 K&K Insurance Dodge owned by
Nord Krauskopf. Allison lead seven laps and finished fourth in the race. Cecil Gordon rounded out the top five finishers.
Yvon DuHamel, a top AMA road racer from Quebec, drove a Mercury prepared by
Junie Donlavey and finished in tenth place in his only career Cup race. Twenty of the 30 cars that entered the race were running at the finish. In the Wilkes 400 of 1973
Bobby Allison, driving for his own No. 12 Coca-Cola team, won the pole position. He and
Richard Petty led most of the race, Allison with 161 and Petty with 222. As Petty led the race late, Allison pitted and got fresh tires on a late pit stop, running down Petty and passing him on the final lap. It was considered as one of the most exciting races ever at North Wilkesboro Speedway. In 1975 the
NASCAR Baby Grand Series, later known as Goody's Dash Series, ran its first race at North Wilkesboro, with a win by
Dean Combs. Thirty-seven races were run at the track from 1975-1984,1986-1987, and 1995-1996. Dean Combs had the most wins at the track with 15 victories. In the Gwyn Staley 400 of 1977,
Cale Yarborough became the first driver to win a
NASCAR Cup Series race on his birthday.
Neil Bonnett beat Yarborough for the pole, but in the race Yarborough led 320 laps on the way to his birthday victory. Only the top three, Yarborough,
Richard Petty and
Benny Parsons finished on the lead lap. In the Wilkes 400 of 1978,
Darrell Waltrip won the pole in his No. 88 Gatorade DiGard team Chevrolet. Waltrip led the first 381 laps of the 400-lap race. But with 19 laps remaining,
Cale Yarborough passed Waltrip and took the win. Yarborough and Waltrip were the only drivers to finish on the lead lap in the 27-car field. This ninth win of the season for Yarborough virtually locked his third straight NASCAR Cup Series championship driving for car owner Junior Johnson. ==Race report==