• The July issue of Playboy Magazine contains an article on Grand National driver Richard Petty.

• Marty Robbins, celebrated star of Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, competes in his first Grand National race, at the Nashville (Tenn.) Fairgrounds, finishing 25th.

• Curtis Turner competes in the Aug. 18 Grand National event at Columbia (S.C.) Speedway wearing a three-piece business suit. "Holly Farms (his sponsor) told me that I was going to have to wear a suit," remarked Turner. "They didn't specify what kind of suit, so I wore my best."

• Turner, who finished third in the Columbia event, wears a racing uniform in his next effort.

• Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson, both with 50 career NASCAR Winston Cup victories, retire as drivers following the Oct. 30 500-miler at Rockingham's North Carolina Motor Speedway.

• David Pearson scores his first Grand National championship in a season-long duel with rookie driver James Hylton.