• Plymouth introduces the winged SuperBird, similar to the Dodge Daytona, and lures Richard Petty back into the Chrysler fold after a one-year hiatus with Ford.

• ABC Sports announces plans to televise several Grand National races live.

• The first ABC Sports telecast is the inaugural Alabama 500 at Talladega. Others include the 400-miler at Darlington, the World 600 at Charlotte and the Nashville 400. All telecasts are joined in progress. The Firecracker 400 at Daytona receives same day delayed TV coverage as part of ABC's "Wide World of Sports."

• Daytona 500 winner Pete Hamilton appears on the syndicated television show "The Dating Game."

• Hamilton also receives a letter from President Richard M. Nixon, who watched the Alabama 500 on live television.

• Buddy Baker becomes the first driver to clock an official lap of more than 200 mph in a special speed run at Talladega on March 24. Baker is timed at 200.447 mph in a winged Dodge Daytona.

• The first Grand National race to be run with restrictor plates is the 1970 Yankee 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Charlie Glotzbach wins the race in a Dodge Daytona.

• The final Grand National race staged on a dirt track is run Sept. 30 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. Richard Petty wins in a Plymouth.

• Bobby Isaac establishes a new all-time record on a closed course by turning a 201.104 mph lap at Talladega in a special speed run on Nov. 24.

• Isaac wins his first Grand National championship.