1970 California 500

Plans for Ontario Motor Speedway were announced on February 16, 1966. Its primary financial backers were the Stolte Construction Company and Filmways Inc., a film production company that produced television shows such as The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, and The Addams Family. Upon the announcement, USAC agreed to sanction a pair of 500-mile races for Indy cars and stock cars. The inaugural race was scheduled for December 1, 1968.[1]

Advertised as the "Indianapolis of the West", the track was similar in design to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a 2.5-mile oval with four distinct turns. In addition, the track would feature a 3.1-mile road course in the infield and a quarter-mile drag strip on the frontstretch. The track would have seating for over 150,000 spectators, standing room for 100,000 additional people, parking for 68,000 cars, and a control tower in the infield that stood 14 stories high.[1]

The economy and bond market slowed in mid-1966 when funding was being raised, leading to delays in construction. Filmways withdrew from the project.[2] In early 1967, Ontario informed USAC that construction would not be completed by the December 1968 target date. USAC responded by holding races at the nearby Riverside International Raceway between 1967 and 1969.[3]

Once funding was secured through the selling of bonds, groundbreaking on the track officially took place on September 25, 1968. Dignitaries attending the ceremony included local officials and actor Kirk Douglas. Construction costs were anticipated to cost $25.5 million.[4]

In 1969, USAC announced the California 500 would be held on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend for the next 10 years, beginning on September 6, 1970. USAC President, Charlie Brockman, declared "Ontario Motor Speedway is the most exciting and promising development in automobile racing since Tony Hulman bought the Indianapolis Speedway in 1946."[5]

In May 1970, Al Unser won the Indianapolis 500.

Opening ceremonies for the track occurred on Sunday, August 9, 1970. Exhibitions of drag racing, stock car racing, and Indy car racing were done, followed by a Pro-Am celebrity race. Celebrities were teamed with pro drivers in new Porsches, with the pro driving three laps, the celebrity driving three laps, the pro again driving three laps, and the celebrities driving the final three laps. Professional drivers included Bobby Unser, Dan Gurney, Al Unser, Parnelli Jones, Mario Andretti, and Mark Donohue. Celebrities included Dick Smothers, Hugh Downs, Pancho Gonzalez, Paul Newman, James Garner, Pete Conrad, Dino Martin, and Ken Venturi. Unser and Smothers teamed to win the race followed by Donohue and Conrad.[6]

Practice for the California 500 officially opened on Saturday, August 22. 27,852 spectators attended the practice session, attracted by free admission. Only seven cars made practice runs. Mark Donohue posted the fastest speed at 165.14 mph. The six-hour practice session was delayed over an hour due to faulty caution lights on the backstretch. Kevin Bartlett was the first driver to go on track when practice began. Bartlett was also responsible for the only incident of the day when he spun in turn one but avoided any damage.[7]

Donohue upped his speed to 169.81 mph on day two.[8] On Monday, Donohue posted a speed of 171.4 mph.[9] On Tuesday, the Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing teammates of Joe Leonard and Al Unser began practicing. Leonard posted the fastest speed at 172.41 mph. Practice ended one hour early as a dust storm covered the track.[10]

On Wednesday, Leonard ran a speed of 175.10 mph. At speed, Mario Andretti's car lost a nose cone on the frontstretch. "It just popped off and flew right over my head. Otherwise it was no problem." For the second straight day, practice ended an hour early due to dust storms.[11]

Leonard upped his speed to 177.2 mph on Thursday. Unser was second at 175.8 mph, followed by Johnny Rutherford at 175.4 mph. The first crash at the track occurred when Greg Weld spun in turn two and hit the wall broadside. The car was repaired. A $1 million lawsuit filed by George Follmer against USAC was settled. Follmer had been suspended for running two unauthorized Trans-Am races but was allowed to begin practicing on Friday.[12]

Friday's practice saw Al Unser fastest at 176.8 mph. Dan Gurney was second at 176.1 mph. Joe Leonard suffered a fire when a fuel coupling broke on track. When he returned to the pits, the car ignited and he quickly jumped from the vehicle. Fire crews quickly extinguished the flames and Leonard suffered no burns, only singed hair on his legs. Jack Brabham practiced at 171.76 mph and left to run the Italian Grand Prix. He turned his car over to NASCAR racer Lee Roy Yarbrough, who was at the track as a spectator.[13] Yarbrough's entry into the race forced him to withdraw from NASCAR's Southern 500.[14]

Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman delivered the command to start engines. 180,223 spectators attended the inaugural California 500.[19] It was the largest crowd ever to see a sports event in California and the third-largest sports event in American sports history, behind only Indianapolis 500s and Indy 500 qualifying sessions.[20]

For the first time, the cars used an electronic timing and scoring system. Developed by Conrac, transponders were placed on the cars which transmitted to antennas buried beneath the track.[21] A. J. Foyt told officials he thought the transponder electrical signals would interfere with his car but USAC officials forced him to use it. Pitting with mechanical problems early in the race, Foyt got out of his car and knocked the transponder off his car with a hammer. He was manually scored for the rest of the race.[22]

From his starting spot on the pole, Lloyd Ruby led the opening lap. Indianapolis champion, Al Unser, moved from fourth to take the lead on lap two. As Ruby retook the lead, at the rear of the field, Jim Hurtubise blew an engine and crashed in turn three. After being checked and released from the infield hospital, Hurtubise complained of head and rib pain and was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated overnight and released the next morning.[23]

On the restart for Hurtubise's crash, Unser took the lead. From there, he was untouchable. Dan Gurney led for four laps when Unser made a pit stop on lap 47. Peter Revson led eight laps when Unser pitted on lap 139. At the halfway point, Gurney cut a tire in turn three and spun 360 degrees, impacting the wall with the right-rear wheel.

As the race entered the final hundred miles, Unser was in a lap of his own. Peter Revson in second and LeeRoy Yarbrough in third were Unser's closest competition a lap behind.

On lap 174, Joe Leonard spun into the infield in turn four and brought out a caution. Unser, Revson, and Yarbrough pitted for fuel. While stopped, Revson's engine shut off and wouldn't restart. His McLaren team took nine minutes to diagnose the problem as a bad coil. He recovered to finish fifth.[24]

After leading 166 laps, Unser's car slowed to a stop with 14 laps remaining. Yarbrough inherited the lead. With a margin of two laps over second place, it appeared the stock car driver would score an unlikely victory.[19] With eight laps remaining, Yarbrough suffered a broken piston and blew an engine, coasting to a stop in turn four. Yarbrough drew cheers from the crowd as he pushed his car back to the pits.[25]

After starting 32nd, Art Pollard inherited the lead upon Yarbrough's retirement with eight laps to go. Jim McElreath was in second. Almost at the same time as Yarbrough's failure, McElreath's car-owner, A.J. Foyt, crashed in turn four. Uninjured, Foyt helped safety crews push his car off the track to ensure a green flag finish.

When the green flag was waved with five laps to go, McElreath pulled to the inside of Pollard entering turn one and took the lead. With three laps remaining, McElreath bobbled in turn three and allowed Pollard to take the lead. One turn later, Pollard overdrove the turn and drifted high, allowing McElreath to retake the lead. McElreath led the rest of the way and won by two seconds over Pollard.[26]

McElreath earned $146,850 for the victory. Governor of California, Ronald Reagan presented the trophy in victory lane to McElreath. Pollard's team protested the finish, claiming they were a lap ahead of McElreath but USAC's scoring confirmed McElreath as the winner.[27] Pre-race concerns about tire wear were unfounded, with McElreath changing only one tire during the race and Pollard running all 500 miles without ever changing tires.[19]

President Richard Nixon flew over the track in a helicopter during the race. Nixon had been staying at his California home, dubbed the Western White House for the past 18 days. That afternoon, he took a helicopter to visit his 90-year-old aunt at a nursing home and surveyed two potential sites for his Presidential Library. The President made a few circles over the race before returning to his home and back to Washington D.C. later that evening.[28] The sights encouraged the President to invite auto racing participants to the White House on September 21, 1971.[29]

Like the Indianapolis 500, the California 500 was broadcast on closed-circuit television at select theaters across the country. Keith Jackson and Alan Courtney were the announcers. The coverage was panned by critics over its lack of replays, failure to notice spins, a mere two interviews with drivers, and not realizing Jim McElreath was in the lead until three laps remaining.[30][31][32]