The 1970 Tidewater 300 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on Sunday, November 22, 1970, at Langley Field Speedway in Hampton, Virginia.
Economic issues and the need to increase the total amount of winnings for each qualifying participant required NASCAR to accept a major corporate sponsor to bankroll what will become multimillion-dollar purses by the end of the 20th century.
Other top participants were Benny Parsons (with his first career pole position), Pete Hamilton, John Sears, James Hylton, Neil Castles, Elmo Langley, J.D.
[4] Notable crew chiefs for this race included Junie Donlavey, Harry Hyde, Lee Gordon and Don Lawrence.
Many of the "pioneer race courses" did not survive NASCAR's abbreviated schedule as the organizers believed that the older tracks were not modern enough for the faster and newer vehicles.
Using their once-abundant profit margin they acquired while getting America's adult smokers to use their products on a habitual basis, the new primary sponsor would help bring NASCAR into its "modern era."
Giveaway products in later years like T-shirts, knives, and cigarette lighters were often used as merchandise items handed out by American variety stores.
Reynolds' premier cigarette brand would remain as NASCAR's top sponsor until 2004 when a telecommunications company known as Nextel Communications would take over due to declining North American tobacco sales in the 21st century.