I think you answered your own question.
There are varying degrees of driver skill and you say average driver. Very hard to compare what you would think average is to a pro driver. I know a couple of people that could play pro baseball or football that did not..are they average because they did not do it for a living?
As far as car technology goes...that is like bringing a knife to a gun fight. The amount of power that is being made now is head and shoulders above back then and as Scott addressed, the tire technology is light years past 1969.
The Trans Am series had limitations on what could be done to the vehicle and if you read about the Penske car, they streched the rules pretty far. They changed the bushings, suspension points, bigger sway bar and used a taller spindle.
So back to your original question...no contest on tire tech alone.
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