Hylton Turns 700 at Pocono
LONG POND PA (6-2-09) - The 2.5-mile triangular Pocono Raceway, nestled in
the heart of the scenic Pocono Mountains, has long been one of James
Harvey Hylton's favorite tracks.
That said, it should make the perfect setting for the 74-year-old Inman,
South Carolina stock car legend to make his 700th career start in a major
sanctioning body when the Pocono ARCA 200 rolls off Saturday, June 6.
Hylton's storied career includes starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
(601), the ARCA RE/MAX Series (82), the NASCAR Grand National East
Division (6), the NASCAR Nationwide Series (3), the USAC Stock Car
Division (3), the NASCAR Grand American Division (3), and IMSA (1).
>From the 2/10ths-mile Islip Speedway in New York to the 2.66-mile
Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, Hylton has competed on a wide variety
of track shapes and sizes on both dirt and pavement.
"Throughout my career, I've raced on every surface imaginable," said
Hylton. "In the sixties, we'd run a one-third mile dirt track one day and
then turn around and run a high-banked paved oval the next."
James Hylton made his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (formerly Grand
National division) at the Old Dominion 400 at Manassas, VA on July 8,
1964. Hylton finished 19th in a 1964 Ford Galaxy and collected $100 for
his efforts.
"Ned Jarrett let me drive a few races in 1964 in a Bondy Long car. At the
road course in Bridgehampton, New York, I was only supposed to run a few
laps, then bring the car into the garage. Ned knew how badly I wanted to
race, so he put a lock on the gas cap to make sure I didn't get excited
and run the whole race!"
Throughout his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, Hylton earned 2 wins at
Richmond and Talladega, 301 top-10s and 140 top-5s. He was the Cup Rookie
of the Year in 1966 and three times finished runner-up in championship
points, twice to Richard Petty and once to David Pearson.
When asked who were among his toughest competitors, Hylton lists legends
such as the Allison's, David Pearson, Richard Petty, Curtis Turner,
Fireball Roberts, and singles out Cale Yarborough.
"When you tried to keep up with Cale at places like Darlington or Bristol,
you pretty much had your hands full."
His best ARCA finish was sixth at Daytona in 1975. Hylton most recently
(April '09) finished 15th in the ARCA race at Talladega on the lead lap
(right).
Hylton's career has not been limited to only full body stock cars, as he
has competed in four sports car races including a win in the 1970 Citrus
250.
"The Citrus 250 was a NASCAR Grand American race held on the road course
at Daytona," added Hylton, "I won it in a 1969 Camaro owned by Barry
Divers and I used the skills I learned as a teenager running through the
backwoods roads of rural Virginia."
In 1976, Hylton teamed up with NASCAR rival Richard Childress for the IMSA
24 Hours of Daytona. Hylton and Childress drove a specially-modified 1976
Chevrolet Laguna S-3 to a second place finish in class and a 19th place
overall finish in the 73 car field.
"That was a lot of fun. We held our own against the Porsche and BMW teams
with that big old car. At one point we even had the car in 9th place but
at 3:00 am, we lost our transmission."
Hylton has witnessed many changes occur in the sport of automobile racing
throughout his 700 races.
"When I first started, it was still your basic Saturday night type of
racing. Over the years it has grown into a full-fledged professional
sport."
When it comes to the racecars themselves, Hylton has seen many
technological and mechanical changes as well.
"The big block hemi motors we ran back in the sixties had so much torque
that you could almost break your neck when you accelerated, but today's
cars handle much better with the advances in tire and suspension
technology."
Over the course of his career, Hylton has established a new standard for
longevity in the sporting world.
"I grew up working hard seven days a week on the farm and I've carried
that philosophy with me into my racing endeavors. If anyone asked me for
my secret to life-long endurance, I'd tell them to eat healthy, leave
cigarettes alone, and drink plenty of milk."
Hylton's career-best ARCA finish at Pocono was 14th in 1989 and 1997.
On-track activity for the Pocono ARCA 200 starts Friday, June 5 with
practice from 10:15 AM to 11:55 AM. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by
Ansell follows at 1:45 PM. The Pocono ARCA 200 kicks off Saturday
afternoon, June 6 at 1:00 PM and will be televised same-day on SPEED at
4:00 PM ET.
In addition, the ARCA Racing Network will carry live streaming audio
coverage of the Pocono ARCA 200 at ARCAracing.com inside the ARCA Nation.
Tickets for the Pocono ARCA 200, the SPRINT Cup Series event and the
entire 2009 Pocono Raceway season are available by contacting the Pocono
Raceway Ticket Office at 1-800-RACEWAY (1-800-722-3929), or through
http://www.poconoraceway.com/.
