Don't get me wrong, I hate
being middle aged! For the past year,
it's been legit for me to order from the
senior menu at the local hash house. I
dislike young men and women calling me "maam"
at the supermarket then wanting to wheel
my groceries out to my car for me. Even
though I love them, my two vintage race
cars are 30+ years old and I'll be
racing them in a senior type series. I'd
much rather race a new DIRT modified
with the big guys. But James Hylton and
his lifelong friend building a team from
scratch with good equipment and
attempting to make the Daytona 500 makes
me feel like a kid again.
For those of you who live on Pluto
and haven't gotten the word, James
Hylton is 72 years old. Working his way
up through being a wrench for modified
legend Frankie Scheinder, then working
with Ned Jarrett's Grand National Ford
team in '64, James bought a '65 Dodge
from Cotton Owens and set out to achieve
his goal of driving himself. With one
car, James ran 41 of 49 races and was
christened NASCAR Grand National Rookie
of the Year in 1966. For a reason beyond
me, the Ford and Chrysler's factory
teams overlooked James's skills. So he
became an independent driver for the
rest of his career. How far James's
career might have gone in a factory ride
we'll never know, but I wouldn't be
surprised if he won more races and a
Championship or two. This guy was good!
Racing without factory support, James
became a "money racer" by necessity.. To
keep grits on the table and his car on
the track, James's priority was to avoid
taking unnecessary chances on the track,
bring his car home in one piece, a
finish as high as he could in each race
and hope for a good end of the year
profit from the points fund. Some folks
derisively called drivers like James "strokers",
but the truth is that the little guys
back then were living a dream that many
of us would have loved to live. His
skills were great enough that he
finished 2nd in the point standings 3
times and in the top 10 5 times during
his career. Not too shabby, yes?
Racing as an independent didn't mean
not taking a shot at winning if
circumstances were right. James
accomplished this feat twice, at
Richmond in '70 in a year old Ford, and
at Talladega in 1972 in a '71 Mercury.
These races weren't flukes either. Upon
his return from Indy cars in '72, Cale
Yarborough drove for James Hylton. If it
hadn't been for his primary sponsor, Pop
Kola not coming through with the money,
James may well have had a winning career
as a car owner and driver. He also
trained many legendary crew chiefs. Andy
Petree, Dale Earnhart's crew chief
during several of his championship years
learned his trade with Hylton, living in
a 12 foot camper in James's side yard.
There were other luminaries that worked
their way into the sport by helping
James. Mr. Hylton has never officially
"retired" as a driver. He raced in
several ARCA races and made a start in a
Busch Series race late year.
So what in the heck does an old man
attempting to make The Great American
Race in a young man's world have to do
with making all of us "veteran fans"
feel proud? It's as simple as making
mud. James is proving that age
has nothing to do with reaching for the
stars! Making the field of the Daytona
500 has little to do with it. James is
already a hero in many of our eyes.
Rather than sitting at home in a rocking
chair dreaming that he were at the
'Beach behind the wheel of a stock car
as in the good old days, James is living
that dream, darn it!. He is an
inspiration for all of us over the age
of 50 that may have slacked up a bit in
life, thinking we're too old to live out
a dream. I'm certain that I'm going to
reach a bit higher for the things I
really want to do in life.. You younger
fans who want to race should draw
inspiration from James also. By climbing
through the window of the no. 58 Chevy,
James is showing the world that anything
is possible if you want it badly enough.
Enjoy a Snickers bar today!
Jan....the Tbirdchick
