Though Hylton hasn't raced in the Cup series since 1993, he was a regular in the ARCA series for 23 years, running his final ARCA race in 2013 @ Kansas, for the rain shortened "Kansas Lottery 98.9", where he finished in 18th place at the age of 78~ In this post, I'm going to be focusing specifically on Hylton's 1970 season, which was the main season that he drove the #48 Ford Talladega Torino Cobra~ Though he ran other Ford makes during the season, I'm just going to discuss the season as a whole, and not focus on which races he specifically drove the Talladega in~
Colorized photo from 1972 "Talladega 500" win~
Hylton's first race driving a Ford as an owner came in the 1970 "Richmond 500", and man did he start things off on the right foot~ After falling seven laps down due to problems in the pits, Hylton soared back to the front of the pack following battery issues with Richard Petty's Plymouth~ James led the final 160 laps of the race on the way to his first career victory~ Richard Petty came in second, followed by Elmo Langley, Bobby Isaac, and Neil "Soapy" Castles~
James started and finished 3rd in the "Savannah 200" @ Savannah Speedway in Georgia, and followed that up with a 6th place finish in the "Atlanta 500", and a 4th place run in the "Southeastern 500" @ Bristol~ The following week @ Talladega, James finished in 8th place in the "Alabama 500" after starting from 22nd~
Hylton qualified 4th for the "Gwyn Staley 400" @ North Wilkesboro, and though he finished the race four laps off the pace of race winner Richard Petty, he still came home in the 4th position, earning $1,500 for the day~ North Wilkesboro paid much better than a lot of tracks back then, as Hylton's 5th place finish in the "Columbia 200" a few days later only paid $325~ Though that sounds like a very small amount of money, it was enough to keep the team going back then, albeit barely~
Side shot of Hylton's car~
Moving on to the "Rebel 400" @ Darlington, Hylton qualified 13th in the 36 car field, and was able to work his way up to a 4th place finish behind race winner David Pearson, Dick Brooks, and Bobby Isaac~ The following week saw the series in Beltsville, Maryland for the "Beltsville 300", where James picked up his only pole of the season~ He led a total of 19 laps, but was beat out by Bobby Isaac for the win~ Hylton finished runner up, followed by Bobby Allison, Neil Castles, and Dave Marcis~
The next stop on the schedule was in Hampton, Georgia for the "Tidewater 300", where Hylton qualified 3rd, and came home in the 4th spot~ He then finished 5th in the "World 600" @ Charlotte, picking up race winnings of $6,200~ Donnie Allison won the race, followed by Cale Yarborough, Benny Parsons, Tiny Lund, and Hylton~
Hylton qualified 6th for the "Maryville 200" @ Smokey Mountain Raceway in Maryville, Tennessee, and worked his way up to a runner up finish, behind Bobby Isaac~ Neil Castles finished 3rd, followed by Dick Brooks and Dave Marcis~ The 1/2 mile track didn't pay that well, with Hylton earning 900 dollars for his runner up finish, and race winner Bobby Isaac picking up 1,500 dollars~ Isaac led every lap of the event on his way to victory~
Colorized close-up of James Hylton~
Up next on the schedule was the "Virginia 500" @ Martinsville, where James qualified in the 10th position~ 39 drivers started the race, and only 1/2 of them made it to see the checkered flag~ Richard Petty won the pole for the event, but the race was rain delayed, and Petty was injured at Darlington before they could return to run the Martinville race, so the pole was given to LeeRoy Yarbrough instead, and Petty would miss the race due to his injuries~
Hylton wound up finishing the race in 7th place, and he may have finished a little bit better, but the race was ended early due to rain~ Bobby Isaac took the win, followed by Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, and Dick Brooks~ Hylton finished 8th the following week at Michigan for the running of the "Motor State 400"~ Cale Yarborough won the event, followed by the late Pete Hamilton, David Pearson, LeeRoy Yarbrough, and Bobby Isaac~
The series next raced at one of my favorite discontinued tracks on the circuit, Riverside International Raceway, in Riverside, California~ James qualified 5th, and came home in 3rd place, and I feel like this race in particular shows just how good of a racer Hylton really was~ Though he didn't win, Riverside was a fiercely tough track on equipment, as well on the drivers themselves.. so to come out of there with a 3rd place finish as an independent driver.. it must have felt like a victory for the underfunded Hylton team~ Richard Petty won the event, followed by Bobby Allison, Hylton, John Soares, Jr., and Dick Guldstrand~
Hylton battles with Bobby Isaac during the 1970 season~
Next up was Hickory, North Carolina for the "Hickory 276", where Hylton qualified in the 5th position~ Bobby Isaac was on the pole, and led all 276 laps of the event on his way to victory~ He was followed by Dick Brooks, Dave Marcis, G.C. Spencer, and Bill Seifert, who picked up the final top 5 finish of his career~ James ran well in the race, staying in the top 5 all day long, but his throttle hung up on him late in the race, putting him out of contention, and resulting in a 13th place finish in the 22 car field~
The following week the series headed to Kingsport, Tennessee for the "Kingsport 100"~ This track still exists today, and is a local favorite of mine since I live about 20 minutes away~ James qualified 7th for the event, with Richard Petty on the pole in his 1970 Plymouth~ NASCAR ran a total of three races here, with the last one being held in 1971, and Richard Petty won two of them, with Bobby Isaac winning the final event held at the track~
Petty dominated this race, leading 263 of the 297 laps on his way to one of his record 200 victories~ James finished runner up, albeit 2 laps down, and he was followed by Dave Marcis, Bobby Allison, and Neil Castles~ I should also mention about Kingsport that it started out as a dirt track, then was converted to asphalt for the 1969 season before being converted back to dirt in 1984, and eventually being converted back to asphalt as it is currently~
Hylton withdrew from the 1970 Daytona 500 in his #48, driving instead the #23 Star City Plymouth~
Hylton started 8th for the "Greenville 200" @ Greenville-Pickens Speedway, with Bobby Isaac on the pole~ Isaac led all but 10 laps of the 200 lap event on his way to victory, and Hylton finished in 4th place, three laps down~ In the return to Daytona, Hylton qualified 13th in the 40 car field, and held on for a 7th place finish~ The race was won by Donnie Allison, followed by Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison, Charlie Glotzbach, and Dick Brooks~
Next up was the tiny .362 mile paved track known as Albany-Saratoga Speedway, in Malta New York, where Hylton qualified 5th, with Isaac again claiming the pole position~ Richard Petty went on to win the race, while James fell one position to finish in 6th place~ Hylton's winnings for the race.. 300 bucks.. for a 6th place finish!~ He would then finish 8th in the "Thompson 200" @ Thompson Speedway, followed up with a 5th place effort in the "Schaefer 300" @ Trenton Speedway~
The series next raced at Bristol, for the "Volunteer 500", where Hylton had his worst finish (not counting crashes or mechanical issues) while in his own equipment, with an 11th place finish~ Bobby Allison was credited with the win in the #22 Coca-Cola Dodge, followed by LeeRoy Yarbrough, Bobby Isaac, G.C. Spencer, and Richard Petty~ When I said Allison was "credited with the win", it's because Donnie Allison was actually behind the wheel due to Bobby being under the weather~ The same goes for LeeRoy Yarbrough, as Dave Marcis was finished the race in Yarbrough's car~ Donnie and Marcis had both fell out of the race earlier due to mechanical problems~
Hylton celebrates his first career win at Richmond - 1970~ Colorized~
After all you've read so far, I still have 20 races to go to finish out Hylton's 1970 season, so forgive me, but I'm gonna speed through the remaining 20, because I only have three more pictures and this has been an extremely long post~ Hylton finished 4th in the "East Tennessee 200" @ Maryville~ That was followed up by a lap 17 crash in the "Nashville 420" @ the Nashville Fairgounds, which resulted in a 28th place finish~ He rebounded the following week with a 10th place finish in the "Dixie 500" @ Atlanta~
The next stop on the circuit was in Hylton's home state of South Carolina for the "Sandlapper 200" @ Columbia Speedway, where he scored a 9th place finish~ He then finished 2nd in the "West Virginia 300" @ Ona Speedway, which still exists today if you're ever up that way, it's worth checking out~ Hylton followed his runner up finish with a 9th place effort @ Michigan for the "Yankee 400"~
The following week the series was back in Talladega for the "Talladega 500"~ James qualified 10th in the 50 car field, and came home in the same position~ Pete Hamilton won the race in the #40 7-Up Plymouth, in what would be his final victory for Petty Enterprises~ James then went on to finish 4th in the "Myers Brothers 250" @ Winston-Salem's Bowman Gray Stadium, in a race won by Richard Petty~ This was follwed up with a 5th place run @ South Boston, where Richard Petty was again the victor~
Hylton's car awaits the start of the 1970 "Citrus 250"~
James had a 7th place finish in the "Southern 500" @ Darlington, in one of the most grueling races of the season~ He followed this up with a 5th place finish in the "Buddy Shuman 276" @ Hickory, in a race won by Bobby Isaac~ Richard Petty was second, followed by Bobby Allison, Dick Brooks, and Hylton~ This was Isaac's final race at the legendary track, as he didn't attempt to run the 1971 races, and they quit running there following that season~
After qualifying 5th for the "Capital City 500" @ Richmond, Hylton slid back a bit to finish in 8th place~ Would it surprise you to know that Richard Petty won this race?~ I didn't think so~ After qualifying 25th for the "Mason-Dixon 300" @ Dover (his worst qualifying effort of the season), Hylton clawed his way up to the front and was able to salvage a 7th place finish at the Monster Mile~ I'm gonna surprise you now and let you know that Richard Petty also won that race~ It must have been miserable back then to NOT be a Petty fan~ The guy won on a CONSTANT basis, and it must have angered a lot of fans, though I wouldn't have been one of them~ I love watching footage of vintage Petty in action~
Hylton qualified 8th for the "Home State 200" @ Raleigh, and held on for a 4th place finish~ Wouldn't you just know that the race winner was Bobby Isaac... I'm lying, it was Richard Petty again~ :P Moving on to North Wilkesboro for the "Wilkes 400", James qualified 8th, and moved up a few positions to finish in 5th place~ Bobby Isaac won the race, and I'm not lying this time.. he really did~ The King had to settle for runner-up, followed by Donnie Allison, Bobby Allison, and Hylton~
Another shot from victory lane @ Talladega - 1972~
After qualifying 16th for the "National 500" @ Charlotte, Hylton was involved in a lap 126 crash involving Don Tarr, resulting in a 29th place finish~ He would fair better in the "Old Dominion 500" @ Martinsville the following week, where he rolled of 14th, and came home in the 8th spot~ He next finish 6th in the "Georgia 500" @ Macon, followed up by an 8th place effort in the "American 500" @ Rockingham, and ended the season with a 5th place finish in the "Tidewater 300" @ Hampton~
Hylton's 1970 season ended with 47 races ran, notching 1 win (Richmond), 1 pole ( Beltsville), 22 top 5's, and a whopping 39 top 10's~ He led a total of 199 laps, and had an average start of 10.1, and an average finish of 8.1, and earned $78,201 in race winnings~ Bobby Isaac went on to win the 1970 championship, his first and final time doing so in his illustrious career~
James finished 3rd in the 1970 championship points battle~ He would finish 2nd the following season, driving a mix of Fords and Mercurys, but went winless, and for the most part sponsorless throughout the season~ He would pick up sponsorship from Pop Kola for most of the 1972 season, and would win his second and final race of his Cup career that year as well~
The final ride of James Hylton~ Kansas - 2013~
Hylton made his final start as a driver in the 2013 "Kansas Lottery 98.9" @ Kansas, in the ARCA series at the age of 78~ He finished 18th in the rain shortened event, ending a career that spanned 49 years~ In his 32 year NASCAR career, Hylton ran a total of 602 races, with 2 wins, 4 poles, 140 top 5's, and 301 top 10's~ It's jawdropping to think that half of the races he ever entered resulted in a top 10 finish~
For his entire Cup career, Hylton had an average start of 17.0, with an average finish of 13.5~ As an independent driver with stats like that, it's easy for me to say that Hylton would have won multiple championships if funded the way that Petty was at the time~ The guy did this in his own equipment, with no backing from the manufacturers whatsoever~ I mean, Dave Marcis was a pretty dang good independent driver, but Hylton is just in a class all by himself as far as I'm concerned~ He's a true NASCAR hero and legend, and I feel like he should be recognized by NASCAR as a Hall of Fame driver, as he should be~
It makes me so mad that drivers like boring Dale Jarrett are in the Hall of Fame, while a driver of Hylton's caliber will be forever snubbed~ He finished runner up for the championship three times in his career driving extremely overused, worn out, cheap equipment.. and he made it work~ He's a true testament to the sport, and a legend in my eyes eternally~ God bless you, James Hylton!~ And thank you for being a respectable, honest, hard working man your entire life!~ :)
James Hylton #48 Ford Talladega Torino Cobra~
Although they're collectable now, and somewhat expensive compared to standard Racing Champions issues, people didn't really buy these "Collector's Series" cars that much back when they were new~ That would explain their higher price currently~ These were always on the discount racks back in the day, and I'm sure tons of them were bought cheaply and given to children, who tore them open and destroyed most of them~
These days the "Collector's Series" cars are sought after by collectors, and some of them are pretty hard to track down~ I still don't own a complete set of any of them, though I am close to having them all~ I think Racing Champions did a fine job on these, with the exception of the cards which I never cared for~ The pictures they used are hideous, and extremely grainy, and I hate that they used black and white photos for all of them, even though there are plenty of color photos of each driver~
I give this car a B+ on the Racing Champions quality scale, with points taken off due to the boring card~ The car itself is pretty awesome, and I especially love the gold color on the car~ I'm glad that Racing Champions included a couple of Hylton cars in these sets~ My favorite is his winged car, and I'll eventually be doing a post on that one as well, though it may be a year or so before I get to it~ I've got a ton of others to do first~ Well, I've rambled on about Hylton for long enough.. so let's get into the bonus car for this post, which is one of my favorites that I've made so far~
Butch Leitzinger #03 Bobcat Chevrolet~
Butch Leitzinger is a champion in all kinds of levels of racing, including IMSA (ALMS) WSC (twice), IMSA (ALMS) GTU (once), USRRC Can-Am (once), and a three time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona~ He is a test driver for Bugatti, and is considered a master of road course racing, but his time in this #03 Bobcat Chevrolet ended in doom, despair, and plenty of agony for Butch~
Leitzinger made his Cup Series debut in this car for the 1994 running of the "Bud at the Glen" @ Watkins Glen, where he qualified 38th~ An oil leak ended his day nine laps shy of the checkered flag, which resulted in a 38th place finish for Butch~ Mark Martin boringly dominated and eventually won the event to the dismay of myself and many others, I'm sure~ I was hoping Ernie Irvan would be able to get the win, but he came home in the runner-up spot, followed by Dale Earnhardt, Ken Schrader, and Ricky Rudd~
Butch ran a total of three more Cup races in his career, with a best finish of 12th in the 1995 "Bud at the Glen", driving the #40 Kendall Pontiac for the Dick Brooks team~ He dang near won the 2000 running of the "Lysol 200" @ Watkins Glen in the BGN series, but Ron Fellows narrowly beat him out~ Butch was driving the #30 Little Trees Chevrolet that day, while fellows was driving the #87 Bully Hill Vinyards Chevrolet, owned by Joe Nemechek~ His finish was overshadowed by Jimmie Johnson's death defying crash that happened going into turn 1~
I think this is one of my favorite Photoshop customs that I've made~ I messed up a little bit on the checkerboarding, but oh well.. I still think it looks pretty appealing~ Thank you all for visiting the blog again, or for the first time!~ Please share this post with your friends on social media, and click the follow button at the top of this page~ I've added some videos below from throughout Hylton's career.. enjoy them, and I'll be back soon with another installment of the NASCAR Racing Champions blog~
James Hylton destroys Dodge in an interview~
Hylton speaks about bonus money for qualifying @ Martinsville & championship battle~
Hylton segment for Daytona 500~
James Hylton sings "All American Stock Car Racing Fan"~
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