32 Facts About James Hylton

James Harvey Hylton was an American stock car racing driver.

James Hylton was a two-time winner in NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition and was a long-time competitor in the ARCA Racing Series.

James Hylton holds the record for highest points finish by a rookie.

James Hylton was in the championship hunt several times in the 1960s and 1970s, finishing second in points in 1966,1967, and 1971.

James Hylton holds the record as the oldest driver to finish a race in NASCAR's top 3 series when he raced at Daytona in the Xfinity Series, in 2008 at the age of 73.

James Hylton was born on August 26,1934, to a Roanoke, Virginia family farm; he was one of thirteen children.

On July 8,1964, James Hylton made his first Grand National start at the Old Dominion 400 at Old Dominion Speedway at Manassas, Virginia.

James Hylton finished 19th and collected $100 for his efforts.

Things improved dramatically in 1966, as James Hylton finished second in the points chase and won the series' Rookie of the Year award.

James Hylton captured his first pole at Starlite Speedway in Monroe, North Carolina.

James Hylton again finished second in points during the 1967 season while driving Dodges for owner Bud Hartje.

James Hylton was a model of consistency during this two-year period as he had 46 top five finishes in 87 races, finishing 2nd to Richard Petty in the 1967 standings despite having no wins compared to Petty's 27.

James Hylton won the NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors in 1966, and finished second in the season points standings, 1,950 points behind David Pearson.

James Hylton finished in the Top 10 in the season points standings in ten of the twelve years between 1966 and 1977.

James Hylton found his way to victory lane for the first time on March 1,1970, at the Richmond 500, driving the familiar number 48 Ford.

James Hylton led 106 laps of the 188 lap race and won $24,865 for the day.

James Hylton won by one car length over ARCA legend Ramo Stott.

James Hylton continued driving the full schedule until 1982, when he handed over driving duties to Canadian driver Trevor Boys.

James Hylton soldiered on as an owner in NASCAR Winston Cup until 1993.

James Hylton moved to the ARCA Racing Series during the 1990s, and ran in 16 of 23 ARCA races in 2006.

James Hylton's final planned race was at the inaugural race at Iowa Speedway, but he returned to compete other events.

James Hylton attempted to make the 2007 Daytona 500 in equipment leased from Richard Childress Racing, sponsored by GrahamFest and Retirement Living TV.

James Hylton was in a position to qualify for the Daytona 500 with 10 laps remaining in the qualifier when he was leading, then a caution for a wreck was called and on the restart he fell out of the draft due to a clutch problem.

At the age of 74 years, James Hylton returned to Daytona to attempt to qualify for the 2009 Daytona 500.

Sadly, carburetor issues plagued the team in both Saturday pre-qualifying practice sessions, and James Hylton was unable to make a lap.

James Hylton was planning on qualifying his No 48 car sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans for the ARCA race at Rockingham on April 19,2009.

James Hylton lost that sponsorship on April 16,2009, due to ARCA placing a ban on the organization's logo from being used, as it contains a version of the Confederate Battle Flag.

James Hylton planned to attempt to qualify for the 2010 Daytona 500, but no deal came to fruition.

In 2011, James Hylton set a record at the 2011 Royal Purple 200 in Darlington as the oldest driver in history to start a NASCAR race in the top three divisions at age 76.

At the start of the 2013 season, James Hylton announced that the 2013 ARCA season would be his last; in his final start in racing at Kansas Speedway in October, contributions from his fellow ARCA racing teams resulted in his being able to drive a brand-new car and engine combination, finishing 18th in his final race.

James Hylton stated that his plans following his retirement included continued participation in the ARCA Racing Series as a team owner, planning to hire a younger driver to run the No 48.

Brad Smith took over as driver planning the full season, but an injury at Talladega forced him out of the car; James Hylton Swanson took over the ride as the team switched to Dodge.