Hylton plans comeback at Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Long after the big-budget NASCAR teams pulled into the Daytona garage, a bright yellow hauler – sans the logos and pricey paint scheme – navigated its way through the gate.

Perched behind the wheel of the big rig was 72-year-old James Hylton, whose decades-old image donned the side of the truck. He steered his way past Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and the rest of today’s NASCAR stars to his assigned-spot along the fence then went to work unloading his car.

Yes, his car.

The 1966 Rookie of the Year is attempting a comeback of epic proportions, bringing a car to preseason testing Monday as he chases his long-shot dream of qualifying for next month’s Daytona 500.

“I am doing this for seniors to show that at 70 years old, you don’t have to go hunting for an old-folks home. You can go race for a little bit,” Hylton said. “A lot of the old drivers want to come out here and hang out in the pits and see if I can do it.”

The odds are stacked against Hylton, who made the first of his 15 Daytona 500 starts in 1966. But he’s not doing this because he foolishly thinks he can win the Super Bowl of NASCAR.

Rather, Hylton just wants a spot in the record books as the oldest driver to ever make a Cup race. He already holds the mark in both the Busch and ARCA Series, but is now focused on making it a trifecta. The Cup record of age 65 is shared by Hershel McGriff (Sonoma, 1993) and Jim Fitzgerald (Riverside, 1987).

“More power to him,” said David Stremme, one of 11 current Cup drivers who wasn’t born when Hylton notched his only two victories. “You’ve got to believe that if he makes the race, he might earn more money finishing last than he did in an entire season of his early days.

“That kind of money could carry a guy through an entire year and make it worth giving it a shot.”

Indeed, Carl Edwards won $269,882 last season for finishing 43rd in the biggest race of the year. Hylton estimates the most money he ever made in a single season was “right around $150,000.”

“I won Talladega (in 1972) and it paid $24,000,” Hylton said. “Now they pay you more than that just to show up.”

In all, Hylton ran just five laps and his top speed of 181.397 mph was the slowest of the day.