Remembering stock car pioneer James Harvey Hylton…and “Tweet” too

By Don Radebaugh — It’s hard to imagine an ARCA stock car race without James Harvey Hylton in the garage. For those of us who have been around the ARCA tour 20-plus years, we can hardly recall a time when he wasn’t there. The same could be said for those who hung out in the NASCAR garage through the 60s, 70s and 80s. In either place, his son, James, Jr. (Tweet), was always by his side. They were inseparable. They are still inseparable.

Both lost their lives in a highway accident on the way home from the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway Saturday morning (April 28, 2018).

James Hylton’s life story is as fascinating as was his motorsports career. A poor farm boy who grew up in rural Virginia during the Great Depression somehow made it to the NASCAR Cup Series. He didn’t just make it; James, three times, finished runner-up in championship standings, winning twice, at Richmond in 1970 and Talladega in 1972. He did it on his own terms, with his loyal band of followers who stayed with him till the very end. He did it his own way, without corporate America helping pay the bills. Always an independent, he funded his teams and fed his family out of his own back pocket, with the money he earned at the track. Yes, he had a little help here and there; but it was never on the level of his contemporaries. Maybe that’s why we all cheered him so much. The story of the racer who makes it to the top on perseverance, hard work, devotion, passion and pure love for the sport is always worthy of the applause.

“I know of no one with a greater passion and devotion to the sport of stock car racing than James Hylton,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “He truly enjoyed every aspect of the sport, especially the people. He was universally well-like and well-respected. He was a standard bearer in the NASCAR Cup Series, and as his career wound down we were fortunate enough for him to choose to race in the ARCA Racing Series.”

After 602 NASCAR Cup Series starts where he made a fine name for himself, the Inman, S.C. veteran, complete with his signature No. 48, indeed did find a home in the ARCA Racing Series.

And it never mattered if he didn’t keep pace with the leaders during the race, not to the thousands of fans who adored a 79-year-old Cup star from yesteryear who still had the courage and passion to climb through the window. Even with all the young stars in the line-up, James often got the biggest cheers. He was always so fun to introduce…his twinkling eyes ablaze, his hand high in the air in salute, with his million dollar smile that seemed to magically find its way to each and every person in the bleachers…often chomping on an unlit cheap cigar. Yes, it was so cool to have him here for so long. For that, we are all grateful.

James had time for everyone…it didn’t matter who you were. And he always made you feel important. He was way more than our own superstar…he was exceptionally kind, and that absolutely cannot be overstated. Kindness matters a lot…James Harvey was proof. You can see the warmth and kindness on the gazillion social media posts…each with its own special story to tell about James…the photos now serving as proof down through posterity that he was their friend. And each so proud to show the world. He had a gift for making you think you were his best friend. The hundred of folks posting their favorite photos of themselves with James Harvey on Facebook are now scratching their heads. “Hey…I thought I was his favorite!”

And we trust that the impressive young drivers coming up today understand and fully appreciate what leading stock pioneers like James Harvey did to help pave the way. Hylton, and his generation, got down on their hands and knees for next to nothing and smoothed over the asphalt, setting the stage for the modern-day luxurious and lucrative professional lifestyle this sport has become. I wonder if the young up and comers today would have even pursued racing if they had to go through what Hylton did during the sport’s infancy. No modern day safety seat to hold you up in the cockpit. No modern day seat belts to hold you tight. No head rest for your badly aching neck after 500 miles. Nothing to hold you up in the seat except the steering wheel, which was two-fold, serving not only as a mechanism to turn the car but as a brace to hold you up so you literally didn’t “fall out of the seat”. No power steering for 500 laps on a rutty dirt track in rural North Carolina. No fancy fireproof underwear and drivers suit. No “cool suits” to pump cool air into your body while the temps in the cars rose to 140 degrees. No head and neck device to save your life. No full-faced helmets for protection…the list goes on and on.

I remember James telling me the story of driving in the Daytona 500 back in the early 70s. Every time he drove off turn 4, there was a good-looking girl jumping up and down, screaming and shouting, waving frantically at James every lap of the Daytona 500. James, in an open-faced helmet and cheap goggles, just smiled and waved back lap after lap. Can you imagine that happening today? I think not. Those are stories I treasure.

Born on the family farm in Roanoke County Virginia on August 26, 1934, Hylton was one of 13 children.

“I had an excellent childhood,” said Hylton in 2011. “At the time, I thought it was awful, but looking back now, I wouldn’t have traded that lifestyle for anything. We farmed the mountain behind the house. It was beautiful country. At night we’d head down to the creek with our lanterns and we’d go giggin’ for bull frogs and eels. We’d skin the eels, and filet ‘em. It was good eatin’, better than fish.

“I remember going to school where I saw city folks for the first time. We’d all bring these giant biscuits for lunch, but the city boys all had sliced bread. I had never seen sliced bread.”

He first caught the racing bug when he climbed aboard his father’s Ford Model T. He was not yet a teenager.

“My oldest brother taught me how to drive it. It had three pedals on the floor, instead of gear shifts. But that’s what got me into racing. I learned how to drive in a Ford Model T, and I’m still driving a Ford. That’s pretty ironic to me.”

His first racecar was also in the Ford Family – a 1934 Ford Coupe. But, to survive, Hylton climbed out of the driver’s seat and became a mechanic for NASCAR champion Rex White, and then a champion crew chief for Ned Jarrett. Then Hylton decided he would give up the crew chief role and get back to the business of driving race cars. And once he got behind the wheel, he never looked back. His second place NASCAR Cup points finish in his 1966 Rookie season is a record that still stands today. He also holds the distinction of being the oldest driver to race in all three of NASCAR’s highest divisions.

Hylton first raced in ARCA in 1975, when he finished an ARCA-best sixth at Daytona. Over the years, he made 175 career ARCA starts. Hylton’s career-best ARCA points finish as a driver was 11th, twice, in 2011 and 2013.

After he climbed out from behind the wheel, Hylton continued to field the famous 48 Ford for a variety of drivers, including most recently for veteran Brad Smith, who finished a career-best 6th in ARCA championship driver standings in 2016 in Hylton’s Ford.

I remember the last time I saw him…at Salem Speedway just a few days before Talladega. I never had to reach my hand out to him…he always extended that courtesy to me first. “Hello Captain!” he said. He called me Captain…I called him Mr. Hylton. We had a mutual respect for each other that I’ll always value. I wrote a lot of stories about James over the last 20 years, and he knew it…and I know he appreciated every one of them. Ironically, I never saw him at Talladega. I looked…but I never saw him, which I thought was strange. Looking back now, my greeting at Salem, and as it turned out, our goodbye, was absolutely perfect, and a wonderful memory I hold close.

Hylton’s exit from the driver’s seat was as grand as his career when his friends, family and fans made sure of it. In 2013, the racing community came together to build Hylton a new 48 car for his final ARCA race at Kansas Speedway in 2013 in which he finished the race in 18th.

“It’s time to step aside as a driver and turn this car over to the younger generation,” Hylton said right before the race. “I don’t want to lose the Hylton Motorsports race team. I’ll be there next year as the general manager. We are definitely in the market to build up our race team and put other drivers behind the wheel who can go harder than I can.”

Several people, understanding the importance of the moment, gathered around James on pit road as he prepared to climb inside the 48 one more time. There were photo flashes going off like lightning. TV was there. Friends and fans were there. High-fives from fellow ARCA competitors just kept coming. It seemed like everyone one wanted to witness this piece of history. Even Cup star Mark Martin weaved his way down to get his picture with James Harvey Hylton. With his eyes watered up, we never saw James smile so big. It was so cool. Despite the lumps in everyone’s throat, James managed to put it in his own perspective.

“It’s kind of a love-hate relationship. If I could drive until I was 90 years old, I would. But I need to face the facts. It’s too much of a job to be the driver and manager the team. I’m excited about the future.”

Later that year, he fittingly received ARCA’s Marcum Award at the championship awards banquet. The Marcum Award is named for ARCA founders John and Mildred Marcum.

“I can’t express my gratitude for this award,” Hylton said at the podium, after he received a standing ovation.

Hylton praised ARCA for “opening its doors and letting me come racing and enjoy my last days as a race car driver. I appreciate and love every one of you.”

Our thoughts, prayers and condolences to the family, friends and fans of James and James, Jr. And we are certainly all pulling for a speedy recovery for your longtime, faithful, trusty crewman Terry Strange.

#48RockOn

@DonRadebaugh on Twitter, or History Mystery Man on Facebook.