72 Year Old Hopes to Return to Nascar 500

James Hylton has big plans for 2007. He hopes to return to Nascar racing at the tender age of 72. Hylton had "the chops" back in 1966, when he was named Nascar's Rookie of the Year. But does he still have the teeth to go up against Nascar's present-day stars?

James Hylton was born in 1934 in Roanoke, Virginia. He began his racing career in the late 1950's as a mechanic for Rex White, a racing legend. In 1964, he had his first racing start at the Old Dominion 400. He finished 19th and was paid $100.00. Over his career, Hylton won only two races, but was consistently ranked amongst the top drivers.
He is already the oldest driver to qualify in a high level Nascar event due to his participation in the AT&T 250 in 1982.

On Monday, Hylton suited up, eased himself into his car, and pulled up to the start line at the qualifiers for the Nascar 500. Hylton doesn't hold any false hopes that he will win the race. He just wants to qualify for next month's Daytona 500 and become the oldest driver ever to accomplish the feat.

If he did end up qualifying for the race, he would not only be in the record books as the oldest driver to qualify, but would also be able to secure a sizable paycheck. Hylton estimates that the most money he ever made in a season was $150,000. By comparison, last years 43rd place driver in the biggest race of the year was paid over $250,000(According to Jenna Fryer, AP Auto Racing writer, in yahoo article: "At 72, Hylton plans comeback at Daytona 500").

There are definite incentives for Hylton to qualify for the race. He needs the money. When he was a young man racing in Nascar, the purses were very small, and that was a lot of years ago. These days it is a different story--Nascar is run like a fortune 500 (no pun intended) company. There are hundreds of thousands--even millions--of dollars on the line. Drivers are celebrities and have hundreds of endorsements and millions of fans.

James Hylton is the ultimate underdog. 60 drivers are expected to fight for the 43 spots available in the Super Bowl of Nascar racing. It would be great to see Hylton qualify at age 72--even if he ended up dead last in the race.