1972 TALLADEGA 500

NASCAR in 1972 was a far different being than the one that dominates the Motorsports world today.  The big money sponsorships from Detroit had all but dried up and only a few teams had adequate funds so that they were realistically  capable of winning a race on any given Sunday (or including Nashville, Saturday night).  Richard Petty and his teammate Buddy Baker had funds flowing from STP while the Wood Brothers had Purolator as their prime sponsor.  The Junior Johnson / Richard Howard team was backed by bottling giant Coca-Cola and Bobby Isaac's K & K Insurance team rounded out the big five.  There were also a few teams that had performed well in the sixties but found themselves struggling at the dawn of the new decade because of funding issues. 

In 1972, there were also two classes of independent drivers that competed in NASCAR.  First, there were the drivers that competed in a few random races that were either close to home or that didn't have enough entries to fill the field.  Then there were the independent drivers that competed in every race regardless of location or field size.  These drivers were in it for the championship run and over the years most of these produced some finishes in the standings that would have most modern day drivers envious.  James Hylton fell into this classification during the 1972 Winston Cup Grand National Season.  Hylton had finished second to Richard Petty in the 1971 final standing and was campaigning the season in Pop Kola sponsored Ford Torinos and Mercury Montegos.  Hylton produced a series of consistent runs that were the product of his equipment conserving style which emphasised finishing the race over winning.  Hylton may not have ever had a major sponsor but he had been educated by the masters of the sport:  Louis Clements, Rex White and Holman - Moody.

James Hylton had been running at the front of the NASCAR pack since his rookie year.  James had won a race at Richmond in 1970 but he still was looking for that first Superspeedway victory.  With the Pop Kola sponsorship secure, Hylton believed that the elusive Superspeedway wins were just around the corner.  James states "I purchased an ex-Wood Brothers 1971 Mercury Montego, it was a really good car for the higher speed tracks".   Unfortunately, the management at Pop Kola never came through with the money promised and Hylton continued to race conservatively in order to make his limited resources last.  "I ran a negative caster split in those days" states Hylton, stilling racing at age 71, "that enabled me to handle the turns better and made the races a little easier on both me and the equipment". 

James Hylton came into the 1972 Talladega 500 after experiencing a rare DNF at Atlanta International Speedway's Dixie 500.  Hylton's car broke a value spring on lap 114 and wound up a disappointing 35th in the race.   At Talladega, Goodyear introduced a new tire compound and all the top teams traded in their old tires for new.  Over the years it has been incorrectly reported that Hylton didn't purchase the new tires as a cost measure only.    James states "Goodyear brought a treaded tire to Talladega in 1972 and I figured that they would not be as good as last years tires.  The 1971 Goodyear slicks were just at and durable as the 1972 versions.  In Happy Hour, Bobby Allison (on the 1972 tires) and I ran lap after lap together at 188 mph.  I knew then to stick with the older model tire; it just didn't make sense to buy the new ones when the older ones worked".

The race began with a four-car crash set off by Joe Frasson's  blown tire.  As the race progressed, it became apparent that Hylton was correct  and the older Goodyear tires had a distinct advantage over the newer model as Hylton led 106 of the races 188 laps.  "Ramo Stott was able to catch up with me on the final caution" Hylton stated in 2006 "on the final lap I knew he was coming and I never had any idea of how slight the margin of victory was until I was shown a picture of the finish this year.  I was fortunate to  hold on because my engine was starting to have problems".  Ramo Stott, driving Junie Donlevey's 1972 Ford, finished second by a car length and led three laps during the race.  It was a good day as well for local drivers, with Hueytown, Alabama's Bobby Allison and Red Farmer finishing third and fourth respectively.

James Hylton collected  $ 24,865 for winning the race and would go on to finish third in the 1972 season ending Winston Cup points total.  Cale Yarborough would mark his return from USAC Indy car racing by finishing fourth the next week at the Yankee 400 while driving the same 1971 Mercury while James would finish fifth in a Ford.   Ramo Stott, who had an outstanding career in ARCA would unfortunately never win a NASCAR Cup race.  Junie Donleavy would finally reach victory lane in 1981 at the Mason-Dixon 500 with Jody Ridley at the wheel.  Remarkably, Dick Brooks would win the 1973 Talladega 500 in a independently campaigned Plymouth that also emphasised mechanical and technical resourcefulness over funding.  James said in 2006 "Talladega is one of those race tracks that has a love / hate relationship with drivers.  You hate it when you have problems but you definitely love it when you win.  Its a track that you can actually see the stress on the drivers face when he exits the car after the race."

In 2006, amazingly James Hylton still soldiers on as an independent owner / operator in the ARCA RE/MAX series and a driver in the NASCAR Busch Series.  James and his familiar number 48 Ford can be found on any given weekend providing fans and competitors alike with a rare chance to glimpse into racing's past.  When Hylton parks the car at the trailer for the final time this season, it will mark not only the end of one of its most storied careers in stock car racing  but also that of a group of competitors that made up the foundation of the sport for many, many years.

James and Junie Donleavy, Pocono 2006