He's 72 and Not Slowing Down

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 14 -- If he could have gotten NASCAR's approval, James Hylton says he would have outfitted his No. 58 Chevrolet with blinkers and flashed them nonstop during Thursday's qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway. What's the harm of having a sense of humor, Hylton figured, even though he's serious about the task at hand?

At 72, the silver-haired Hylton will strap into a racecar Thursday afternoon and battle at more than 180 mph for the right to compete in Sunday's Daytona 500.

Common sense suggests it's not prudent racing at such speeds against men 50 years younger. But NASCAR allows it, with no age limit for competing in stock-car racing's top ranks (though 18 is the minimum age).

Hylton managed to find a car owner and sponsor, Retirement Living TV, to bankroll his effort. A championship team, Richard Childress Racing, sold him one of its old cars and even fine-tuned the handling so all Hylton has to do is flip the ignition and mash the gas. In short, he has been handed the best Daytona car he has ever had. And he says he simply couldn't live with himself if he didn't seize it.

"If I'd have turned this deal down, when I got to be an old man I'd look back and say, 'I should have took that chance!' " Hylton said.

A native of Inman, S.C., Hylton raced against such legends such as Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison in the 1960s and '70s. He even outran Petty for one of his two career victories, roaring over the finish-line 15.1 seconds ahead of stock-car racing's "King" at the old Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1970.

"That had to be my greatest thrill," said Hylton, who still recalls how his hands bled through his gloves and two layers of padding on the steering wheel after muscling the car around the tiny track in the days before power steering.

But racing at Daytona, the 2.5-mile behemoth where speeds would eclipse 200 mph if it wasn't for carburetor restrictor plates, is a different matter.

Simply qualifying for the Daytona 500 is a grueling test of speed and stamina. First, drivers zoom around the track solo in time trials, with the fastest two locking in the first and second starting spots. The rest of the 43-car field is set in two 150-mile qualifying races. Hylton will line up last in Thursday's first qualifier after posting the 60th-fastest speed (179.637 mph) during time trials. That means he'll have to battle alongside some the sport's top names, such as two-time champion Tony Stewart and defending champion Jimmie Johnson, for one of the five available spots in Sunday's 500.

Stewart doesn't begrudge Hylton the opportunity.

"If NASCAR says he's all right to run here, then we have the confidence that he'll be just fine," said Stewart, 35. "Let's not give this guy a hard time. The fact that he's able to run a racecar and has the desire at the age of 72, I'm all for him 100 percent."

Others have suggested privately that NASCAR should set an age limit for racers. The federal government caps the age of commercial airline pilots at 60, for example, although there is a move afoot to raise the limit to 65.

Regardless of Hylton's age, he faces huge odds in trying to qualify as a part-time driver on a shoestring budget.

Few know that better than Kirk Shelmerdine, a former champion crew chief for the late Dale Earnhardt who now campaigns as an independent driver. Shelmerdine got his break in NASCAR from Hylton, who hired him with no experience nearly 30 years ago and taught him fine points of getting a stock car to run. Today, Hylton and Shelmerdine are in the same boat -- both trying to qualify for Sunday's 500 with a fraction of the horsepower of the big-name teams with $20 million annual budgets.

"It's pretty impossible," said Shelmerdine, 48, who's backed by Lilly Trucking of Virginia. But he and Hylton made it work decades ago.

"He knew how to take care of the car and maintain the cars," Shelmerdine said of Hylton. "In '66 he only had one engine; he had to rebuild it all the time. And he knew how to drive the car within its capabilities. When you only have one of everything, you can't break any of it. . . . He's got more starts [at Daytona] than most of these other guys have laps. So I don't think you forget that quick how to get around here."

Still, NASCAR chief executive Brian France concedes that the time for age limits may come. "Right now we have a system that measures and evaluates drivers for their health and all the rest," France said. "We'll look at that as we go on."

But for now, Hylton has passed all of NASCAR's tests, pointing proudly to his 20-20 vision and stable blood pressure. He doesn't even take naps, he added.

"I'm not medical doctor," Hylton said. "But I've always said, '[Daytona] is an old man's racetrack.' I know that my reflexes is not like they were when I was 20 years old. But you don't have to be quick here; I think quickness will get you in trouble. What you need to be is steady and patient and watch where the heck you're going. I think your eyesight is more important than whether I can catch a gnat in the air or something. There's a lot of living-will seniors out here that want to see me do it!"