James Hylton Guest of Honor at annual ARCA press conference

James Hylton recently announced his plans to retire from driving race cars, which means he’ll switch gears next year to the role of team owner (which he’s always been) without steering his famous No. 48. But, for now, the 78-year-old from Inman, S.C. is content on enjoying his final months as a race car driver.

 

“I’m enjoying every lap,” Hylton told a crowd at the Hollywood Casino, site of Tuesday’s annual press conference that kicks off the season for Toledo Speedway. “I do at every track we go to. I’m driving the car and enjoying every lap.”

 

Hylton has been involved in the sport since the 1950s when he started wrenching on a modified car. By the 1960s he was working on NASCAR cars. By 1966 he was racing in NASCAR when he was the series Rookie of the Year. Now, more than 750 professional stock car races since, Hylton has found a home with his James Hylton Motorsports in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

“ARCA took me in, so to speak,” he said. “What a wonderful place to be in my retirement years.”

 

Hylton announced before the Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona International Speedway that this would be his last behind the steering wheel. He plans on turning the reigns over to a younger driver and manage the team.

 

He was the guest of honor at the press conference. During an interview, he told some stories from his days as a NASCAR driver. He won two races in the series, including a race at Talladega.

 

“I had a rocket ship that day,” he said.

 

He recalls a fan waving to him outside of turn four on every lap.

 

“There was a pretty girl and she waved at me every lap,” he said. “I wasn’t too busy, so I would wave back at her.”

 

He said he should have won the series championship one season in NASCAR, but the point system was changed during the season, and Richard Petty captured the series title instead.

 

“I scared him anyway,” Hylton quipped. “Originally, the points were set up to reward consistency, which fit right into my season. Richard was winning more races, but he wasn’t as consistent I was. After they changed the point system, it worked out pretty good for him, but not so much for me.”

 

As for driving the No. 48 – made famous most recently by five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmy Johnson – Hylton said he met Johnson once during a weekend that ARCA and NASCAR were both running at Pocono’s. Shortly after the meeting, Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knauss, showed up in the ARCA garage and met Hylton, carrying an autographed hat.

 

“That took a lot of courage to send your crew chief to meet me,” Hylton said.

 

Hylton drove from his South Carolina home to Toledo for the ARCA event Tuesday, three days after the ARCA Mobile 200 in which he was involved in a hard crash.

 

“I got a banged-up knee, hurt my shoulder and it made me mad,” he said.

 

Hylton plans on finishing out the season in the car, including the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care at Toledo Speedway May 19. It’s one of several special events planned at Toledo Speedway announced by Scott Schultz, general manager of the track.

 

Hylton said it’s been an enjoyable ride as a driver, but he’s now hoping to find more sponsors for his team and find a driver for the seat to continue ARCA’s movement of putting young drivers in the cars to get speedway experience to move into the NASCAR ranks. He said he’s had an enjoyable career.

 

“I did it with nothing, but I had fun doing it,” he said.

 

ARCA Racing PR