THE DON HUNTER COLLECTION

JAMES

James Hylton broke into the Grand National ranks as rookie of the year in 1966. He finished in the top five of the points standings in seven of his first eight seasons on the circuit, including runnerup efforts his first two years. Hylton won two races in his career -- the first at Richmond in 1970 and the other in 1972 at Talladega.

It's not those successes, however, for which Hylton is best known. For years, he has been the very essence of what it means to be an independent driver and team owner. A host of drivers through the years have found themselves behind the wheel of Hylton's No. 48 entry. Despite several retirement announcements, the Inman, S.C. resident attempted to make the field for the 2008 Daytona 500 and he actually made the field for the track's Nationwide season opener. To this day, at the age of 74, Hylton still competes regularly on the ARCA circuit.

Go, James. Go.