Races at Talladega Superspeedway have always been noted for several things, among them high speed, the sometimes treacherous draft, nose-to-tail pack racing and The Big One – the crushing, multicar wreck that is routinely the result of it all.
And, for many years, it was also known as the track that produced several first-time winners. Or, at least, drivers who won their first superspeedway event.
Competitors such as Richard Brickhouse, Dick Brooks, Lennie Pond, Bobby Hillin Jr. and Phil Parsons won the only race of their NASCAR Cup Series careers at Talladega, while several others claim the 2.66-mile track as the site of their only superspeedway triumph.
One of them might well be unrecognized, if for no other reason than he was not known as a winning driver – not even a competitive one.
Rather, his legacy in NASCAR is that of an unsponsored, independent driver who rebelled against the sanctioning body and thus paved the way for better financial status for competitors like him.
The late James Hylton was, at one time, considered the scourge of NASCAR. He was the same as the majority of competitors in the 1970s in that he eked out a living racing, earning just enough money to pay his bills.
There were many like him.
In that era, ample money from sponsorship, the point fund and factory support were offered to a precious few. They were the real contenders; the drivers expected to win race after race, week after week. At most, there were seven of them.
Before Hylton became a revolutionary, he was as solid a competitor as those seven.
More on that later.
By 1976 the independent drivers determined that their time in NASCAR was severely limited because they could not survive financially.
Even economizing as often as they did – they relied on used parts and pieces to compete – was inadequate.
So was points racing, which was to compete for the highest finish possible to earn the most points possible. Often a high finish in the season-ending standings, and its accompanying financial reward, meant the difference between profit and loss.
To race for points meant to be cautious and avoid trouble at all costs – which was derisively called “stroking.”
But the independents had one thing going for them. They knew they made up the majority of every starting field at every race.
So, they united and made it clear to NASCAR that they would leave the sanctioning body unless it did something to relieve…
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