Lebanon, TN - Carl Edwards passed Jason Leffler with less than 25 laps to go and then extended his lead to about 4 seconds over David Reutimann on his way to winning the Pepsi 300 at the Nashville Superspeedway. Reutimann came home second as Leffler fell to fourth as he thought he may have a flat late in the race. Finishing the spot ahead of Edwards in third was Dave Blaney followed by Leffler in fourth and Regan Smith with a career best finish of fifth. The win was the second straight for Edwards at the Nashville Superspeedway. SCR

Matthew Blaylock/Everett Mugg

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pocono, PA.—James Hylton, a name associated with major league stock car racing for more than five decades as a driver, crew chief and car owner, has been named the 2007 recipient of Pocono Raceway’s Bill France Award of Excellence. The Pocono Raceway Bill France Award of Excellence has been presented annually to the person, corporation or organization that has made outstanding contributions to the sport of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Racing. This prestigious award, first presented in 1977, is dedicated to the inspiration of Bill France Sr., founder of NASCAR. 

 

Hylton’s racing career began as a mechanic for the legendary Rex White and teamed with White to win 26 races and in 1960 won the NASCAR Grand National (now called the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series) championship. In 1964 Hylton became crew chief for Ned Jarrett and teamed with Jarrett to win 15 races in 1964 and in 1965 he won 13 races and the NASCAR championship. 

 

On July 8, 1964, Hylton made his first NASCAR start at the Old Dominion 400 at Manassas, VA. In 1966 Hylton finished second in the points chase and won the coveted NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award. He again finished second in points in 1967 and amassed an astonishing 46 top five finishes in 87 races in 1966-67. 

 

In 1968 he became a car owner / driver and found his way to victory lane for the first time on March 1, 1970 at the Richmond 500.  His second victory came on August 6, 1972 when he captured the Talladega 500. He continued driving the full schedule until 1982 when he gave up driving to concentrate on his car owner duties. He continued as a NASCAR car owner until 1993. He competed as a driver in 601 NASCAR events and compiled two wins, 140 top fives and 301 top tens. 

 

In the late nineties he moved to the ARCA series where he continues to participate as both a car owner and driver. He made national headlines in February 2007 as he became the oldest driver (age 72) to try to qualify for the prestigious Daytona 500. Unfortunately his effort came up short. 

 

“James Hylton and his # 48 stock car were fixtures on the NASCAR scene and he competed successfully against better funded teams. His grit and determination are an inspiration to all who know him,” stated Pocono Raceway C.E.O Dr. Joseph Mattioli. “We are proud to announce that James Hylton has been named the recipient of Pocono Raceway’s 2007 Bill France Award of Excellence,” concluded Dr. Mattioli. 
 

“Pocono is a wonderful place to race,” states Hylton. “The Mattioli’s stand alone in their hospitality shown to the drivers and teams. Pocono is an absolute winner,” states Hylton “and it has the fan base to prove it.” “I am proud to be the recipient of this prestigious award” concluded Hylton. 

 

The Pocono Raceway Bill France Award of Excellence, a beautifully sculptured and highly polished piece of anthracite coal mined in Pennsylvania, will be presented to James Hylton at an award ceremony on Saturday, June 9, 2007.  This ceremony is part of the festivities leading up to the June 10, 2007 POCONO 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway. 

 

Hylton will join the prestigious list of Pocono Raceway’s Bill France Award of Excellence winners listed below: 

 

POCONO RACEWAY’S BILL FRANCE AWARD OF EXCELLENCE WINNERS

 

1977. Bill France

1978. Winston

1979. Purolator

1980. Union Oil

1981. The Petty Family

1982. G.H. Long

1983. STP

1984. Goodyear

1985. GNRWA ( Now WOW Wives Auxiliary)

1986. MRN (Motor Racing Network)

1987. Grand National Scene (Now NASCAR Scene)

1988. Charlotte Motor Speedway

1989. Ned Jarrett

1990. T. Wayne Robertson

1991. ESPN

1992. MRO (Motor Racing Outreach)

1993. The Allison Family

1994. Rev. Hal Marchman

1995. The Wood Bros.

1996. Clay Earles/Paul Sawyer

1997. Junie Dunlavey/Bud Moore

1998. NASCAR

1999. Rick Hendrick

2000. Robert Yates

2001. Joe Gibbs

2002. Richard Childress

2003. Jack Roush

2004. Dr. Dean L. Sicking and The Midwest Roadside Safety Facility 

2005. Nextel

2006. Sunoco, Inc. SCR

 

 

 

 

Ricky Rudd will be inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame during an April 28 ceremony in Portsmouth, Va.

 

The hall of fame annually inducts Virginia natives who have made a lasting contribution to Virginia and national sports.

 

"It's an awful big honor to be able to be inducted and [I'm] really looking forward to it and [it's] something I hold in high regard," Rudd said.

 

Rudd, a Chesapeake native, has won 23 races in his NASCAR career and ranks among the top 50 NASCAR drivers of all time.

 

Fellow Virginian Elliott Sadler said that drivers in Virginia grow up looking up to Rudd, so it's a natural fit that he would earn the honor.

 

"I think it's great," Sadler said. "I think growing up in Virginia as a race car driver we all looked up to people like Ricky Rudd and Ward Burton and Jeff Burton and Curtis Turner and the Wood brothers and people from this area, Junie Donlavey, people like that, that have been a part of this sport a long time and have sunk a lot of their time and money into it, and coming from this state it means a lot to me.

 

"So congratulations to Ricky. He's still going strong and still a great competitor and a great guy. You know, he's led the way for a lot of us coming through this area, coming from Virginia. We've got a lot of good owners and drivers and crew members and stuff that come from Virginia."

 

 

 

 

Lowe’s Motor Speedway (LMS) officials have announced that the first annual Kobalt Crew Chief race will be part of All-Star weekend. The race will pit some of the best Nextel Cup crew chief in a 30 minute race Utilizing Thunder Roadsters manufactured by 600 Racing and decaled to replicate the paint schemes of the NEXTEL Cup cars they oversee.

 

The race will take place on the LMS quarter mile oval on the frontstretch of the track. Crew chiefs expected to take place in the race include Alan Gustafson, Kellogg's/Hendrick Motorsports No. 5; Billy Wilburn, Coca-Cola/Petty Racing No. 45; Chad Knaus, Lowe's/Hendrick Motorsports No. 48; Darian Grubb, National Guard/Hendrick Motorsports No. 25; Gil Martin, Jack Daniel's/Richard Childress Racing No. 07; Jeff Hammond, SPEED Channel No. 11; Jimmy Elledge, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates No. 41; Kevin "Bono" Manion, Bass Pro Shops/Dale Earnhardt, Inc. No. 1; Larry McReynolds, SPEED Channel No. 28; Paul Andrews, Cheerio's/Petty Racing No. 43; Scott Miller, Cingular/Richard Childress Racing No. 31; Steve Lane, Coors Light/Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates No. 40; Steve Letarte, DuPont/Hendrick Motorsports No. 24; Todd Berrier, Shell-Pennzoil/Richard Childress Racing No. 29; Tony Eury Jr., Budweiser/Dale Earnhardt, Inc. No. 8.

 

The race will be carried live on Speed TV May 19, 2007 starting at 4:00 p.m. SCR

Matthew Blaylock