Hylton, EM Motorsports team up for run at Daytona

TOCCOA, Ga. -- James Hylton, the 1966 Cup Series rookie of the year, will try to qualify for the 2009 Daytona 500 driving for EM Motorsports.

Inside the Numbers

Hylton's Cup Series stats

Starts	W	T5	T10	Avg. Fin.
601	2	140	301	13.5

• First Start: July 8, 1964
• Last Start: March 28, 1993

"Christmas has come early for me," said Hylton, 74. "I am thrilled to be able to fulfill the promise that I made to the fans in 2007 of returning for one more Daytona 500. My main goals are to become the oldest competitor to ever run the Daytona 500 and of course, win the race."

Hylton made a comeback run at Daytona in February, which was thwarted by a faulty clutch in a Gatorade 150 qualifying event.

Competing in his 50th year in NASCAR, Hylton ran full-time in the ARCA Series in 2008. He also qualified for the Nationwide Series race on July 4 at Daytona, and a age 73, set the record as the oldest driver to start a Nationwide Series event.

Hylton began his career as a mechanic for Rex White and crew chief Louis Clements in September 1959.

He made his Cup Series debut on July 8, 1964, at Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Va., and finished 19th. Hylton made 41 starts -- with 32 top-10 finishes -- to garner the 1966 rookie of the year award.

Hylton has finished second in Cup Series points three times (1966, '67 and '71). He has two wins, 140 top-five finishes and 301 top-10s in 601 starts. His last Cup Series start came on March 28, 1993, at Darlington.

"Our goal is to run a complete 2009 series with James Hylton driving the EM Motorsports Dodge," team owner John Carter said. "You don't know how proud we are of being part of history by putting James Hylton in our car."

EM Motorsports, based in Toccoa, Ga., is a single-car team. Carter's entries have 40 starts since its debut on July 11, 2004, at Chicago with driver Chad Blount. The No. 08 made one start in 2009; Johnny Sauter finished 42nd at Fontana on Aug. 31.