Full Throttle

EM Motorsports has announced that it has teamed up with NASCAR veteran James Hylton for the 2009 running of the Daytona 500.

The 74-year-old, who has made over 600 Cup starts in a career that started back in the mid-1960’s, will return to the event for the first time since 2007 when he failed to make the race after a clutch problem late in the Gatorade 150 qualifying event.

“Christmas has come early for me,” he said “I am thrilled to be able to fulfil 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 last raced in the Cup series back in 1993 but has continued to race in the ARCA Series and he also took part in the Nationwide Series Winn-Dixie 250 earlier this year.

Aside from competing at Daytona, team owner John Carter said he was hopeful that Hylton would be able to defy his age to run a full-season in the Sprint Cup – sponsorship permitting.

“Our goal is to run a complete 2009 series with James Hylton driving the EM Motorsports Dodge,” he said. “You don’t know how proud we are of being part of history by putting James Hylton in our car.

“We hope that sponsors will come on board so we can run the complete 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.”

Lest you think Hylton is a bit “long in the tooth” to be circling Daytona at race speeds he turned in the 15th quickest lap (185.445 mph) in December during testing.

Hylton came within a handful of laps of becoming the oldest driver to qualify for the Daytona 500 in 2007.

Some crafty pit strategy in a 125-mile qualifying race put him in position to make history before a faulty clutch and a late-race caution flag ended his dream during an up-and-down run at Daytona International Speedway.

“I don’t think a guy deserves to have that much fun; I’m on a high right now,” Hylton said after he ran as high as second but finished 23rd.

Hylton needed to finish first or second in a group of about a dozen drivers who weren’t guaranteed starting positions in the Daytona 500.

After clutch problems caused him to get off to a bumpy start, he stayed on the track during a late caution and moved into second with 16 laps left. He quickly faded to eighth on the restart but was able to stay in the draft for a few laps and hold onto the final transfer spot.

After another caution flew, Hylton struggled to get his car in gear when the green waved and soon relinquished the final transfer spot eight laps before the checkered flag.

“That last caution killed me,” he said. “I couldn’t shift on restarts. When that caution came out, I knew I was a dead duck.”