|| *Comments on the 1970 Richmond 500:* View the most recent comment <#14> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. JJ Lehto posted: 04.17.2005 - 7:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) James Hylton. After 12 second place finishes gets his first win. He came from 7 laps down to win. 2. DTroppens posted: 09.30.2006 - 5:22 am Rate this comment: (8) (0) James Hylton may be one of the best drivers many don't know about. He only won two races in his career, but he was an independent driver which gave him little chance to win races. However, during his prime (through about the mid 1970s) he routinely was one of the top drivers in the points chase and quite often led early in the season. In fact, many times his leadership in the point standings created controversy because he rarely won. Check his record. He finished in the top 10 in about half of his career races and finished second and third many times in the season point chase. One has to wonder what he could've accomplished if he was factory backed. Hylton won this race because Richard Petty went into the pits and his crew struggled battery and distributor problems. Back then if an independent was going to win a race it usually meant the factory-backed drivers had issues throughout the race. 3. Anonymous posted: 12.30.2006 - 5:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I remember when Bobby Isaac insinuated that Hylton was a "stroker" as Hylton actually led the points standings in 1970 off and on until late summer through his consistent, points tallying finishes. Got to wonder what Hylton could've done in a factory car. 4. Nuck Chorris posted: 12.26.2007 - 1:56 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) He would have won multiple championships 5. RaceFanX posted: 01.02.2008 - 3:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Benny Parsons first race in owner L.G. DeWitt's #72, the combo would go on to win the 1973 Championship and 1975 Daytona 500 6. dtroppens posted: 02.22.2008 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I have to agree. Heck, if he just had factory-backed cars for the super-speedway events each year you'd have to think he could've won a few titles. He probably was a "stroker" but he really had no choice. Independents didn't have the budgets where they could afford multiple blown engines or issues like that. And they really didn't have a chance to win anyway. Getting a top five or top 10 kept your season alive. You have to admire the guys that made a living this way. And most weren't nearly as successful as Hylton. 7. 18fan posted: 03.02.2009 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The last race until the first race at Richmond in 1974 that Richard Petty didn't win. 8. David Troppens posted: 09.28.2011 - 7:11 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) Listening to an interview. Hylton called it the biggest thrill of his racing "Anytime you can beat the King. ... If he didn't have the trouble in the pits, yeah, he would've beat me." You deserved this one Mr. Hylton. 9. Jim posted: 06.08.2014 - 5:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) There was one name absent here - Bobby Allison. He wanted to run for the championship, but his contract with Rossi only covered superspeedways. He did not have a ride for this race, but rented the 2nd car of the Jabe Thomas / Don Robertson team for a few races later in the spring before getting a short track car of his own for the rest of the season. This was the only race in 1970 that he missed - If he had been at this race and finished mid-pack or better, he might have overhauled Bobby Isaac for the 1970 championship. 10. simonracer posted: 01.06.2015 - 1:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hylton's car was actually sponsored by Mallory's Speed Shop in this one. http://public.fotki.com/tona/-james/48hylton-2.html 11. Steve Taylor posted: 10.29.2017 - 2:47 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) My first race ever. The day I became a Richard Petty fan. He came from 8 or 9 laps down because of ignition problems and finished second on the same lap as Hylton, just a few seconds behind. To this day I am still a fan of whoever drives the #43! 12. John posted: 02.12.2018 - 7:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Bobby Allison didn't miss this race he probably would of won the title. Points system: 1968-1971 formula: Events to 249 miles: 50 points to win, with one less point for each succeeding position. Events 250-399 miles: 100 points to win, with two less points for each succeeding position. Events 400 miles and over: 150 points to win, with three less points for each succeeding position. Richmond race actually was 271 miles, not 500. NASCAR still lies about number of miles in a race to this day. For example, the 9/9/2017 Federal Auto Parts 400 @ Richmond was actually 303 miles. I guess they think it sounds better with more miles because the fans think they are getting more racing? Must of been confusing when the points system was about miles completed or finish based on miles of the race. Not that anyone cared about the championship then. 13. Mile501 posted: 02.12.2018 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "For example, the 9/9/2017 Federal Auto Parts 400 @ Richmond was actually 303 miles. I guess they think it sounds better with more miles because the fans think they are getting more racing?" Um...some races are named in terms of miles, while others are named in terms of laps. No one is lying. It's always been that way. 14. RaceFanX posted: 03.31.2018 - 9:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dub Simpson finishes 30 laps down in sixth position to claim his second and final top-10 finish. This was the of the six starts Simpson made in 1970. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: