When a NASCAR driver showed up to a race with a horn in his car

Some 45 years ago, the late NASCAR driver James Hylton arrived at a Cup Series race with a horn in his race car. Hylton competed in NASCAR between the 1960s and 1990s. He had started his career as a mechanic and crew chief before becoming a driver.

In September 1979, Hylton made a statement by fitting a horn to his car. He joked that he would use the horn to surprise other drivers and have some fun during the race at Dover Motor Speedway.

"Sure, people run around the pit and down the pit road. That’ll scare them out of the way...Oh yeah, just for kicks, you know, to see what it’s like and kind of break up the monotony of it,” Hylton said.

Hylton was the 1966 Rookie of the Year and won two Cup races during his 27-year career. He had 140 top-five finishes and 301 top-10 finishes in over 600 Cup races.

However, this was not the only memorable incident involving Hylton. That same year, he took a bet to turn the slowest lap at the Coca-Cola 600. While qualifying, he set a 45 mph average and NASCAR later fined him $500 for the move.

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"Wish I hadn't retired" - James Hylton on his NASCAR comeback in 2007

In 2007, James Hylton tried to make a comeback in NASCAR and qualify for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. His fastest lap was 179.347 mph.

James Hylton at Daytona International Speedway on Feb 07, 2009. (Source: Imagn)

Hylton, at 72, became the oldest driver in a Cup Series race and said (via Associated Press):

"There's no reason to retire and sit around and wish I hadn't retired. Work and enjoy yourself. At the age I am right now, I'm having more fun than I did when I was young."

At 78 years old, he again became the oldest driver to race in each of NASCAR's three highest series in 2013. Hylton finished 18th in his last race.

"I know it's going to be very painful, especially the way this car drives. To be out there running with some of the top guys — before I'd see them disappear, now I can keep them in sight. It's a tremendous feeling. To know at the end of the day it'll all be kind of like a dream. It'll be gone but I'm going to make the best of it," he said before the race (via USA Today).

Hylton and his son, James Hylton Jr., tragically died in a car crash in 2018. They were 83 and 61 years old.