1970 Florida Citrus 250 - NASCAR Grand American Series Event

Serving as a shining beacon of hope amidst what has been an all too dark time for the American auto manufacturers was the recent reemergence of the fabled pony cars. The latest reincarnation of the famed breed has caught the attention of consumers as evidenced by their increasing showroom sales. NASCAR noticed the type’s resurgent popularity as evidenced by their selection of the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger for NASCAR Nationwide Series competition. The pony cars returned to NASCAR action in the July 2, 2010 “Subway Jalapeno 250” at Daytona International Speedway. This event was the first NASCAR event to include pony cars since the Grand National East Series "Buddy Shuman 100" at Hickory NC on November 11, 1973. The event was captured by Tiny Lund in a Chevrolet Camaro by a one lap margin over Bobby Isaac in a 1973 Chevrolet Malibu. Lund's Camaro would be the only pony car in the event.

The current production fleet of retro inspired pony cars is represented by the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and Dodge Challenger, all of which trace their lineage back to the type’s inception. The pony cars first appeared in 1964, as Ford introduced the small but sporty Mustang to the American car buying public. Ford’s competitors soon introduced their own pony cars as the Camaro, Barracuda, Cougar, Javelin, Firebird, and Challenger were born. As the pony car became a consumer favorite, both NASCAR and SCCA officials began taking note of their rising popularity. Soon NASCAR launched its Grand American Division and SCCA launched its Trans-AM division for competition between the manufacturers.

During the original pony car era, NASCAR’s premier Grand American Division race was the Florida Citrus 250, contested annually at Daytona International Speedway each February. In 1970, James Harvey Hylton took it upon himself to give the sporty pony cars a try and registered an entry for the February 20th event. The race was 67 laps contested over Daytona’s twisting 3.81 mile road course and was comprised of a field of 38 cars. The pole position for the event was captured by Tiny Lund in a 1969 Camaro with a speed of 105.821 mph while Hylton qualified third in his 1969 Camaro with a speed of 102.059 mph. Camaro drivers captured 15 of the top 20 positions, all in 1968 and 1969 versions of the car. This was brought about because the redesigned second-generation 1970 Camaro was not released in time to allow NASCAR teams to complete race versions of the cars for the event.

The race would start off with Don Yenko, the 1969 Florida Citrus 250 winner, making a strong charge through the field by racing from 14th to 4th during the first 4 laps. Unfortunately the defending champ's Camaro would be sidelined on lap 27 with a blown head gasket. The crowd of 12,500 watched Lund dominate the early part of the race until Hylton passed him for the led on lap 29. The two South Carolina drivers would do battle for the remainder of the race with late challenges coming from AMC Javelin driver Jim Paschal and Wayne Andrews in the Reid Shaw Mercury Cougar. “Tiny spun me out as I was entering the road course portion of the track;” reminisced Hylton during a 2010 interview “I did a 360 and got right back in behind him. I decided to do a little ‘retaliation’ and gave a little ‘tap’ to his big ole blue number 55 Camaro.” Lund spun his car into the sandy infield and damaged his transmission in an effort to catch back up with the Hylton. “After he tore his transmission up, he was pretty much done and I knew he couldn't catch me” remarked Hylton.

Hylton and his bright yellow Camaro would complete the race in 2 hours 29 minutes and 46 seconds for an average speed of 101.241 mph. The winner’s purse would be $5,580 as Hylton captured his first victory in a NASCAR sanctioned event. The Florida Citrus 250 was the second career Grand American Division start for the Inman SC driver. He recorded his first start in the division on September 28, 1968 as he piloted a 1968 AMC Javelin to a fifth place finish in the Blue Ridge 150 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. “I knew I had an oil leak but I was determined to finish the race and get the win,” said Hylton “It was a thrill to get my first NASCAR win at Daytona and to top it off I won a couple of weeks later at the Grand National race in Richmond.”

Hylton would return to Daytona for the 1972 edition of the Florida Citrus 250. This time the veteran driver would pilot a 1972 Chevrolet Camaro that he would qualify second for the event behind pole winner H.B. Bailey. Hylton would wind up the day in 11th position as Bobby Allison and his 1969 Ford Mustang would dominate for the win. The Grand American Division would only contest four races during the 1972 season as anemic attendance figures in 1971, forced the division to merge with the Grand National East Division for the 1972 season.

FN	ST	Driver	Hometown	#	Owner	Car	Laps	Money	Status	Led
1	2	James Hylton	Inman SC	48	Johnny Divers	1969 Chev Camaro	67	5,850	running	34
2	4	Wayne Andrews	Silver City NC	15	Reid Shaw	1968 Mercury Cougar	67	3,100	running	0
3	1	Tiny Lund	Cross SC	55	Ronnie Hopkins	1969 Chev Camaro	67	2,250	running	32
4	3	Charlie Blanton	Gaffney SC	42	C.C. Appling	1969 Chev Camaro	66	1,200	running	0
5	9	Bob Burcham	Rossville GA	07	Hoyal Jackson	1969 Chev Camaro	66	800	running	0
6	18	Seiichi Suzuki	Tokyo, Japan	59	Tom Pistone	1970 Mercury Cougar	66	700	crash	0
7	16	Jim Paschal	High Point NC	14	Warren Prout	1970 AMC Javelin	65	650	running	0
8	5	Jim Vandiver	Charlotte NC	3	O.L. Nixon	1968 Chev Camaro	65	600	running	0
9	12	Ken Rush	High Point NC	44	Johnny Wheeler	1969 Chev Camaro	64	750	running	0
10	19	Joie Chitwood Jr.	Tampa FL	77	Joie Chitwood	1969 Chev Camaro	63	500	running	0
11	21	Frank Sessoms	Darlington SC	21	Gwen Blackwell	1968 Chev Camaro	63	500	running	0
12	38	Phil Spiak	Rome NY	40	Wallace Cowles	1968 Chev Camaro	62	400	running	0
13	25	David Boggs	Norrisville NC	86	David Ray Boggs	1969 Pont Firebird	61	350	running	0
14	35	T.C. Hunt	Atlanta GA	88	Ted Hunt	1968 Chev Camaro	60	300	running	0
15	39	Amos Johnson	Raliegh NC	71	Amos Johnson	1969 Chev Camaro	57	250	running	0
16	23	Aubrey Cox	Wilmington DE	65	Aubrey Cox	1970 Ford Mustang	54	200	running	0
17	31	Doug Easton	Louisville KY	72	Al Straub	1968 Ford Mustang	54	190	running	0
18	10	Buck Baker	Charlotte NC	87	Buck Baker	1969 Pont Firebird	52	180	running	0
19	27	Doug Harben	Gainsville GA	95	Butch Harben	1968 Chev Camaro	44	170	running	0
20	28	Jimmy Lee Capps	Jacksonville FL	90	George Acosta	1968 Chev Camaro	40	160	running	0
21	34	Bobby Fleming	Danville VA	54	Robert Fleming	1969 Chev Camaro	39	150	running	0
22	32	Richard Childress	Winston-Salem NC	26	Judy Childress	1968 Chev Camaro	37	145	running	0
23	15	Don Yenko	Cannonsburg PA	10	Yenko Racing	1969 Chev Camaro	27	140	Head Gasket	0
24	17	Wilbur Pickett	Daytona Beach FL	0	Flo Starr	1968 Chev Camaro	26	135		0
25	36	Harry Gailey	Clermont GA	43		1969 Ford Mustang	20	130		0
26	6	Randy Hutchison	Newport News VA	2	Warren Prout	1969 Chev Camaro	17	125		0
27	7	Gene Felton	Atlanta GA	37	Gene Felton	1969 Chev Camaro	15	120		0
28	13	Les Covey	Paris, Ontario	56	Jack Mercer	1968 Chev Camaro	15	115		0
29	11	Bobby Allison	Hueytown AL	9		1968 Chev Camaro	13	100		0
30	14	Phil Wills	Nashville TN	8	Brenda Wills	1969 Chev Camaro	13	110		0
31	37	Jim Vaughan	Greenville SC	7	Waven Vaughan	1969 Chev Camaro	13	109		0
32	22	Al Straub	Louisville KY	74	Al Straub	1970 Ford Mustang	11	125		0
33	33	Ernie Shaw	Winston-Salem NC	17	Ernie Shaw	1970 Ford Mustang	9	100		0
34	20	David Pearson	Spartenburg SC	49	Melvin Joesph	1969 Ford Mustang	7	700		0
35	24	Bobby Wilcher	Hyattsville MD	69	Robert Windsor	1968 Chevrolet Camaro	7	100		0
36	26	Howard Bowling	Norfolk VA	39	Thurman Poston	1969 Chev Camaro	5	100		0
37	8	Bobby Wilson	Mannning SC	24	Perry Carbett	1968 Chev Camaro	4	100		0
38	30	Jim Hurtubise	Tonawanda NY	00		1968 Chevrolet Camaro	1	100		0