MEMPHIS TN (July 29) - Due to the almost 1.5 million new cancer cases diagnosed in the United States during 2009, Americans are unfortunately well-versed as to the devastating effects of this complex group of diseases.  The various forms of cancer account for approximately 13% of all deaths world wide while countless more suffer from its debilitating effects as they struggle to survive the disease.  Hylton Motorsports driver Rickey Byers is one of those survivors and has dedicated his racing efforts to both bring awareness about the disease and to raise money for cancer research. 

Byers is a 40 year old race car driver from Leeds, Alabama and on two occasions has bravely battled and defeated cancer.  In 2002, he was diagnosed with stage one squamous cell carcinoma (throat cancer) and found himself locked in a 7 week struggle with the disease.  Throat cancer usually begins with seemingly harmless symptoms which is why almost 70% of all throat cancers are in the advanced stages before being diagnosed.  Byers fortunately caught his cancer in the early stages and was able to treat it with radiation. 

Unfortunately, the resilient Byers found himself facing the same diagnosis only a few months later.   This time the cancer was in stage four when diagnosed and the battle would become a matter of life or death.  "I was physically going downhill when they found it the second time," stated Byers. "In a couple of months, I was going to be dead."   Byers would conquer the disease but would be permanently scarred as he lost his left vocal chord.  “After that bout I was determined to do all I could to help defeat this tragic disease,” stated a determined Byers “I knew I could use racing as a way to reach this goal.”

Byers established his Racing for a Cure foundation with the following mission statement:  To Raise Both The Awareness Of Cancer And The Funds Towards The Research Needed For A Cure And Ultimate Eradication Of This And Other Insidious Diseases.  Byers will donate 100% of all winnings, merchandise sales and promotions to fighting cancer.  Interested parties can go to rickybyersracing.com to make a contribution to this cause. 

For Saturday's Weis Markets 125 at Pocono Raceway, Byers will be piloting the Hylton Motorsports / radon.com Ford Fusion for NASCAR legend James Harvey Hylton.  "I am very excited to be working with James," stated Byers "it's an honor for me to work with a legend."  The ARCA Racing Series event will be televised live on SPEED at 3:00 pm est.

MEMPHIS TN (July 25) - Stock car racing lost one of it's early stars last week when driver Earl Lee Brooks (at left) died on Wednesday at the age of 81.  Brooks, of Lynchburg, Virginia, competed in 262 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events with his best finish being a fourth in the 1971 Nashville 420 in a 1969 Ford Torino.  During a career which spanned from 1962 to 1979, he amassed 3 Top-Fives and 37 Top-Ten finishes in NASCAR competition. 

Brooks was immortalized in the 1977 movie Greased Lighting by actor Jeff Bridges.  The movie was a biographical presentation of the life and time of NASCAR driver Wendell Scott.  Richard Pryor portrayed Scott while Bridges character "Hutch" was based on Brooks.

After competing against one another in 217 top division NASCAR races, competitor and fellow Virginian, James Hylton, fondly recalls his times with Brooks. "Earl was a great guy," stated Hylton, "he was a good racer and I hate to hear about his death." 

MEMPHIS TN (July 20) - Ageless veteran James Harvey Hylton returned to the Buckeye State for the second annual running of the Tim Richmond Memorial 200 at Mansfield Motorsports Park.  Hylton qualified the radon.com Ford Fusion in 24th place for the ARCA Racing Series event with a 18.326 sec (98.221 mph) lap of the half-mile track.  The Inman SC driver completed 30 laps of the 200 lap event before being sidelined with handling problem.  The event was captured by 17 year old Max Gresham of Griffin GA in the Gresham Motorsports Toyota.  Gresham's victory came in only his third ARCA Racing Series career start.  Hylton and his Ford Fusion would wind up in 24th position for the day.

"I had a pretty good visit up there at Mansfield," stated Hylton "I got there a little early and was able to the visit the prison where the move The Shawshank Redemption was filmed."  The 1994 drama was directed by Frank Darabont and utilized the former Ohio State Reformatory (pictured at right) as the fictional Shawshank Penitentiary.  The prison is adjacent to the Mansfield Motorsports Park complex and is open for tours.  Hylton added "I like going up to Mansfield, the folks up there have always treated us great and the facility is first class."

MEMPHIS TN (July 12) - Stock car racing legend James Harvey Hylton returned to the Hawkeye State for the fifth annual running of the Prairie Meadows 200 last Saturday.  "We brought a brand new car to Iowa" stated an upbeat Hylton "we worked on it during practice and got it dialed in right where I wanted it."  The radon.com Ford Fusion was recently purchased from Woods Brothers Racing and was powered by a Roush-Yates motor.  The last car that Hylton Motorsports purchased from the Woods Brothers was the 1971 Mercury Montego which captured the 1972 Talladega 500.

Hylton and his Ford Fusion completed five laps before mechanical issues unfortunately sidelined his efforts.  The race was captured by Tom Hessert in the Cherry Hill Classics Dodge with Hylton finishing in 36th position.  "I love coming up here to Iowa," remarked Hylton "It's a first class track and the fans are outstanding.  Rusty Wallace and crew really did their homework before building this track." 

Hylton heads to Mansfield for next Saturday's Tim Richmond Memorial 200 and then to Pocono for the July 31st Weis Markets 125. "I think we will have the new car sorted out for Pocono," stated Hylton "I plan on running Pocono as hard as I did back at my first race there in 1974."