Hinton was born in
Laurel, Mississippi. He attended the
University of Mississippi and later the
University of Southern Mississippi, where he was a member of
Sigma Alpha Epsilon, graduating in 1970. He began working for the
Orlando Sentinel covering the
NASCAR racing circuit. Hinton moved to
Atlanta and married his wife, Snow, in 1983. In the late 1980s, Hinton joined the new sports daily newspaper,
The National, which folded after only a few years. In 1988, he and his wife had their only child, Tyler. In 1993 Hinton joined
Dallas Cowboys football coach
Jimmy Johnson and wrote
Turning the Thing Around. Hinton was then hired as a senior writer for
Sports Illustrated. In May 1999, Hinton
was involved in a controversy at
Sports Illustrated with the
Indy Racing League. Three spectators were fatally injured after a tire went into the grandstands during a race at
Lowe's Motor Speedway in
North Carolina. The IRL deemed Hinton's and
SI's coverage of the accident insensitive and inappropriate, and revoked Hinton's
credentials for the 1999 Indianapolis 500. In response, the
Chicago Tribune and
The Detroit News announced they were boycotting the race. A few days later, Hinton's credentials were restored, and he reportedly attended. In 1999, Hinton and his family moved to North Carolina, and in 2000, Hinton returned to the
Sentinel and the Chicago Tribune newspaper chain. On January 2, 2008, Hinton left the Sentinel and Chicago Tribune newspaper chain. On July 3, 2008,
ESPN announced that it had hired Hinton as a senior writer for its digital platforms. Hinton announced his retirement on December 31, 2014. Hinton died in
Birmingham, Alabama, on February 6, 2025, at the age of 76. ==Death of Dale Earnhardt==