Rex White

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Rex White
Born (1929-08-17) August 17, 1929 (age 94)
Grand National Series in wins (1960 – 6)
69% Career Top 10 rate
Smallest champion in NASCAR history (5'4", 135 lbs)
Awards1960 NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award
NMPA Hall of Fame

Georgia Racing Hall of Fame
Named one of

NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers
(1998)
NASCAR Hall of Fame (2015)

Named one of
Dixie 400 (Atlanta
)
Wins Top tens Poles
28 163 36
Hickory)
Last race1959 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville)
First win1959 Race #5 (Marlboro)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 3 1
Statistics current as of February 21, 2013.

Rex White (born August 17, 1929)

NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.[4]

Personal life

White was born on August 17, 1929, and raised in

polio as a young boy The polio left one leg withered, but when speaking about it White said: "Most of the lessons I have learned have stayed with me all my life. The biggest one was how to conquer fear."[5] Rex learned how to drive by piloting a neighbor's truck in the fields where he lived when he was 6 years old, and often pretended to drive while sitting in the family Model T, imagining that he was on a race track.[6] White's looks have at times been compared to those of comedian George Gobel.[6]

Racing career

In 1954 White got his first car when one of his wife's relatives helped him scrape together the $600 he needed for an old 1937 Ford. Within a year he was making enough at the race-tracks to survive. White ran his first race in the Sportsman division at West Lanham Speedway in Maryland. He was forced to drop out of the race due to engine problems. By the time the season was over, White, as a rookie, had won the Sportsman championship at the 1/5-mile high-banked oval.[7]

NASCAR

Replica of White's 1959 NASCAR car

Rex White started racing in NASCAR in 1956, when the premier stock-car racing sport was known as the Grand National division. He started 24 races in 1956 and finished in the top 10 on 14 occasions, as well as finishing second in the final NASCAR Short Track standings, a lower division of the NASCAR Grand Nationals.[7]

White competed in only 9 of 53 events in 1957; but finished in the top 10 in six of those events, with four of those finishes being in the top 5.[2]

In 1958 White moved from Washington to Spartanburg in order to join forces with Louis Clements, his friend, partner, and chief mechanic. White and Clements proceeded to build their first late-model Chevy, and started competing together in the NASCAR circuit. They met a year or so earlier when both were working for Chevrolet's factory racing team, an enterprise that retired from racing in June 1957, when Detroit and Chevy temporarily withdrew its financial backing to the industry.[6] White competed a total of 22 times of the 55 races that year, winning his first NASCAR race at the season-opening event[2] at the Champion Speedway in Fayetteville, NC.[8]

At the age of 29, White ran in 23 of 44 NASCAR races, winning five times and capturing five pole positions. He finished the season with 11 top 5s and 13 top 10 finishes.[2]

White's first and only championship came in 1960, and his first win of the season occurred in the ninth event of the season. Through the remainder of the season, White won 6 more of his 28 career victories. White finished outside the top 10 in finishing position only 5 times throughout the 40 starts of that 1960 season, winning the championship.

Atlanta 500 mile event.[6] White's championship hopes improved dramatically in the inaugural World 600 (now named the Coca-Cola 600), when his chief rivals, Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Lee Petty, and three other drivers were disqualified for not making a proper entrance to pit road at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. White eventually finished the 600-mile event in sixth place.[10] White's check for winning the 1960 NASCAR championship totaled $13,000.[1]

In 1961 White won seven races, and finished second in points.[1] He competed in a total of 47 of 55 events that year, and notched a total of 29 top 5s, and a career best 39 top 10 finishes.[2]

White competed in 37 events throughout the 1962 season, winning a career-best 8 times, and finished the season fifth in points.[2] When reflecting back on his racing career, White considered his victory at the 1962 Atlanta speedway one of his best: "My best finish was over Marvin Panch in the 4 car right here in Atlanta in the 1962 Dixie 400. The last fuel stop was out of sequence and my crew chief put on the pit board that he questioned my gas. ... So I knew we weren't going to make it to the end without fueling. I hung on to Marvin and just drafted. He ran out of gas with two laps to go, and I went all the way to the bank."[1]

In 1963 White was unable to win a race for the first time since the 1957 season, but still managed to finish ninth in points, and notch 14 more top 10 finishes.[2] From 1959 through the 1963 season, White won more races (28) than any other driver; including legends Lee and Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett, Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly and Buck Baker.[1]

White was known for running up front even if he did not finish. He was also recognized as one of the first drivers to focus on the goal of the

Grand National Series title. Despite racing without substantial backing, he captured 36 poles and had total of 28 career victories in 233 starts. White finished in the top-10 in the point standings six of the nine years he competed in NASCAR's Grand National Series.[7]

NASCAR career statistics

Year Races/of Wins Poles Top 5 Top 10 Laps led Start Finish Winnings Season rank
1956 24 / 56 0 1 3 14 0 14.3 12.0 $5,333 11
1957 9 / 53 0 1 4 6 193 18.1 10.8 $3,870 21
1958 22 / 51 2 7 13 17 471 5.1 8.1 $12,232 7
1959 23 / 44 5 5 11 13 827 7.4 10.2 $12,360 10
1960 40 / 44 6 3 25 35 541 6.4 5.3 $57,525 1
1961 47 / 52 7 7 29 38 1224 7.6 7.0 $56,395 2
1962 37 / 53 8 9 18 23 1129 6.7 9.9 $36,245 5
1963 25 / 55 0 3 5 14 171 7.7 12.2 $27.241 9
1964 6 / 62 0 1 2 3 27 11.2 13.7 $12,310 28
Totals 233 28 36 110 163 4583 8.1 9.0 $223,511

Data as of March 2008 [11]

Rex White Memorial Plaza
Rex White Motorsports Memorial Plaza

Legacy

Standing only five feet, four inches (1.6m) and weighing 135 pounds, Rex White was the smallest man to ever capture the NASCAR championship as of 2021.

top 50 drivers, a winner of the Living Legends of Auto Racing Pioneers awards, and the Smokey Yunick Pioneer award. White is also a member of the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame at Darlington, and the Georgia
Automobile Racing Hall of Fame. [9] White's 163 top 10 finishes in 233 races, which calculates to about 70%, is unlikely to be topped due to the parity and longevity of today's drivers. Only Tim Flock comes close to such record numbers.[12]

White authored his autobiography titled Gold Thunder, and teamed with editor Ann Jones for a second book covering 58 memoirs of past and present NASCAR legends titled All Around The Track.[3]

In January 2015 White was selected as an inductee to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. At the time, White was NASCAR's "oldest living champion at 85 years of age".[13] White retains that title at age 94 as of 2022.

Rex White Motorsports Memorial Plaza - Home to 5Wkids Outdoor Learning Area is located at the former Augusta International Raceway that is being developed into Diamond Lakes Regional Park in Hephzibah, Georgia.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 NGNC Pts Ref
1956 Max Welborn X Chevy
HCY
 CLT WSS PBS ASF
DAB

22 		PBS
8 		WIL
8 		ATL NWS
19
RCH

9 		CLB
8 		CON
5 		GPS
7
HCY
 HBO
13 		MAR
6 		LIN CLT
21 		POR EUR
NYF
 MER MAS CLT MCF POR
AWS

19 		RSP
9 		PIF
CSF
 CHI CCF
6
MGY
OKL
 ROA
11 		OBS
17 		SAN NOR
3 		PIF
3 		MYB POR CSH
10 		CLT
8 		11th 4642 [14]
10 LAN
25 		DAR
11 		LAN
8 		POR CLB HBO NWP CLT CCF
X Ford MAR
32 		HCY WIL
1957 44 Chevy WSS CON TIC
DAB

9 		CON WIL HBO
AWS
 NWS LAN CLT PIF GBF POR CCF
RCH

20 		MAR POR EUR LIN LCS ASP NWP CLB CPS PIF JAC RSP CLT MAS POR HCY NOR LCS
GLN
KPC
 LIN OBS
2* 		MYB DAR
28
NYF
AWS

4
CSF
 SCF LAN
4 		CLB CCF CLT MAR
4 		NBR CON NWS
8 		GBF
18 		21st 2508 [15]
1958
 Julian Petty FAY
1
DAB
 CON FAY
6 		WIL HBO FAY
26 		CLB PIF ATL CLT
MAR

2
ODS

3 		OBS
3 		GPS GBF STR
2
NWS

3 		BGS
2* 		TRN
RSD
 CLB NBS REF
AWS

1* 		RSP
3 		MCC
3
SLS
 TOR
7*
BUF

5 		MCF
21 		BEL
2
BRR
 CLB 7th 6552 [16]
Jim Parsley 70 Chevy LIN
11
HCY
Rex White 11 Chevy
NSV

23*
AWS

37 		BGS MBS
40 DAR
7 		CLT BIR
7
CSF
 GAF
RCH
 HBO SAS
MAR

3 		NWS ATL
1959 FAY
10 		10th 5526 [17]
4
DAY

10 		DAY
26 		HBO CON
14 		ATL WIL BGS
3 		CLB
NWS
 REF
19
MAR

15 		TRN CLT
NSV

1 		ASP PIF GPS ATL CLB WIL
RCH
 BGS
1**
AWS

1 		DAY
23 		HEI
2* 		CLT MBS CLT
NSV

24* 		AWS
5 		BGS
1** 		GPS CLB DAR
17
HCY

3
RCH
CSF
MAR

1*
AWS

4
NWS

2
Lund Racing
 5 Chevy HCY
21
Beau Morgan 15 Ford HBO
17 		CON
14
1960 CLT
14 		CLB
DAY
 1st 21164 [18]
Rex White 4 Chevy
DAY

4 		DAY
9 		CLT
2 		NWS
2 		PHO CLB
1
MAR

4 		HCY
14 		WIL
4 		BGS
2
GPS

9
AWS

7
DAR

3 		PIF
12 		HBO
11
RCH

2 		CLT
6 		BGS
3
DAY

6 		HEI
3 		MAB
1* 		MBS
3
ATL

23 		NSV
2
AWS

1 		PIF
5
CLB

1 		SBO
3 		BGS
4 		DAR
2
HCY

3
CSF
 GSP
6 		HBO
3
MAR

1
NWS

1 		CLT
6
RCH

8 		ATL
5
Scotty Cain 41 Ford
HMS

8
L. D. Austin 74 Chevy BIR
9
1961 White-Clements Racing 4 Chevy CLT
2 		JSP
3
DAY

21
DAY
 DAY
12 		PIF
7
AWS

1**
ATL

2 		GPS
3* 		HBO
5 		BGS
1*
NWS

1* 		CLB
5 		HCY
3
RCH

10 		MAR
9 		DAR
24 		CLT
14 		CLT RSD ASP CLT
3 		PIF
10 		BIR
4
GPS

8
BGS

1 		NOR
2 		HAS
3 		STR
2
DAY

23 		ATL
10 		CLB
14 		MBS
10
BRI

25 		NSV
23 		BGS
1
AWS

3 		RCH
4 		SBO
5 		HCY
1
RCH

3
CSF
 ATL
18 		NWS
1* 		CLT
5
BRI

2 		GPS
3 		HBO
2 		2nd 26442 [19]
47
HMS

6
4 Ford
MAR

2*
47 Pontiac DAR
10
4
MAR

2
1962
 Chevy CON
4
AWS

1*
DAY
DAY

3 		DAY
7 		CON
15
AWS

18 		SVH
5 		HBO
1
RCH

1 		CLB
6
NWS

31
GPS

17 		MBS
MAR

3 		BGS
1** 		BRI
29 		RCH
13* 		HCY
2 		CON
20
DAR

27 		PIF
CLT

11
ATL

21 		BGS
2
AUG
 RCH
2* 		SBO
1*
DAY

11 		CLB
1
ASH

17*
GPS

5
AUG
 SVH MBS BRI
7 		CHT NSV HUN
AWS

3 		STR
BGS
 PIF VAL DAR
9
HCY

1*
RCH

5 		DTS
AUG
MAR

27
NWS

8 		CLT
30 		ATL
1 		5th 19424 [20]
1963 BIR
7 		GGS
13 		THS
RSD

15
DAY
DAY

2 		DAY
14 		PIF
AWS
 HBO
ATL

6 		HCY
BRI

24
AUG
RCH

3
GPS
SBO
 BGS
MAR

11 		NWS
7
CLB
 THS
DAR

31
ODS
 RCH
CLT

3 		BIR
ATL

6 		9th 20976 [21]
Mercury
DAY

21 		MBS SVH DTS BGS
ASH
 OBS
2
BRR

7
BRI

9 		GPS NSV
17 		CLB AWS PIF
BGS
 ONA DAR
6
HCY

22
RCH

2 		MAR
25 		DTS
NWS

7 		THS CLT
9
SBO
 HBO RSD
37
1964
 CON AUG
26 		JSP SVH
RSD
DAY
DAY
 DAY
RCH
 28th 8222 [22]
Bud Moore Engineering
BRI

9
GPS
 BGS
DAR

21 		LGY HCY SBO CLT
3
GPS
ASH
ATL

5 		CON
NSV
 CHT BIR VAL PIF DAY ODS OBS
BRR
 ISP GLN
LIN
 BRI NSV
MBS
AWS
 DTS ONA CLB BGS STR DAR
HCY
RCH
ODS
HBO
 MAR SVH NWS CLT HAR AUG JAC
01 ATL
18
AWS
 HBO PIF
CLB
NWS
MAR
 SVH
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1959 Rex White Chevrolet 19 26
1960 8 9
1961 White-Clements Racing 41 12
1962 8 7
1963 6 14

Further reading

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Via, Roland (March 12, 2008). "Rex White". Legends Of NASCAR. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Racing Reference: Rex White". racing-reference.info. Archived from the original on 2009-03-11. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  3. ^ a b c Jones, Anne. "Chevrolet Brings Back Its Champion". Rex White Racing (rexwhiteracing.com). Archived from the original on 2008-07-09. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  4. ^ Samples, Steve (March 12, 2008). "NASCAR Honors Top 50 Drivers". Legends Of NASCAR. Archived from the original on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  5. ISBN 9780786419753
    .
  6. ^ a b c d Wright, Alfred (November 7, 1960). "A King Named Rex". He failed to win Sunday, but Rex white is the newest—and richest—NASCAR champions. Sports Illustrated: Time Inc. A Time Warner Company. pp. 1, 2. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  7. ^ a b c d e Rex White, the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide. "HowStuffWorks". HowStuffWorks. Archived from the original on 2009-06-09. Retrieved 2009-03-12. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ "Racing Reference: Champion Speedway". racing-reference.info. Archived from the original on 2007-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  9. ^
    ISBN 0-7864-1975-X. Archived
    from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  10. ^ "1960 World 600". racing-reference.info. Archived from the original on 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  11. ^ "Rex White Career Statistics". Archived from the original on 2009-03-11. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
  12. ^ "Rex White". Living Legends of Auto Racing. Archived from the original on 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  13. ^ Pennell, Jay. "Standing tall: Rex White, NASCAR's oldest living champion, gets his due". www.foxsports.com/. Fox News. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Rex White – 1956 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  15. ^ "Rex White – 1957 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  16. ^ "Rex White – 1958 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  17. ^ "Rex White – 1959 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  18. ^ "Rex White – 1960 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  19. ^ "Rex White – 1961 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  20. ^ "Rex White – 1962 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  21. ^ "Rex White – 1963 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  22. ^ "Rex White – 1964 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.

External links

Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Series Champion
1960 		Succeeded by
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