Don Whittington

Don Whittington
Whittington's 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning car
Nationality	American
Born	Reginald Donald Whittington (1946-01-23) January 23, 1946 (age 75) Lubbock, Texas
Champ Car career
9 races run over 5 years
Years active	1979–1980, 1982–1983, 1985
Team(s)	No. 91 () No. 20 (Patrick Racing)
Best finish	48th (1980)
First race	1979 California 500 (Ontario)
Last race	1985 (Phoenix)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1978–1981
Teams	, Kremer Racing
Best finish	1st (1979)
Class wins	1 (1979)
NASCAR Cup Series career
10 races run over 2 years
Best finish	46th (1980)
First race	1980 Winston Western 500 (Riverside)
Last race	1981 Winston Western 500 (Riverside)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0

Reginald Donald Whittington^[1] (born January 23, 1946) is an American former racing driver from Lubbock, Texas, who won the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans together with his brother Bill Whittington and Klaus Ludwig on a Porsche 935, although Ludwig, a multiple winner at Le Mans and elsewhere, did most of the driving in the heavy rain as the brothers did not have any real racing experience prior to the late 1970s.^[2] Don's brother Dale also competed in open wheel racing. His father, was also an American racing driver in the USAC National Championship from 1957 to 1959.

Racing career[]

Whittington also raced in five Indianapolis 500's, with a best finish of sixth. He also made ten NASCAR Winston Cup starts in 1980 and 1981. He earned a top-ten in the sport in his debut at Riverside. He also participated in the 1980 International Race of Champions.

In 1979 the brothers purchased and operated the Road Atlanta road-racing circuit, reportedly utilizing the secluded backstretch of the course as a landing strip for aircraft.

In 1984, Don's brother Bill co-owned, with Randy Lanier and , the Blue Thunder Racing Team. Don raced for the team on occasion.

The Whittington brothers also raced aircraft at the Reno Air Races, including the highly modified P-51D "Precious Metal", which set a qualifying record of 438.018 mph (704.922 km/h) in 1976. Between 1976 and 1995, they raced four different P-51 Mustangs (including a rare H model and a Rolls-Royce Griffon powered P-51XR), an F8F Bearcat and a P-63 King Cobra. While they never scored a victory, Don in Precious Metal earned three podium finishes and was top qualifier twice.

The brothers were heavily involved in the 1970s 'warbird' movement, and participated in preservation groups like the Confederate Air Force and Valiant Air Command. They restored numerous aircraft over the years, including an FG-1D Corsair, HA-1112 (Spanish-built Bf 109), several P-51 Mustangs, and two B-17 Flying Fortresses (including a rare B-17E recovered in Bolivia).

In 1986, Don Whittington pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in association with his brother Bill's guilty plea to income tax evasion and conspiracy to smuggle marijuana into the United States from Colombia. Don Whittington received an 18-month prison sentence.^[3] Along with Randy Lanier, John Paul Sr. and John Paul Jr., the Whittington brothers were part of the IMSA drug smuggling scandal of the 1980s, where a number of drivers financed their racing activities with the proceeds from drug smuggling^[4]

In 2009, Whittington sued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation, over possession of the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans winning Porsche 935. The car was given to the Speedway's museum in the early 1980s. Whittington claimed it was a loan and wanted to reclaim possession. The Speedway maintained it was a donation. On April 13, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit sided with the museum and found the evidence pointed to the car being a donation.^[5]

Currently, Whittington owns World Jet, a Fixed Based Operator at the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport.^[6]

Motorsports career results[]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results[]

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1978	Whittington Bros. Racing	Bill Whittington Franz Konrad	Porsche 935/77A	Gr.5+2.0	41	DNF	DNF
1979	Kremer Racing	Bill Whittington Klaus Ludwig	Porsche 935 K3	Gr.5+2.0	307	1st	1st
1980	Whittington Bros. Racing	Dale Whittington Hurley Haywood	Porsche 935 K3	IMSA	151	DNF	DNF
1981	Kremer Racing	Ted Field Bill Whittington	Porsche 935 K3/81	Gr. 5	57	DNF	DNF

American open-wheel racing[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

CART PPG Indy Car World Series[]

Indianapolis 500[]

NASCAR[]

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

Winston Cup Series[]

Daytona 500[]

Winston West Series[]

International Race of Champions[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

References[]

External links[]

• NASCAR and IROC stats from Racing-Reference.info
• RARA stats from airrace.org
• World Jet