Don Whittington

Reginald Donald Whittington (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 in 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. Don's brother Dale also competed in open wheel racing. His father, Don Whittington, Sr., was also an American racing driver in the USAC National Championship from 1957 to 1959.

Racing career Whittington also raced in five Indianapolis 500s, 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 1978, 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 Marty Hinze, 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 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, 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. 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.

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.

Currently, Whittington owns World Jet, a fixed-base operator at the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport.

Motorsports career results Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Whittington Bros. Racing Bill Whittington Franz Konrad Porsche 935/77A Gr.5+2.0 41 DNF DNF Kremer Racing Bill Whittington Klaus Ludwig Porsche 935 K3 Gr.5+2.0 307 1st 1st Whittington Bros. Racing Dale Whittington Hurley Haywood Porsche 935 K3 IMSA 151 DNF DNF 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 Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team 1980 Penske Cosworth 18 13 Whittington Racing 1981 March Cosworth 26 31 Whittington Racing 1982 March Cosworth 8 6 Whittington Racing 1983 March Cosworth 27 27 Whittington Racing 1985 March Cosworth 6 24 Patrick Racing

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 NASCAR Winston Cup 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 Pts Ref 1980 DiGard Motorsports 55 Chevy RSD9 DAYDNQ RCH CAR 41st 67 Hamby Motorsports 17 Chevy DAY16 A. J. Foyt Enterprises 51 Olds ATL38 BRI DAR NWS MAR Whittington Bros. Racing TAL34 NSV DOV CLT TWS 64 Chevy RSD35 MCH 93 Olds DAY22 NSV POC TAL MCH BRI Smith Racing Chevy DAR38 RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT CAR ATL ONT 1981 RSD14 54th 300 Olds DAY14 RCH CAR ATL BRI NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT TWS RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD35

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 1980 DiGard Motorsports Chevy DNQ Hamby Motorsports Chevy 23 16 1981 Smith Racing Oldsmobile 13 14

Winston West Series NASCAR Winston West Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts Ref 1980 DiGard Motorsports 55 Chevy RSD9 ONT S99 RSD LAG EVG POR SON MMR ONT PHO NA -

International Race of Champions (key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.) International Race of Champions results Season Make Q1 Q2 Q3 1 2 Pos. Pts Ref 1979–80 Chevy MCH MCH RSD3 RSD12 ATL5 8th 15