Don Whittington

Reginald "Don" Whittington^[1] (born January 23, 1946) is a former American 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. Don's brother Dale also competed in open wheel racing.

Whittington also raced in five Indianapolis 500's, with a best finish of sixth. He also made 10 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, Whittington co-owned, with Randy Lanier and Marty Hinze, the Blue Thunder Racing Team.

The Whittington brothers also raced aircraft at the Reno National Championship 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-51D), 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, Spanish-built HA-1112/BF-109 variant, several P-51 Mustangs, and two B-17 Flying Fortresses (including a rare B-17 E model recovered in Bolivia).

In 2009, Whittington sued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation, over possession of the 1979 24 Hours of LeMans 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.^[2]

Currently, Whittington owns World Jet, a charter and maintenance service at the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport.^[3]

Indy 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish
1980	Penske	Cosworth	18th	13th
1981	March	Cosworth	26th	31st
1982	March	Cosworth	8th	6th
1983	March	Cosworth	27th	27th
1985	March	Cosworth	6th	24th

Sporting positions
Preceded by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud Didier Pironi	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1979 with: Klaus Ludwig Bill Whittington	Succeeded by Jean Rondeau Jean-Pierre Jaussaud

References

1. ^ Judge: IMS Hall of Fame can keep donated car
2. ^ "WHITTINGTON v. INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOUNDATION, INC.". Leagle.com. April 13, 2010. http://www.leagle.com/unsecure/page.htm?shortname=infco20100413121. Retrieved 14 April 2010. 
3. ^ Where are they now?: Shadow figures AutoWeek, December 31, 2008

External links

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

Persondata
Name	Whittington, Don
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 23, 1946
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death