Reginald Donald Whittington (born January 23, 1946) is an American former racing driver from

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the nort ...

, who won the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans together with his brother Bill Whittington and

Klaus Ludwig Klaus Karl Ludwig (born 5 October 1949) is a German racing driver. Biography He also known as ''König Ludwig'' (" King Ludwig") for his success in touring cars and in sports car racing. In the 1970s, Ludwig drove for Ford in the Deutsch ...

in a

Porsche 935 The Porsche 935 was a race car developed and manufactured by German automaker Porsche. Introduced in 1976 as the factory racing version of the 911 (930) Turbo and prepared for FIA- Group 5 rules, it was an evolution of the Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo ...

, 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 Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia * The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada * Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia *Dale (woreda), district ;Norway *D ...

also competed in open wheel racing. His father, Don Whittington, Sr. was also an American racing driver in the

USAC National Championship From 1956 to 1978, USAC Championship Car seasons featured the top teams and drivers in U.S. open-wheel racing. Until 1971, the Championship contained road courses, ovals, dirt courses, and, on occasion, a hill climb. Thereafter, the schedule ...

from 1957 to 1959.

Racing career

Whittington also raced in five

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...

s, with a best finish of sixth. He also made ten

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...

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 International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American motorsports All-Star Game. Despite its name, the IROC was prim ...

. In 1979, the brothers purchased and operated the

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

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 Marty may refer to: Names * Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names * Marty (surname), a list of people Places in the United States * Marty, California, a former settlement * Marty, Min ...

, the ''Blue Thunder Racing Team''. Don raced for the team on occasion. The Whittington brothers also raced aircraft at the

Reno Air Races The Reno Air Races, officially known as the STIHL National Championship Air Races from 2016, is a multi-day event tailored to the aviation community that takes place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, Nevada. ...

, including the highly modified

P-51D Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts. Allison-engined Mustangs NA ...

" ''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 The Rolls-Royce Griffon is a British 37-litre (2,240 cubic inch, cu in) Engine displacement, capacity, 60-degree V12 engine, V-12, liquid-cooled Aircraft engine, aero engine designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited. In keeping with compan ...

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 The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that preserves and shows historical aircraft at airshows, primarily in the U.S. and Canada. The CAF h ...

and Valiant Air Command. They restored numerous aircraft over the years, including an FG-1D Corsair, HA-1112 (Spanish-built

Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

), 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. 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 The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United St ...

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 The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of Il ...

sided with the museum and found the evidence pointed to the car being a donation. Currently, Whittington owns World Jet, a

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instructio ...

at the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport.Where are they now?: Shadow figures
''AutoWeek'', December 31, 2008

Motorsports career results

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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.infoRARA stats from airrace.orgWorld Jet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittington, Don 1946 births 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers American Le Mans Series drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers International Race of Champions drivers Living people NASCAR drivers Sportspeople from Lubbock, Texas Racing drivers from Texas Trans-Am Series drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Auto racing controversies A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers