Don White (June 24, 1928 – April 29, 2016) was an American

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

from

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

. He won two

USAC Stock Car The USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC). The division raced nationally; drivers from USAC's open wheel classes like Indy cars, Silver Crown, sprints, and midgets frequently comp ...

championships in the 1960s and was the series' winningest driver. White also had 24 starts in the

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 hi ...

Grand National / Winston Cup series between 1954 and 1972 with 12 top-ten and 7 top-five finishes. At his death in 2016, he was the oldest living winner in ARCA history. He also won three IMCA championships: 1954, 1955 and 1958.

Racing career

White started his first national race in 1949. This IMCA race happened at Cedar Rapids, Iowa; he was second place before retiring because of mechanical problems. White won IMCA championships in 1954, 1955, and 1958. By the time that he ended IMCA racing in 1958, he had won at every track on the circuit. White's biggest competitor in IMCA was his brother-in-law

Ernie Derr Ernest Vigil Derr (October 29, 1921 – January 8, 2014) was an American stock car racing driver. He won 12 International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) Stock Car championships, made one start in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Grand National Seri ...

. He moved to the

series in 1959. His national racing career ended at a USAC Stock Car race at Milwaukee on August 28, 1983. White won the most races in USAC Stock Car history. He had 53 wins and

A. J. Foyt Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. H ...

was second with 41. In a mid-2015 interview on ARCA's website, he said "I think I liked

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

as well as any place. Won 14 or 15 there, so I'd say that was my favorite. The ''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'' cited in his obituary that he was the winningest driver in major races at the track.

Death

White died on April 29, 2016 at age 89. Foyt reacted to his death by saying, "Don White was a good racer, real fair because he never did anything dirty, and real smooth. He always had beautiful equipment and his cars handled real well. He was a super guy."

Legacy and honors

White was named to the USAC Hall of Fame in 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Don 1928 births 2016 deaths People from Keokuk, Iowa Racing drivers from Iowa NASCAR drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers USAC Stock Car drivers