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 The 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 47th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 9 and 10 June 1979. With no other major works cars this year, the Porsche team were the strong favourites to win. Their competition would be from Cosworth-pow ...

together with his brother

Bill Whittington William Marvin Whittington (September 11, 1949 – April 23, 2021) was an American racing driver from Lubbock, Texas, who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and competed five times in the Indianapolis 500. Career Whittington, together with his brother D ...

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 Deutsche ...

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 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 Indi ...

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 ...

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 Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

. 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 primar ...

. 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 Randy Thomas Lanier (born 1954) is a professional race car driver and convicted drug trafficker from the United States. He is best known for his racing efforts in the mid-1980s, including winning the 1984 IMSA Camel GT title for the wholly ind ...

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 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 cu in) capacity, 60-degree V-12, liquid-cooled aero engine designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited. In keeping with company convention, the Griffon was named after a bird of pre ...

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. Along with

, John Paul Sr. and John Paul Jr., the Whittington brothers were part of the

IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...

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 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 ...

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 instruction, ...

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