Don Whittington Information & Don Whittington Links at HealthHaven.com

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 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 1987, Don Whittington plead guilty to money laundering charges in association with his brother Bill's 1986 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. In addition to Bill and Don Whittington, Randy Lanier and John Paul Sr. and Jr. 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.

Currently, Whittington owns World Jet, a charter and maintenance service at the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport.^[2]

[edit] 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

[edit] External links

[edit] References

^ Judge: IMS Hall of Fame can keep donated car
^ Where are they now?: Shadow figures AutoWeek, December 31, 2008

[0] Judge: IMS Hall of Fame can keep donated car

[1] Where are they now?: Shadow figures AutoWeek, December 31, 2008

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