Don Whittington
Whittington's1979 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning car
Born	Reginald Donald Whittington (1946-01-23)January 23, 1946 (age 79) Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
Relatives	Bill Whittington (brother) Dale Whittington (brother)
Champ Car career
9 races run over 5 years
Years active	1979–1980,1982–1983,1985
Team(s)	No. 91 (Whittington Bros. Racing) No. 20 (Patrick Racing)
Best finish	48th (1980)
First race	1979California 500 (Ontario)
Last race	1985Dana 150 (Phoenix)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1978–1981
Teams	Whittington Bros. Racing,Kremer Racing
Best finish	1st (1979)
Class wins	1 (1979)
NASCARCup Series career
10 races run over 2 years
Best finish	46th (1980)
First race	1980Winston Western 500 (Riverside)
Last race	1981Winston Western 500 (Riverside)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0

Reginald Donald Whittington^[1] (born January 23, 1946) is an American former racing driver fromLubbock, Texas, who won the1979 24 Hours of Le Mans together with his brotherBill Whittington andKlaus Ludwig in aPorsche 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.^[2] Don's brotherDale also competed in open wheel racing. His father,Don Whittington, Sr. was also an American racing driver in theUSAC National Championship from 1957 to 1959.

Whittington also raced in fiveIndianapolis 500s, with a best finish of sixth. He also made tenNASCARWinston Cup starts in 1980 and 1981. He earned a top-ten in the sport in his debut atRiverside. He also participated in the 1980International Race of Champions.

In 1978, the brothers purchased and operated theRoad Atlanta 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, withRandy Lanier andMarty Hinze, theBlue Thunder Racing Team. Don raced for the team on occasion.

The Whittington brothers also raced aircraft at theReno Air Races, including the highly modifiedP-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 aRolls-Royce Griffon poweredP-51XR), an F8F Bearcat and a P-63 King Cobra. While they never scored a victory, Don inPrecious 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 theConfederate Air Force and Valiant Air Command. They restored numerous aircraft over the years, including anFG-1D Corsair,HA-1112 (Spanish-builtBf 109), several P-51 Mustangs, and twoB-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.^[3] Along withRandy Lanier,John Paul Sr. andJohn Paul Jr., the Whittington brothers were part of theIMSA drug smuggling scandal of the 1980s, where a number of drivers financed their racing activities with the proceeds from drug smuggling.^[4]

In 2009, Whittington sued theIndianapolis 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, theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit sided with the museum and found the evidence pointed to the car being a donation.^[5]

Currently, Whittington owns World Jet, afixed-base operator at the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport.^[6]

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class pos.
1978	Whittington Bros. Racing	Bill Whittington Franz Konrad	Porsche 935/77A	Gr.5+2.0	41	DNF	DNF
1979	Kremer Racing	Bill Whittington Klaus Ludwig	Porsche 935 K3	Gr.5+2.0	307	1st	1st
1980	Whittington Bros. Racing	Dale Whittington Hurley Haywood	Porsche 935 K3	IMSA	151	DNF	DNF
1981	Kremer Racing	Ted Field Bill Whittington	Porsche 935 K3/81	Gr. 5	57	DNF	DNF
Sources:[7][8]

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

• Don Whittington driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• RARA stats from airrace.org
• World JetArchived 2016-04-21 at theWayback Machine

• 1946 births
• 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
• 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers
• American Le Mans Series drivers
• Indianapolis 500 drivers
• Champ Car 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
• A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers
• Daytona 500 drivers

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards