Bill Whittington | |
|---|---|
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| Born | William Marvin Whittington (1949-09-11)September 11, 1949 Lubbock, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | April 23, 2021(2021-04-23) (aged 71) NearWinslow, Arizona, U.S. |
| Relatives | Don Whittington (brother) Dale Whittington (brother) |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1978 –1979,1981 –1982 |
| Teams | Whittington Bros. Racing Porsche Kremer Racing |
| Best finish | 1st(1979) |
| Class wins | 1(1979) |
William Marvin Whittington[1] (September 11, 1949 – April 23, 2021) was an American racing driver fromLubbock, Texas, who won the24 Hours of Le Mans and competed five times in theIndianapolis 500.
Whittington, together with his brotherDon Whittington and the German professionalKlaus Ludwig, multiple winner atLe Mans and elsewhere, competed in the1979 24 Hours of Le Mans in aPorsche 935. As the brothers did not have substantial racing experience prior to the late 1970s.[2] Bill's brotherDale Whittington also competed in open wheel racing. Together withRandy Lanier they owned theBlue Thunder Racing Team in 1984, with Marty Hinze. Whittington also raced in theIndianapolis 500 five times with a best finish of fourteenth in1985.
Whittington made twoNASCARWinston Cup starts in 1980, earning an eighth in his debut atRiverside International Raceway (besting brother Don by one spot) and then 32nd in theDaytona 500.
The Whittingtons raced aircraft prior to cars, Bill having won races atReno between 1978 and 1983. They were the owners of theRoad Atlanta circuit.
In 1986, Whittington pleaded guilty to incometax evasion and conspiracy to smuggle marijuana into the United States from Colombia and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison and ordered to surrender $7 million in property and other assets. In 1987, his brother Don Whittington pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in association with his brother's activities.[3] In addition to Bill and Don Whittington, Lanier,John Paul Sr. andJohn Paul 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.[4]
.jpg) N59EZ, the Swearingen SA226-T(B) Merlin IIIB involved in the accident, picture taken on October 31, 2008 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | April 23, 2021 (2021-04-23) |
| Summary | Crashed to the ground; under investigation |
| Site |
|
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Swearingen SA226-T(B) Merlin IIIB |
| Operator | Global Air LLC |
| Registration | N59EZ |
| Flight origin | Scottsdale Airport,Maricopa County, Arizona, United States |
| Occupants | 2 |
| Passengers | 1 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 2 |
| Survivors | 0 |
At age 71, Whittington died in an airplane crash nearWinslow, Arizona, on April 23, 2021.[5][6] According to Randy Lanier and other acquaintances contacted byAutoweek, Whittington owned the aircraft, and was the pilot on the accident flight. Lanier said that Whittington was giving a ride to an unidentified friend who "was terminally ill with cancer and had lost his pilot's license," and that he "wanted to give him an experience of flying again."[7]
The accident aircraft was aSwearingen SA226-T(B) Merlin IIIB,aircraft registrationN59EZ; it was destroyed when it impacted terrain under unknown circumstances.[8] The accident was reviewed by theFederal Aviation Administration and theNational Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).[6] In their report published in September 2023, the NTSB determined that the primary cause of accident was a loss of right engine power for unknown reasons, while a contributing factor was Whittington's failure to maintain control of the airplane.[9]
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Parnelli | Cosworth | 27th | 30th |
| 1981 | March | Cosworth | 27th | 21st |
| 1982 | March | Cosworth | 6th | 16th |
| 1983 | March | Cosworth | 15th | 18th |
| 1985 | March | Cosworth | 12th | 14th |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 |  Whittington Bros. Racing |  Franz KonradDon Whittington | Porsche 935/77 | Gr. 5 +2.0 | 41 | DNF | DNF |
| 1979 |  Porsche Kremer Racing | Klaus LudwigDon Whittington | Porsche 935 K3 | Gr. 5 +2.0 | 307 | 1st | 1st |
| 1981 | Porsche Kremer Racing | Ted FieldDon Whittington | Porsche 935 K3 | Gr. 5 | 57 | DNF | DNF |
| 1982 | Porsche Kremer Racing | Ted FieldDanny Ongais | Porsche-Kremer CK5 | C | 25 | DNF | DNF |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1979with: Klaus Ludwig Don Whittington | Succeeded by |