Rex White

Rex White (born August 17, 1929)[1][2] is a retired auto racer and NASCAR champion.

His most notable year came in 1960, when he won six races, and the NASCAR Grand National Series championship.

[1] After he retired, White was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Hall of Fame in 1974,[1] and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

White said that at the age of eight, he was working on his family's Model T. "I was unaware the car on which I labored represented hope to people around me, frustration to those trying to stop illegal moonshine.

[2] In 1958 White moved from Washington to Spartanburg in order to join forces with Louis Clements, his friend, partner, and chief mechanic.

White and Clements proceeded to build their first late-model Chevy, and started competing together in the NASCAR circuit.

[8] At the age of 29, White ran in 23 of 44 NASCAR races, winning five times and capturing five pole positions.

[6] White's championship hopes improved dramatically in the inaugural World 600 (now named the Coca-Cola 600), when his chief rivals, Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Lee Petty, and three other drivers were disqualified for not making a proper entrance to pit road at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The last fuel stop was out of sequence and my crew chief put on the pit board that he questioned my gas.

[2] From 1959 through the 1963 season, White won more races (28) than any other driver; including legends Lee and Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett, Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly and Buck Baker.

White finished in the top-10 in the point standings six of the nine years he competed in NASCAR's Grand National Series.

[7] Data as of March 2008 [11] Standing only five feet, four inches (1.6m) and weighing 135 pounds, Rex White was the smallest man to ever capture the NASCAR championship as of 2021.

Rex White Motorsports Memorial Plaza - Home to 5Wkids Outdoor Learning Area is located at the former Augusta International Raceway that is being developed into Diamond Lakes Regional Park in Hephzibah, Georgia.