Don Whittington

Reginald Donald "Don" Whittington, Jr. (born January 23, 1946) is an American former 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 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.

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 Air Races, including the highly modified P-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 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-17E model recovered in Bolivia).

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