By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Rex White, who was NASCAR’s oldest living champion and a 2015 inductee into the Hall of Fame, has died. He was 95.
NASCAR and the NASCAR Hall of Fame confirmed White’s death on Friday. No additional details were provided.
“Rex epitomized the formative days of NASCAR — a true pioneer whose contributions helped shape the foundation of our sport,” NASCAR chairman Jim France said. “His hard work, dedication and talent allowed him to make a living doing what he loved most – racing cars. He was the model of consistency – finishing in the top five in nearly half of his races – and dominated the short tracks.
“On behalf of NASCAR and the France family, I want to offer our condolences to the friends and family of Rex White.”
White won the 1960 Cup Series title and 28 Cup races in a career that spanned 233 starts across nine seasons. He led the final five laps in 1958 at Champion Speedway in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to earn his first career victory and scored 13 top-five finishes in 22 starts.
White won five more races the next season, but didn’t earn his only championship until 1960, when he won six times in 44 starts. He won seven times the next year, when he was runner-up to fellow Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett in the championship standings.
White then won eight times in 1962, but finished fifth in the standings as he competed in only 37 of the 53 races that year. White never contested a complete season at a time when NASCAR ran as many as 62 times a year.
White notched a career-high six victories at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, where NASCAR this year returned after a lengthy absence. He also won three times at North Wilkesboro Speedway and two times at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.
Born during the Great Depression and raised in Taylorsville, North Carolina, White suffered from polio as a child and that altered his gait for most of his life. He had an early interest in cars and was working on the family Model T by the time he was 8. He had learned how to drive two years earlier using a neighbors truck.
“I was unaware the car on which I labored represented hope to people around me, frustration to those trying to stop illegal moonshine,” he said. “I saw automobiles as transportation, not the symbol of an upcoming billion-dollar sport.”
White purchased his first car in 1954 when a relative of his wife helped him with the $600 needed to buy a 1937 Ford. He immediately began racing as a means to earn a living.
White ran his first race in the Sportsman division at West Lanham Speedway in Maryland. He went on to win the championship in his rookie season of the Sportsman division.
He moved up to NASCAR two years later and by the time he won the championship five seasons later, he was named both NASCAR’s most popular driver and driver of the year.
“Growing up on a North Carolina farm, Rex familiarized himself with all things mechanical and enjoyed driving anything with wheels,” said Winston Kelly, executive director for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “Rex was among NASCAR’s pioneers who remained very visible at tracks and industry events for years. He was a dedicated ambassador who enjoyed supporting any event or activity he was requested to participate in.
“NASCAR has lost one of its true pioneers.”