Rex White may have been small in stature at 5’4”, but the legendary racer made up for his lack of physical size with the size of his heart behind the wheel of a race car.
White, passed away on Friday at the age of 95, NASCAR confirmed. Along with the confirmation of the sad news, Jim France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO, issued a statement in which he called White a true pioneer of the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).
“We mourn the loss of NASCAR Champion and Hall of Famer, Rex White. Rex epitomized the formative days of NASCAR—a true pioneer whose contributions helped shape the foundation of our sport. His hard work, dedication and talent allowed him to make a living doing what he loved most – racing cars,” France said. “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.”
A native of Taylorsville, North Carolina, White took home the 1960 NASCAR Cup Series championship in a six-win campaign. The driver would amass 28 victories over a 233-race NASCAR Cup Series career, which would see him enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2015.
The racer was born in 1929, which was during the Great Depression and he survived polio, which ravaged one of his legs. Undeterred, White worked on cars before he was even 10 years old, and he would go on to chase the dream of being a professional race car driver.
I’d say the dream was certainly realized.
White was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers during NASCAR’s 50th anniversary season in 1998, and was also included in the sanctioning body’s 75 Greatest Drivers list during its 75th anniversary season in 2023.
Throughout his career, White finished inside the top-10 an astonishing 163 times, which equates to a 69.96% top-finishing rate.
