Don Whittington

23/1/1946

Record updated 23-Jan-07

Raced a Porsche 935-K3 2 winning the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1979 with Dale Whittington and Klaus Ludwig. He is now involved in the aeroplane racing. He also raced in five Indianapolis 500's and made 10 NASCAR Winston Cup starts.

Don Whittington is a former American racing driver from Lubbock, Texas.

He started racing in IMSA with a number of Porsche 934s and 935s. The Whittingtons who owned a large mobile home dealership in Fort Lauderdale then bought Road Atlanta so they had somewhere to practice.

He won the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans together with his brother Bill Whittington and Klaus Ludwig driving a Porsche 935-K3, although Ludwig, a multiple winner at Le Mans and elsewhere, did most of the driving in the heavy rain. He also took at win in the car at and Watkins Glen.

Don also raced in USAC and took part in five Indianapolis 500's, with a best finish of sixth, and made 10 NASCAR Winston Cup starts in 1980 and 1981. He also participated in the 1980 International Race of Champions.

In 1984, Whittington co-owned, with Randy Lanier and Marty Hinze, the Blue Thunder Racing Team.

In 1986 Don pleaded guilty to tax evasion and money laundering charges and was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to turn over $7 million in property to the Federal Government. His brother Bill pleaded guilty to income tax evasion and conspiracy to smuggle marijuana into the United States from Colombia and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Randy Lanier received a life sentence in 1988 without parole, sentence under the newly enacted RICO laws. He has remained in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary since imprisonment. His subsequent appeals have all been denied. After a failed attempt to escape in 1996, he spent three years in solitary confinement.

Don is currently involved in aeroplane racing. Having owned airplanes for decades and at one point owning Fort Lauderdale international Airport, he started his own team. He owns World Jet Inc. which buys and sells private jets and also spends time restoring planes.

He made a brief comeback to motor racing with Dale between 1999-2000, but has since left the sport again.



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