Full Throttle

In a break from what has become my NASCAR-nomics Series
I thought a little “role reversal” would be a refreshing change. Rather than bore you with another tome on NASCAR’s personal jet squad, the lastest corporate sellout or mega-deal making someone or something the “Official Whatsit” of NASCAR a look back would stir memories - for us old timers - or give the “post Jeff Gordon Era Fan” a glimpse into what was.

This story, and image, is courtesy of The Union Star of Brookneal Virgina and reprinted in full.

When NASCAR celebrated its 50th Anniversary it took time to honor what they considered the top-50 NASCAR drivers of all time. One of those men was Rex White.

Rex is hardly a household name to racing fans today but many older fans remember and respect his accomplishments, because he was Chevrolet’s best driver from the late fifties through 1963.

He began his career to the top in 1956, grabbing 14 top-ten finishes. After a part-time run in 1957, White won twice the next year. His big year came in 1960, when he won six races and the NASCAR Grand National championship.

When he retired in 1964, he had 28 career victories. Afterwards, he was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.

But what makes his story interesting is that he won all his races on a shoe-string budget.

In 1950, White was still pumping gas in his hometown of Taylorsville, North Carolina. Red Byron was the first NASCAR champion, Lee Petty was second, and Bob Flock was third.

Rex White had stood it as long as he could, he was about to go racing.

“In Taylorsville, everybody drove Fords,” said White. “When I bought a car, it was a ‘37 gray Ford coach with a tweed interior. I pulled the heads, changed the carburetor and timing and had a new engine. Equipped with a new motor, that hot rod would go.

“I ran everywhere wide open, posting speeding tickets over my dash, and terrifying riders with hair-rasing turns. What I was doing illegally on the streets was legal on the tracks, and NASCAR continued to grow.”

His first job in racing began one night in 1952, when he began to work on Frankie Schnieder’s team.

“From then on, I headed for the track on Friday evenings to help him,” continued White.

It was while working with Schnieder that he learned about bite and stagger, gear ratios, tires, chassis, engine, and making repairs after wrecks.

But it was hard surviving in racing with no money. During one stay in Daytona, he worked as a truck driver, gas station attendant, and on a shrimp boat. Things became so tough that he had to sell his personal car.

“Once on the way to Allentown, Pennslylvania, I had enough money to get us there, but we were flat broke and it was twenty-four hours away,” he said. “We had money for two “Dust Sandwiches” and two Pepsi’s. That was two packs of Lance cheese crackers and drinks eaten on the road.

“In looking back at those early days, the racing was amazing. I was my car’s builder, driver and sometimes pit crew. Junior Johnson once told me there is no better education than trial and error. He and I learned a lot through that teaching method.”

For White, money was always a problem. At times, they used parts over and over. If something failed, they had to go back and start all over again.

“Despite what some people believe, racing is a sport and drivers are athletes, but it’s not just because of physical strength,” continued White. “A person has to have talent, concentration, good reflex es, and quick decision-making skills. The mental part is a lot bigger than most people realize.

“Fireball” Roberts became superstitious of the “Kiss of Death,” having wrecked three times after kisses from beauty queens.”

Rex won one race in 1956, was ranked 11th in Grand National points, and came in second in the Short Track division. A year later, he was being backed by Chevrolet.

“I jumped from hot dogs to hamburgers in a hurry,” said White. “My new salary was $650 per month, more money than I’d ever made in my life, and I had an expense account.

“I was able to double-dip; working as a driver and mechanic, plus collect my winnings.”

But that didn’t last long. By the end of 1957, Chevrolet ended their sponsorship of all NASCAR teams.

Rex teamed up in 1959 with Louis Clements, and they became a formidable race team.

“In 1959, I started 23 races, had five wins, 11 top-fives, and 13 top-10s,” he said. “In spite of this, racing rarely paid for building and maintaining the car. I didn’t have full-time sponsors, only a dealer here and there, and sometimes an ad.”

The ads went from $100 to $150. He took in about $12,000, but still struggled. The money was barely enough to survive.

On his way to the 1960 championship, he battled it out with, “Fireball” Roberts, Junior Johnson, Richard and Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett, David Pearson, Fred Lorenzen, Jack Smith, Tiny Lund, Joe Weatherly, and many other hard chargers, with big sponsors.

“During a race, the only thoughts I had were of winning and preserving the car,” he said. “We couldn’t afford to risk everything to place, because the car was our livelihood. When we finished well, we ate well, and if we didn’t, we put that page behind us.”

It’s great to win more races than your contemporaries but this is where Rex stood out. He was not only Chevrolets best driver and NASCAR’s Grand National divisions win-ingest driver, he was NASCAR’s most consistent.

He entered 233 NASCAR Grand National races in his career and finished in the top ten 163 times. That’s about 70 per cent! Tim Flock is the only driver that is close to Rex in the Grand National event category.

He left the sport for good at the end of the 1965 season, and never looked back.