Rex White facts for kids

Rex Allen White (born August 17, 1929, and passed away in July 2025) was an American race car driver. He became a champion in NASCAR, a popular stock car racing sport. Rex was known for being part of the original Chevrolet racing team. He started his racing journey in 1956 and quickly showed his talent. His best year was 1960, when he won six races and the NASCAR Grand National Series championship. When he retired in 1964, he had won 28 races in his career. Rex often drove General Motors cars, usually painted gold and white, with the number "4" on the side. He was honored by being inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Hall of Fame in 1974 and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. He was also inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015.

Rex White's Early Life

Rex White was born on August 17, 1929, and grew up in Taylorsville, North Carolina. He shared that by age eight, he was already working on his family's Ford Model T car. He saw cars as a way to get around, not as a symbol of a huge sport. Rex was born during the Great Depression, a time of economic hardship. As a young boy, he had polio, an illness that affected one of his legs. Despite this, Rex said, "Most of the lessons I have learned have stayed with me all my life. The biggest one was how to conquer fear." He learned to drive at age six by driving a neighbor's truck in the fields. He often pretended to race while sitting in his family's Model T. People sometimes compared Rex's appearance to that of comedian George Gobel.

Rex White's Racing Journey

In 1954, Rex White got his first car, an old 1937 Ford, with help from his wife's family. Within a year, he was earning enough money from racing to support himself. Rex's first race was in the Sportsman division at West Lanham Speedway in Maryland. He had to stop early due to engine problems. But by the end of that first season, Rex, as a new racer (called a rookie), won the Sportsman championship at that track.

Competing in NASCAR

A replica of Rex White's 1959 NASCAR car

Rex White began racing in NASCAR in 1956. Back then, the top stock-car racing series was known as the Grand National division. In 1956, he raced in 24 events and finished among the top 10 racers 14 times. He also placed second in the NASCAR Short Track standings, which was a lower division.

In 1957, Rex raced in only 9 out of 53 events. Still, he finished in the top 10 in six of those races, with four of them being in the top 5.

In 1958, Rex moved to Spartanburg to work with his friend and chief mechanic, Louis Clements. Together, they built their first modern Chevy race car. They started competing in the NASCAR series as a team. They had met earlier while working for Chevrolet's factory racing team. That team stopped racing temporarily in 1957. Rex competed in 22 of the 55 races that year. He won his first NASCAR race at the very first event of the season at Champion Speedway in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

At 29 years old, Rex raced in 23 of 44 NASCAR events in 1959. He won five races and started from the very front (called a pole position) five times. He ended that season with 11 top 5 finishes and 13 top 10 finishes.

Rex's biggest achievement came in 1960 when he won his first and only championship. His first win of that season happened in the ninth race. Throughout the rest of 1960, Rex won 6 more races, adding to his 28 career victories. He finished outside the top 10 only 5 times in 40 races that year, which helped him win the championship. By the end of 1960, he also received the Most Popular Driver Award and the Driver of the Year awards. Rex, driving his gold and white 1960 Chevy, secured his championship before the final race of the season. His chances improved greatly in the first World 600 race (now called the Coca-Cola 600). In that race, his main rivals, like Richard Petty and Junior Johnson, were disqualified for a pit road mistake. Rex finished that 600-mile race in sixth place. Rex's prize for winning the 1960 NASCAR championship was $13,000.

In 1961, Rex White won seven races and finished second in the overall points standings. He competed in 47 of 55 events that year. He achieved 29 top 5 finishes and a career-best 39 top 10 finishes.

Rex competed in 37 races during the 1962 season. He won a career-high 8 times and finished fifth in the points standings. Looking back, Rex felt his victory at the 1962 Atlanta speedway was one of his best. He remembered how his crew chief questioned his fuel, and he had to save gas. His rival, Marvin Panch, ran out of gas with two laps to go, and Rex won.

In 1963, Rex did not win a race for the first time since 1957. However, he still finished ninth in points and had 14 more top 10 finishes. From 1959 to 1963, Rex White won more races (28) than any other driver. This included famous racers like Lee Petty, Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett, and Junior Johnson.

Rex was known for often being at the front of the race, even if he didn't always finish. He was also one of the first drivers to really focus on winning the overall Grand National Series title. Even without a lot of big sponsors, he earned 36 pole positions and had 28 career wins in 233 races. Rex finished in the top 10 in the points standings for six of the nine years he raced in NASCAR's Grand National Series.

Daytona 500 Results

Death

Rex passed away in July 2025 at the age of 95.

Rex White's Lasting Legacy

Rex White Motorsports Memorial Plaza

Rex White was only five feet, four inches tall and weighed 135 pounds. This made him the smallest person to ever win the NASCAR championship as of 2021. Over 10 years and 233 races, Rex achieved 28 wins, 110 top-5 finishes, and 163 top 10 finishes.

NASCAR considers Rex White one of its top 50 drivers. He also received awards like the Living Legends of Auto Racing Pioneers and the Smokey Yunick Pioneer award. Rex is a member of the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame at Darlington Raceway and the Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame.

Rex's record of 163 top 10 finishes in 233 races means he finished in the top 10 about 70% of the time. This is a very high percentage that is hard for modern drivers to match. Only Tim Flock has a similar record.

Rex White wrote his own life story called Gold Thunder. He also worked with editor Ann Jones on another book, All Around The Track. This book shares 58 memories from past and present NASCAR legends.

In January 2015, Rex White was chosen to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. At that time, he was NASCAR's oldest living champion at 85 years old. He held this title until his passing in July 2025 at age 95.

The Rex White Motorsports Memorial Plaza is located at the former Augusta International Raceway in Hephzibah, Georgia. It includes the 5Wkids Outdoor Learning Area.