Rex White might be in his 80s, hasn’t sat in a racecar in 50 years but he’s still invested as ever before in the sport he put everything into.
“Well, certainly,” a smiling White told Popular Speed recently. “You know I would be. If I didn’t there would be something wrong with me.”
White is the 1960 Cup champion who earned 28 wins in what was a nine-year career. Except it didn’t end when he stopped racing as he’s continued to watch NASCAR evolve in many ways over many years. From the generation of cars, now on its sixth evolution, to the growth of the sport from the 1950s and ‘60s when he wrestled them around, to a much faster yet safer versions on track this weekend.
And speaking of this weekend, NASCAR will see yet another change start to unfold. The Chase for the Sprint Cup begins with 16 contenders, elimination rounds and four drivers in a winner-take-all event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This is far from the tradition NASCAR started with and the one White earned his first and only championship under.
“I didn’t chase points when I started racing. You know what I chased most? Money and wins because I had to have money in order to race,” he said.
“If you finished in the championship back then, it didn’t pay much, and it comes at the end of the year. From 1952 until 1956 I lived off of racing and you got to take in money.”
There will never seem to be enough time to sit and listen to the many stories White possesses. Almost like a need to know or general curiosity to learn and White is an excellent teacher. Soon it becomes quite easy to get lost in the conversation. There are also the many opinions White never shies away from sharing.
Like the Chase concept in general, which he feels there has to be fresh ideas and innovations in order to survive. White knows that in the end, it’s about keeping eyes and interest on the track. He understands it 100 percent, and while he may have a better idea or no idea at all, at least someone in the big chairs are trying something. Regardless of whether it eventually works out or not.
“NASCAR has got to make changes and keep up with the times such as any other sport,” he said. “If you stay the same thing all the time, you’ll go stale and nobody will come.”
Through its evolution has come the business that NASCAR is today. The development hasn’t necessarily surprised White, but it’s something that many could never have imagined back when it all started. Motorhomes and major merchandise weren’t a thought. Haulers probably would have been much appreciated in his day. And the top-to-bottom coverage is beyond comparison.
It’s also, according to White, what made the sport as big as it is.
“Well, I had no idea. I don’t even think Bill France did that it would go to what it is today. I don’t think anybody had that much forethought, I definitely didn’t, wish I had that much forethought,” White said.
“But what made NASCAR big was television. When it went into everybody’s home, they seen them cars and then they’ll say, well I’m going to go to one them races. Then they go to Daytona or Darlington or somewhere, and they’re hooked.”
Those same fans and many new ones have taken an interest in the Georgia Racing Hall of Famer. It’s more than just wanting an autograph, such as at Atlanta Motor Speedway a few weeks ago when White appeared for a signing. Fans these days are educated about the sport’s history and White’s involvement.
“It’s big when the fans want to know what happened in the past,” he believes, while revealing many come up to him with “all kinds of questions,” or pictures from the past that they can hold a conversation about. Or they want to talk about 1962 and where his car ended up.
This past May helped turn more fans White’s way. His name was one of five chosen for the 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame class, which is inducted early next year.
“I didn’t think I would go in that year. I was totally flabbergasted. Still am!” White exclaimed about that moment.
“Big thing. Lot of preparation, lot of things going on,” White said on looking forward to that day.
“My fan mail, even before I got inducted in the Hall of Fame, I got more fan mail today than I did in 1960 when I was champion. You wouldn’t believe the mail I get. I’ve been storing it for the last couple of years. I’ve got tons of it. It’s double since I got inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
It could very well triple after he slips that blue blazer on in January. Perfectly fitting for a man who still fits in around the garage.