Dale Whittington

Dale Whittington (September 23, 1959 – June 14, 2003), was an American racing driver. Born in Orlando, Florida, he was the youngest of three Whittington brothers. All three are sons of Dick Whittington, a 1950s race car owner.^[1]

Indy 500

Despite having little oval experience,^[1] Whittington entered the 1982 Indianapolis 500, joining his brothers Bill and Don to become the only trio of siblings to qualify for the same race at Indy. He qualified 23rd, on the eighth row.^[1]

On race day, he found himself caught up in the infamous Kevin Cogan crash. During the final pace lap, just before the green flag was to drop on the frontstretch, Kevin Cogan struck A. J. Foyt, and then Mario Andretti. As the field checked up to avoid the carnage, Whittington locked his brakes and spun into Roger Mears, a driver in the sixth row. All four drivers were eliminated from the race.^[1] Dale was out of the race having never took the green flag, and never again managed to qualify at Indy.

Later years

Whittington avoided prison time in connection with the 1980s IMSA Camel GT drug smuggling scandal which involved his brothers (Bill and Don) as well as Randy Lanier, John Paul Sr. and John Paul, Jr. Both of his brothers received prison time.

Whittington transitioned to endurance racing, competing in the ALMS series, as well as competing at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1999 and 2000. He competed in Grand-Am in 2001 often racing with his brother, Don.

During his final years Whittington was working at World Jet owned by his brother Don at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport(FXE). His death came on June 14, 2003. He was found dead at his home by his son, the cause of death, at age 43, reported as a drug overdose.^[2]

Motorsports career results

American Open Wheel racing results

(key)

Indianapolis 500

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

(key)

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1980	Whittington Bros. Racing	Don Whittington Hurley Haywood	Porsche 935	IMSA	151	37th	11th
1981	Joest Racing	Reinhold Joest Klaus Niedzwiedz	Porsche 908	S+2.0	60	39th	10th

References

External links

• Dale Whittington driver statistics at Racing-Reference