1960 – White Easy Winner at Nashville

 

Don White receives kisses from Carolyn Reeves and Becky Butner after winning the 300-lap USAC late model feature at Fairgrounds Speedway. - Jimmy Ellis Photo

Nashville, Tenn. (June 12, 1960) – Don White averaged 68.39 miles per hour in winning the 300-lap USAC late model race at Fairgrounds Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

White’s blistering time approached the track record of 71.002 miles per hour set by Rex White last year in a 200-lap NASCAR race.

White, a mite of a 140-pounder from Keokuk, Iowa, registered his second victory in two weeks. He captured a 150-lapper in Atlanta last week where he led for every lap. It was almost the same story Sunday, as he stayed in front for 296 turns of the half-mile oval.

A crowd of 7,000 watched under sunny skies as White, driving a 1960 Ford, proved far superior to the rest of the field.

His nearest competitor, Norm Nelson, also in a 1960 Ford, was a full lap plus eight seconds behind at the finish. Only 10 of the 23 starters were racing when the checkered flag waved and several of them were only going through the motions.

Nelson Stacy, last year’s winner, encountered car trouble early, and pulled out early. Stacy later returned as a relief driver for Jack Shanklin on the 120th lap and finished fifth in Shanklin’s 1959 Ford.

Mike Klapak and Iggy Katona, both expected to be in the running, bowed out early. Klapak retired when the rear end of his car went out. Running second on lap 25, Katona, in a 1960 Ford, blew a right rear tire and slid into the guardrail on the southeast turn.

White, who didn’t finish in the USAC race here last year, said, “I had the same kind of tires as Iggy, so it kind of worried me.”

Actually, Don only had one anxious moment, and that came on the 150th lap when a tire came off a car driven by Chuck Hancock. It rolled all the way down the frontstretch, and White had to swerve to avoid it. The 34-year-old father of three dismissed it, though, saying, “I saw it in plenty of time.”

White required only on pit stop, at which time his crew poured in 17 gallons of gas. The stop, which occurred on lap 174, lasted only 20 seconds. From the time White came in until Nelson made a stop on lap 179, it was the only period in which he didn’t lead. Nelson’s pit stop lasted 51 seconds.

Some hasty figuring might indicate that the race was won in the pits. But to anybody on hand, it was obvious there wasn’t a machine on the track comparable to the one driven by White.

“I’ve got the best mechanic in the business in Paul Newkirk.” White said. “I wouldn’t trade him for anyone.

His only complaint was that he was hot, but the $1,350 in prize money ought to cool things off.


Results –


1. Don White
2. Norm Nelson
3. Earl Balmer
4. Nelson Stacy
5. Paul Parks
6. Les Snow
7. Tiny Shilts

8. Bob James
9. Jack Wyatt
10.Augie Sandman