Hi I'm Christie, Jimmy White's daughter. My grandfather was Johnny White. I don't know alot about my grandfather but I really would love to hear or see any thing you guys have. My son is 16 now and I really want to show him who his great grandpa was and how special he was. You can also e-mail me at [email protected] Thank you guys.....
Johnny White (January 18, 1932 – December 24, 1977), was an American racecar driver. Born in Warren, Michigan, White died in Indianapolis, Indiana. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1963 and 1964 seasons, with 11 career starts, including the 1964 Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top ten 7 times, with his best finish in 4th position at the 1964 Indianapolis 500, which earned him Rookie of the Year. The career of Johnny White came to an end on June 7, 1964 when he was paralyzed from the neck down after flipping his sprint car and rolling along the top of the guard rail at the Terre Haute Action Track. Over the years the injuries that Johnny received eventually took a toll on his over all health resulting in his death on Christmas Eve, 1977. Assuming this is the Johnny White you are asking about .... this might jog some memories.
One of my dad's favorite racers and considered by his peers, pound for pound, to be one of the toughest and hardest driving racers to ever get behind the wheel of a ground pounding sprint car.
<table id="post7389" class="tborder" width="100%" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td class="alt1" id="td_post_7389" style="border-right: 1px solid #d6d6d6">Hi Christie, I moved right next door to your grandfather, Johnny White, in 1967. I saw his race car and had to go over to meet him. We became good friends with Johnny, Shirley and all the kids. I met Johnny's parents and they also became good friends. I can't remember his father's name right now but he used to work on the racecar. Johnny was bed ridden and could only sit up if he had a special suit to keep blood flow in his head. Your grandfather was hilarious. once I said to him "What would you like to do"?, He replied, "Get drunk". I went to the liquor store and got a pint of whiskey. I put a straw in it and he had a few drinks. One night after his dad rebuilt the engine, they needed someone to give them a push. I used Johnny's Ford station wagon and pushed the Sprint car down Fisk Street to Schoenherr. The car finally fired up and what racket it was making. Everyone was coming out to see what was going on. Later I moved over to Greenfield, MI. I went back to Johnny's and told him I wanted to take him out of the house for a break. I invited the family to my house for dinner. I put Johnny in his station wagon and on the drive across town, he said he would like to stop at the auto parts and visit with some old friends. We stopped there and the men came out to the car and visited him. Years later I lost contact with all of them. I moved to Missouri. Johnny showed me all the pictures in his scrap book. He had quite a book. I saw the picture sequences of his accident. I was at his house at times when A J Foyt, Benny Parsons and others called. I was in awe. I was saddened to hear he passed away in 1977. Johnny told me that if he could get out of that bed, he would head straight to Indianapolis to race again. He invited me once to drive his car. I had never driven before and my wife, after seeing Johnny paralyzed told me not to even think of it. I am glad I had that short time being his friend. </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px solid #d6d6d6; border-top: 0px"> </td> <td class="alt1" style="border: 1px solid #d6d6d6; border-left: 0px; border-top: 0px" align="right"> </td></tr></tbody></table>
Christie, You say your father is Jimmy. I believe Jimmy was the oldest son, about 12 yrs old when I met the family. The little sister was about my son's age and they liked to play together. I heard Jimmy went on to own a fabricating shop in Indianapolis and developed a new engine with Rich Vogler. I also heard he married Rich Vogler's widow. I don't know how true these things are so forgive me if I am wrong. Doesn't your father have Johnny's scrapbook? Is your grandmother, Shirley still alive?
In the May 13, 2011 edition of the Detroit Free Press, Mike Brudenell did a very nice article about your grandfather with some quotes from your father. You might check with Mr. Brudenell at [email protected] for a reprint. When your father worked at Competition Welding in the early 80's he did some major modifications to my sprint car.
The Jalopy Journal
