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1960 champion known for consistency, short-track dominance

RELATED: NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2015 announced | Full Hall of Fame coverage

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rex White doesn’t have all the trophies he accumulated over the course of his career as a NASCAR driver. Some he gave away to friends and fans. Others were kept in a shed and ruined by moisture. But Wednesday, the sport’s 1960 champion received an honor which will remain with him forever.

White was elected as part of the 2015 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which will be formally enshrined Jan. 30. The short-track specialist won 28 times over a nine-year career in what is now called the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, beating a young Richard Petty for the championship in 1960 and finishing as runner-up to Ned Jarrett the following season.

Driver  % of votes Year inductedd
David Pearson 94 2011
Bill Elliott 87 2015
Cale Yarborough 85 2012
Dale Inman 78 2012
Tim Flock 76 2014

"I kind of thought I’d go in, that eventually I would get in this Hall of Fame," said White, a North Carolina native who today lives in Fayetteville, Georgia. "Pretty good stats, if that means anything. I was pretty confident I’d get in. If they overlooked me and didn’t put me in, I think that would be kind of an injustice, if I didn’t get in at all. A NASCAR champion should be in the Hall of Fame."

White was one of three former champions elected Wednesday, along with Bill Elliott and Joe Weatherly, in a class that also includes drivers Fred Lorenzen and Wendell Scott. White appeared on 43 percent of the votes cast by a selection panel comprised primarily of NASCAR executives, track operators, media members and former competitors. But he was unsure if he’d have enough support given that eligibility requirements were recently changed to allow the nomination of more modern competitors such as Elliott and Terry Labonte.

"I didn’t feel like I would beat the guys who were nominated this year," White said. "I was hoping, but anyway — made it."

White, now 84, was a force on short tracks in a car he co-owned with Louis Clements and raced out of Spartanburg, South Carolina. He won five races in 1959, six during his championship season, and seven the next year. His best victory total came in 1962, when he won eight times and finished fifth in final points. Famous for his consistency, White finished in the top five in his nearly half of his 233 career starts, and outside the top 10 only 30 percent of the time.

"A lot of people deserve credit for getting me where I’m at," he said. "If it wasn’t for free help in those days, I couldn’t have raced. People didn’t get paid anything. They even bought their own pit passes to come and work."

For big races, White said he’d have five or six people helping him out. That lack of manpower didn’t show on the race track — White’s 28 career victories are good enough for 22nd all-time among premier series competitors. His biggest win might have been his last one, the 1962 Dixie 400 at what is now known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, one of just two career triumphs he recorded on tracks longer than a mile in length.

"It’s kind of like a ladder," White said of his career. "… I feel like I’m almost about to the top of the ladder."

When he slips into his blue Hall of Fame blazer in January, he certainly will be.

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Defending Sprint Cup Series champion was part of Hall voting panel

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CONCORD, N.C.— For six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, voting for members of the sixth NASCAR Hall of Fame class was both eye-opening and gratifying.
 
For the first time this year, the reigning champion of the Sprint Cup Series was included in the voting panel that selects the five new inductees. Once he experienced the five-hour session in which the merits of the 20 nominees were discussed and debated, Johnson was eager to share the experience.

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"That was a huge honor and an amazing day to be a part of," Johnson said. "To sit in a room with so many people that care for our sport and know about our sport and then discuss what took place in eras of time when I certainly wasn’t around…  it was a very awesome and unique experience and something I think that is a huge honor and in years to come.
 
"It’s only going to help drivers in the garage area understand the history of our sport and grow closer and more attached to the people that built this sport. And in a big way, I wish that the garage area could sit in on that discussion and see the respect that the peers and the people on the voting panel have for our industry and for the people involved.
 
"It wasn’t an easy process to work down to five. All 20 on that list were very deserving to be in the Hall of Fame."
 
Drivers Bill Elliott, Wendell Scott, Fred Lorenzen, Rex White and Joe Weatherly were elected to the Hall. Predictably, Johnson voted for his boss, team owner Rick Hendrick.
 
"I spoke to (Hendrick) on the drive up today, just catching up with him, and I’m not sure he feels he should be in there yet," Johnson said. "He’s a competitor out there, and he appreciates the phone calls he received yesterday and the concern from others, but I don’t think he feels like it’s time to be in there yet, although I voted for him.
 
"I just am so impressed with his stats and what he has done, but I still think there are many more to come."
 
HOMAGE TO A PIONEER
 
Richard Petty Motorsports driver Marcos Ambrose likewise is well aware of those who have preceded him, and it was no surprise he issued a statement earlier this week on learning of the death of fellow Australian racer Jack Brabham.
 
Ambrose’s father Ross Ambrose, co-founder of British race car manufacturer Van Diemen International Ltd., knew Brabham personally.
 
"My father knew the family a little bit," Ambrose said. "I know David Brabham, and I guess the next generation of Brabhams, and now there’s a third generation of racers coming through, with David and Geoff’s sons coming through doing very, very well in their own racing careers. They are Australia’s version of the Petty family.
 
"The great thing about Jack Brabham was, not only was he a fantastic race car driver, but he built his own cars. He was the engineer, he was the mechanic, and he was the driver. To think of what he was able to achieve from very humble beginnings… He took himself to Europe and started his own company, building his own race cars for himself…
 
"Jack is certainly a big figurehead in Australian racing and paved the way for guys like me to go to Europe and have a go. He was a great man. I’ve met him a few times and was sorry to see him go, but he left a great legacy for Australian racing–no doubt."

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‘Six-Time’ will line up next to Brad Keselowski for the Coca-Cola 600

RELATED: Coca-Cola 600 lineup

CONCORD, N.C. — The top spot on the grid is a comfortable place for Jimmie Johnson, who won the pole position for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 with a speed of 194.911 mph in the final round of knockout qualifying Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
 
Johnson is the last driver to win NASCAR’s longest race from the pole, a feat he accomplished in 2004. In fact, Johnson is the only driver to win from the pole at Charlotte in this century, having also taken the checkered flag from the top starting position in the fall race of 2009.
 
When Johnson wins a Coors Light pole award, history indicates he’ll probably be fast in race trim as well. So chances are, the six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion will be a serious threat to end an uncharacteristically long 13-race winless streak dating to last season.

"It was a really strong lap," Johnson acknowledged. "I’m very pleased with it. Happy to get this Lowe’s Chevrolet on the pole for this big race coming up Sunday afternoon. We knew we had a great race car today, so it was nice to get out there and work our way through the three segments here and get it done.
 
"On the first run we missed it a little bit, but (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) knew exactly how to dial me in for the second one. We got a lot closer and, for the third segment, laid down a good lap."
 
Thursday’s pole was Johnson’s first of the season and the 33rd of his career. Brad Keselowski qualified second at 194.567 mph, followed by Kasey Kahne (193.618 mph) and Danica Patrick (193.334 mph).
 
For Keselowski, the front row start is his seventh in 12 races this year, with six of those coming from the second position on the grid. Keselowski’s only pole came at Phoenix, in the second race of the season.
 
Patrick paced the second round, a 10-minute session, at 194.595 mph, the fastest qualifying lap ever run by a female driver at a 1.5-mile intermediate speedway.
 
"We have a lot to be proud of," Patrick said. "I mean, let’s face it, this is the part of the weekend that I dreaded every time. I had to train myself to not say ‘I hate qualifying.’
 
"We were (sixth) in a round (the 25-minute first round), we were first in a round, and we were fourth in a round. A lot to be proud of at Stewart-Haas and for the GoDaddy car, and it’s going to give us a great starting spot for Sunday."
 
Kevin Harvick had perhaps the fastest car but didn’t have the chance to prove it in the final five-minute round. When the clock ran out in the session, Harvick was approaching the start/finish line, but because he failed to start his lap before time expired, he didn’t post a lap that counted in the session.
 
Accordingly, Harvick, one of the favorites to win the 600, will start 11th. Matt Kenseth, who likewise failed to take the green in Round 3, starts 12th.

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Crum restricted to tracks of 1.25 miles or less, plus road courses

NASCAR handed down sanctions Thursday to driver Jake Crum for rough driving in last weekend’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, restricting his competition eligibility to tracks of 1.25 miles or less, plus road courses.
 
Crum and driver Ryan Ellis tangled in the early stages of last Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200, both spinning in Turn 2 to cause the second of the race’s nine caution periods. Three cautions and 57 laps later, the two crashed again, with Crum appearing to turn left to hook Ellis’ truck in retaliation on the backstretch.

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The latter incident drew the attention of NASCAR officials, leading them to restrict Crum, 22, with the same eligibility limitations placed on drivers 18 years and younger.
 
"This is consistent with what we’ve done in the past for a situation like this," a NASCAR spokesperson said in a statement. "We have several options available — we can issue a penalty at that time, we can even suspend a driver. We believe this reaction is the best method to let the driver know that this type of behavior on a fast 1.5-mile race track is not acceptable."
 
After the crash, Ellis dismounted and gave Crum an exasperated look as the field circled past under the yellow flag. Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighed in on the contact through Twitter.

 
Last Saturday at Iowa Speedway, Ellis — who eventually finished 40th in the Nationwide Series‘ Get to Know Newton 250 — showed the bruises of his heavy hit with the outside retaining wall and said he had spoken with Crum after a handful of missed calls.
 
"He had gotten into the wall earlier, and he said it affected his truck," Ellis told NASCAR.com. "He said it had gotten really darty. He meant to side-draft off me. There are no hard feelings."
 
Crum, who has competed in 14 events in his Camping World Truck Series career, was making his first start of the season in the John Corr-owned No. 82 Chevrolet.

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Online community again rallies to fund No. 98 ride

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One week after sending Josh Wise into the Sprint All-Star Race by virtue of winning the Sprint Fan Vote, the Dogecoin and Reddit communities have rallied again. The online group has sold more than 5,000 T-shirts depicting its trademark Shiba Inu breed dog (see the tweet below), and the proceeds are going to sponsor Wise’s No. 98 Ford at Talladega Superspeedway this fall in the Geico 500.

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Fans of the cryptocurrency banded together earlier this year to sponsor Wise for the spring Talladega race. The driver showed his thanks by participating in an AMA — Ask Me Anything — on Reddit, a social networking site, and in the process endeared himself to a group of fans with plenty of Internet pull.

"I can’t begin to explain how awesome this partnership with Dogecoin and Reddit has been for our team at Phil Parsons Racing," Wise said in a team release. "Like I said before, we’re just a small team. When we were initially approached with this idea, we never expected it to get as big as it has become. We’ve been able to accomplish some pretty amazing things with the help of the Dogecoin and Reddit communities. It means so much to us to have all that support. We’re working as hard as we can, to do the best job that we possibly can, each and every week." 

Wise finished 15th in the All-Star Race, completing every lap and finishing ahead of drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. An underdog — perhaps UnderDoge is a more appropriate term — throughout his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, Wise has a career-best finish of 19th in 79 races, a result he earned at Talladega in 2010.

He nearly matched that showing with a 20th-place run at the 2.66-mile track this spring, with his black-and-gold Dogecoin scheme.

"We’re really excited to expand our partnership with Dogecoin and Reddit," team owner Phil Parsons said. "With all of the support we received for the All-Star Race and the number of people asking about apparel, it made sense to have T-shirts produced and turn it into an opportunity to fund a second race."

Parsons also credited Reddit user and NASCAR fan Denis Pavel, who noticed a plain black car at Bristol. Pavel, according to Parsons, said he thought Wise "raced the wheels off the car." That led to the 16-year-old leading the charge to find Wise a sponsor.

"The relationship has opened some great opportunities and has helped get Phil Parsons Racing’s name out," Parsons said.

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At home or on the go, keep tabs on the Cup and Nationwide races this weekend

This weekend brings the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series to Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 is Sunday, May 25, at 6 p.m. ET with coverage on FOX.

The Nationwide Series History 300 is Saturday, May 24, at 2:45 p.m. ET with coverage on ABC. 

For more information on track times, press conferences and GarageCam, you can check out this weekend’s schedule. For TV times check out this week’s TV schedule.

We know you may not have the time to watch the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series action without any interruptions, so if you’re on the go, here’s how to keep up at Charlotte.

NASCAR.com’s live Cup leaderboard and Nationwide leaderboard update in real-time and offer constant text updates of lead changes, cautions, strategies, strong runs and everything in between. On the go? Download the NASCAR Mobile app to follow the leaderboards live from your device.

Lap-by-Lap will keep you caught up even if you can only take a peek here and there. Check in now and then to read back through all the laps you’ve missed, or keep an eye on the feed for real-time race updates.

For an interactive experience, join crew chief Brad Parrott for in-race analysis as he chats with readers about the Coca-Cola 600.

We’ll also be sending race updates via Twitter through the official @NASCAR and @NASCARStats handles.

Haven’t tried RaceView yet? If you sign up, you’ll get virtualized video of cars on the track from various angles and hear what your favorite team is saying over the radio. Use it as a second screen or as your only screen. Just want to scan the radios? You can have that too with RaceView Audio. On a mobile device? Get RaceView Mobile here.

If you want to be more involved in the on-track action, you can manage your own fantasy team on NASCAR.com and follow your team’s performance in NASCAR Fantasy Live. Mobile users can also download NASCAR Connect, a game from OneUp Sports that allows users to play other fans with race predictions, for some off-track competition while drivers battle it out on the track.

Live Press Pass streams will keep the NASCAR action rolling even after the winner rolls in and out of Victory Lane. Catch interviews with the top finishers immediately following the checkered flag for the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races, and stay tuned to NASCAR.com throughout the week for the latest news.

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Posted on by Zack Albert

Fans can make donations and bid on racing memorabilia and experiences in online auction

CONCORD, N.C. — As NASCAR teams began practice Thursday for Memorial Day weekend racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the presence of several patriotic paint schemes gave the track a red, white and blue feel. But even cars without the colors of the American flag showed their support where the rubber meets the road.

The Goodyear Gives Back campaign began its fifth year of participation in NASCAR’s Memorial Day events Thursday, with the logo of the Support Our Troops Foundation adorning the sidewalls of each racing tire used throughout the weekend. The program runs concurrent with the "NASCAR: An American Salute" initiative that raises awareness and support for U.S. military throughout the NASCAR industry.

"It ties in very nicely with our whole culture that’s existed since 1948," said NASCAR President Mike Helton. "There’s multiple generations of NASCAR industry members, NASCAR fans that all are very adamant about the appreciation that we have for our armed forces and the families of those armed forces over the past, the current and certainly the future ones. There’s no better moment to be reminded of the responsibility that we have to remember our soldiers and their families than Memorial Day to kick this off. … 

"It’s a big statement. It’s a big loud ‘thank you’ from the entire NASCAR industry to our military members around the world and their families and we’re very proud of it." 

The initiative is more than just a patriotic gesture: What began as a simple show of thanks to the U.S. military five years ago is now a thoroughly successful fundraiser that has amassed more than $800,000 for the foundation in the program’s existence. According to Support Our Troops chairman Martin Boire, the outpouring of contributions has translated to over $30 million in goods and services to the military and their families in just the last two years. 

"As the program has evolved, each year more and more people have become involved," said Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales for Goodyear. "We had visions of it getting larger but I don’t know that we had visions of it getting as large as it has and with as many people coming on board. Any time you do a program like this, you want it to grow and people to embrace it. I think that’s exactly what has happened throughout the course of the program in every year." 

By visiting Goodyear.com/GivesBack through July 31, fans can make donations and bid on racing memorabilia and experiences in an online auction. Goodyear Gives Back will also have events and displays at Michigan International Speedway on June 13-15 for Father’s Day weekend, and at Daytona International Speedway on July 4-5 for Independence Day weekend to heighten awareness.

"When great American companies like this and customers and fans stand up for troops the way they stand up for all of us, it means the world to them when they hear it overseas," Boire said.

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Chip Ganassi Racing driver has made habit out of winning big events

CONCORD, N.C. – Jamie McMurray celebrated his win in last week’s Sprint All-Star Race about the way one would expect a driver to – by leaving town for a two-day test.
 
He did get to spend most of the day after his victory at home, but the new week broke to find him at the shop "with a team lunch and doing a lot of media obligations," McMurray said Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.
 
And by Tuesday, he was back on the road.

"We left at 4:30 in the morning to go to Kentucky for a Goodyear tire test all day Tuesday and all day Wednesday," McMurray said. "We got back somewhat early (Wednesday); we land and I’m driving home and (Matt) Kenseth called and said they we’re having a family get together at his house so I was over there until about eight o’clock last night. So it’s been really busy for me.”
 
Kenseth and McMurray are former teammates, having both driven for Roush Fenway Racing. Kenseth has since moved on to Joe Gibbs Racing; McMurray currently resides at Chip Ganassi Racing.
 
"I got a lot of text messages – maybe 150 over the course of 12 hours after the race," McMurray said of his first victory in the non-points event. "Almost everything was really nice and really good stuff.
 
"I loved going to the shop on Monday and I can’t tell you how many of the guys who work in our shop were slapping their wife in bed saying, ‘Wake up…he’s going to win.’ I think that’s great because that’s exactly what I would have done … so that was pretty cool."
 
The Talladega race winner last fall, McMurray has made it a habit of stepping up for big events. Among his seven career points victories are a Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400.
 
In a season that has seen increased significance placed on race wins, McMurray said he wasn’t upset that his first win of the year came in a non-points event.
 
In a way, he joked, it was typical.
 
McMurray has won three Chase races yet he’s never been among those competing for the Chase title. More often than not, he said, his results would have been enough to gain him a berth in the field – when the qualifications were changed the following year.
 
"Looking back at the way the Chase format has been structured, I assume next year the winner of the All-Star race will be included into the Chase based on my history," he said. "It seems like every year, I’m a year behind on what actually the next year is going to be."
 
It’s something he said he doesn’t worry about. Winning the All-Star Race was an incredible experience, whether it provided points, a spot in the Chase or, as was the case this year, a $1 million payday.
 
"When I got home and I was looking at the trophy and thinking of all the races I’ve won, it was so cool to be put in that category," he said. "As much as I would have liked to win a points race and be guaranteed to get into the Chase, that was huge last weekend for me, for Keith (Rodden, crew chief) and our entire team. So honestly I don’t think about that."

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Teams, drivers and NASCAR.com writers keep you up to date with the latest from the track

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Get the latest from Charlotte Motor Speedway, where drivers, teams and fans are readying for the Coca-Cola 600 (Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, FOX) and the History 300 (Saturday at 2:45 p.m. ET, ABC).

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Each week an expert will answer a tech question on GarageCam presented by Mobil 1

RELATED: Mobil 1 Technology Center

Each week the host of NASCAR.com’s GarageCam presented by Mobil 1 will take an automotive technology question and get it answered by the experts in a NASCAR garage.

This week, Tyler Allen, an engineer for the No. 99 Nationwide Series team of James Buescher answers the Mobil 1 Tech Question of the Week.

Watch the video above to hear Allen talk about the laser inspection process that the NASCAR cars go through. Be sure to tune in to GarageCam presented by Mobil 1 next week at Dover International Speedway and see another question answered.

Sprint Cup Series GarageCam, presented by Mobil 1: Noon ET, Saturday, May 31. (Watch here)

Nationwide Series GarageCam, presented by Mobil 1: 1:30 p.m. ET, Friday, May 30. (Watch here)

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