Rex White, NASCAR Cup short track master and oldest champion ever, dies at age 95
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rex White, the 1960 NASCAR Cup Series champion who became the oldest living champion, has died.
NASCAR and the National Motorsports Press Association confirmed White’s passing Friday, July 18. He passed away at age 95.
White was born Aug. 17, 1929, and raised in Taylorsville, North Carolina. As a child, he reportedly learned how to drive when he was six years old. Three years later, White survived polio. While the bout reportedly impacted one of his legs, it didn’t stop White’s drive to race.
In around 1954, White scraped together some money and started racing. Two years later, in 1956, he made his debut in NASCAR. White progressively improved, scoring three top-five finishes in his debut 1956 season, dominating a race in his sophomore 1957 season and finally sealing a win right away in his junior 1958 season.
White took the lead from Jack Smith after he crashed with five laps to go in the 1958 season-opening 150-lap race at the 1/3-mile Champion Speedway in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It was the first of 28 wins in a storied career that saw White become one of the most revered short track drivers in the early days of NASCAR.
White reached the pinnacle of his career two years later when he claimed the 1960 NASCAR Cup Series championship. Competing in 40 of the 44 races that season, he earned six wins, 25 top-five finishes, 35 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 5.3. Standing at five-foot-four, he also became the shortest NASCAR Cup Series champion in stature.
Over the next two seasons, in 1961 and 1962, White picked up 15 more wins and finished second and fifth in points. Them, after making 31 starts in 1963 and 1964, White stepped away from Cup racing.
At the end of his career, White gained a reputation as a short track merchant and one of the toughest racers of the 1960s. Of his 28 wins, 19 of them came on paved short tracks while seven of them came on dirt tracks.
- 28 wins
- 12.02% – 13th all-time
- Led all drivers in wins during his winning years, 1958-1962
- 110 top-five finishes
- 47.21% – Ninth all-time
- 163 top-10 finishes
- 69.96% – Third all-time
- 36 poles
- 20th all-time, tied with Rusty Wallace and Jimmie Johnson who each have three times more starts than White
- An average finish of 8.983
- Third only to Lee Petty (7.6), Dick Hutcherson (8.67) among drivers with at least 100 starts
- An average start of 8.131
- 13th all-time
White led 4,850 of the 48,512 laps he completed, meaning he led almost exactly 10% of the time he was ever on track for a Cup race. Even more impressive, White drove his way into NASCAR history with his own cars and his own backing, sporting the No. 4 in most of his starts.
For his efforts, he was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame in 1974 and the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015.
In his later years, White returned to his family home in Taylorsville before his passing.
Living to be 95 years old, White’s life is the longest a NASCAR Cup Series champion has ever lived. Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett is now the oldest living champion. Jarrett is set to turn 93 on Oct. 12, 2025.
Jim France, the chairman and CEO of NASCAR, issued this statement on the passing of Rex White:
“We mourn the loss of NASCAR Champion and Hall of Famer, Rex White. Rex epitomized the formative days of NASCAR—a true pioneer whose contributions helped shape the foundation of our sport. His hard work, dedication and talent allowed him to make a living doing what he loved most – racing cars. He was the model of consistency – finishing in the top five in nearly half of his races – and dominated the short tracks. On behalf of NASCAR and the France family, I want to offer our condolences to the friends and family of Rex White.”
The NASCAR Hall of Fame also released a statement on the passing of Rex White:
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Jeremy Clements also remembered Rex White:
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com