The tumultuous life of Bill Whittington came to a fiery end Friday afternoon in a private airplane crash outside Winslow, Ariz.
Whittington, 71, and another passenger perished but details were still sketchy on Sunday as local officials and the National Transportation Safety Board have yet to officially confirm his death. Some of Whittington’s closest friends, however, are grieving after receiving private news of his passing.
Though he started the Indianapolis 500 and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Whittington’s will be remembered his participation in the “International Marijuana Smugglers Association” era of American sports car racing, alongside his brother Don, Randy Lanier, and John Paul, Sr. With his brother, Whittington owned Road Atlanta during the 1980s, and was rumored to land their drug smuggling planes on the backstretch. Despite the complicated legacy he leaves behind, I hate to see someone involved in one of motorsports’ most fascinating times meet their end.
Michael Miller 