NASCAR legend Rex White and author Anne Jones will present a program and sign books at the Fayette County Public Library on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 1 p.m.

At eight years old, working on his parents’ Model T, Rex White had no idea the skills he was learning would change his life. He saw automobiles as transportation, not the symbol of an upcoming billion-dollar sport. At that time, he didn’t know how to tear down fences to reveal new worlds, or how to use simple life principles to propel himself down the fast track to winning. Years passed before he found himself on a racetrack, but not many more passed before he became a champion.

By the time White retired from racing he had outperformed every competitor to become the 1960 NASCAR Champion. A modest and personable man, he was also named that year’s most popular driver. Self-taught, he was so knowledgeable about mechanical engineering; he had the equivalent of a degree from Georgia Tech and had become a consultant to Chevrolet engineers. He was the only driver to win a super speedway race with a 409 engine (Atlanta, 1962) and has been named by NASCAR as one of their greatest drivers in history. In the ‘50s, Chevrolet fans had prayed for a hero and White answered.

Now a Fayette County resident, White devotes his time to radio, television and racetrack appearances and writing books.

“I get more fan mail now than I ever did,” said White, who decided he had to write books to answer fans’ questions. His first book, “Gold Thunder,” began with a chance encounter with a writer at Fellowship Baptist Church in Riverdale. “I thought Anne Jones wanted to do a magazine article,” he says now. “If I’d known she meant a book, I’d have run like heck!”

Despite his protests, White succumbed to interview after interview. The manuscript, based on White’s life and the history of NASCAR, was quickly snatched up by McFarland Publishers. Now going back for its fourth printing, it has become one of their most sought-after works.

Because of the success of “Gold Thunder” and the fun they had writing it, White and Jones decided to write another book. “All Around the Track” is filled with mini-memoirs of racing greats. Rich with original interviews and previously unpublished material, the book includes personalities who have and are contributing to the sport on and off the track. Included are J. D. Gibbs, David Pearson, Junior Johnson and Bobby Allison, to name a few. There are also many Georgians such as Ronnie Sanders and Charlie Bagwell (also Fayette County residents), Ed Clark (president of Atlanta Motor Speedway), Capt. Herb Emory (WSB traffic reporter and Allan Vigil Ford 120 racing talk show host), Rick Minter (Atlanta Journal and Constitution sportswriter and Fayette County resident), Hubert Platt and many others.

The event is sponsored by the Fayette County Public Library and the Friends of the Fayette County Public Library. Admission is free and open to the public, and complimentary light refreshments will be available. Jones will also have her newly released memoir, “Brave at Heart,” a beautiful volume combining the story of Atlanta Braves photographer Walter Victor with a lavish photographic history of the Atlanta Braves. All books will be available for $25 each, plus $2 if in a holiday gift bag.

The Fayette County Public Library is located at 1821 Heritage Park Way, Fayetteville. For additional information, please contact the library at 770-461-8841.

login to post comments