Day Motor Sports Driver Profile: Rodney White seeking more wins in North Texas
ECTOR, Texas — In the past couple of years, we’ve heard from and examined the careers of several talented racers from North Texas. Seems the talent pool there is endless, whether they compete at places like Kennedale, Boyd, or that hot little facility known as Grayson County Speedway.
For 38-year-old veteran wheel-man Rodney White, Grayson County is the playground of choice. White competes in Factory Stock and Sport Mods there, and he’s fast. In 2022, White earned 37 wins, 55 top-five and 59 top-10 finishes in 71 starts. Staggering numbers for any racer, without argument.
“Mainly, I believe it’s everybody that stands behind me and helps me out is why we had such a strong year,” White explained. “I have two guys who go with me to the track; my Dad goes, and my brother races, as well. I secured some major sponsors last year, and they’ve also renewed for this year.
“You just can’t do it without all of those people, for sure. I’m appreciative of their time and efforts.”
White has 22 years of experience behind the wheel, yet is humble when talking about career highlights.
“I won the Southern Sport Mod Nationals at Waco in 2017,” he said. “It was $10,000-to-win, and honestly, the National Championship is something I never thought I’d win. I’d accomplished much less than that at my home track that’s just 10 miles from my house.”
We’ve written at length about the level of competition in Factory Stock and Sport Mod at other tracks. White says you better come prepared if you expect to win races at Grayson County, as well.
“The last two years in Sport Mods, it’s gotten a lot more difficult,” he said. “There are a lot more teams now who are capable of winning on any given night. You need to be up on the wheel and have the car setup right from the Heats through the feature. A lot of guys are very strong in Factory Stock, as well.”
When White puts on his safety suit and gets ready to race, he climbs into some top-notch equipment.
“My Factory Stock is a car that we built when we were working at TRC, so I guess you could call it a 2020 TRC chassis,” he explained. “It was a one-off car; custom built specifically the way I wanted it. As for my Sport Mod, a friend of mine, Kyle Whitworth, built this one in 2021 at Dynamic Dirt Cars.
“As for horsepower, our race cars have strong, reliable motors from my Dad at Whitey Race Engines. We are fortunate enough to have way less engine problems than most teams, thanks to my Dad.”
Along with his silky-smooth driving style and excellent race cars, White also has some key people and great sponsors in his corner who support and keep his program so successful.
“I want to thank my wife, Amanda, for all of her support, along with my kids, Hudsyn and Harlyn,” he said. “My family comes first. Racing is a great hobby, but it takes a back seat when it comes to them.
“I also need to thank all of our great sponsors, including Datapoint Mapping and Surveying; Texoma’s Dent Specialist, TWFG Insurance, Whitey Race Engines, Rj2 Designs, Leading Edge Suspension, Amanda White at The Colour Society; Lacies Bare Girll, Powder AddictionZ, Ink Addictions, The Picture Girls, Lewis Ag Products, Smileys, Peak Nutrition, and Jeramy Hansley at Holiday Chevrolet.”
As we start to draw closer to 2023 season openers at tracks across Texas, White has plans in place to keep him fairly busy. And believe me, busy is a seven-days-a-week way of life for this hard worker.
“We had planned to race in the inaugural Eiffel Tower Classic at Rocket Raceway Park this week,” he said. “I was going to be there with my brother’s car, since mine isn’t ready just yet. So with that event canceled, we’re going to try and make it up to Ardmore, Oklahoma, at the end of February.
“If you don’t run at Ardmore every week, it can be a tough place to figure out. Or it is for me, at least. There is plenty of room to race, I’ll say that. There’s usually four lanes to choose from, if you’ve got the right stuff to use them.”
Once the season begins in earnest, White will no doubt return to his home turf at Grayson County.
“It really depends on what happens with the kids and their sports programs,” he admitted. “That will kind of dictate how close I have to stay to the house in 2023. I’d like to venture out and go to a few other places. I may be driving a Stock Car this year; and I’ve got a guy who wants me to drive a Mod.
“If I did that, I’d be aiming to go up north some to race every now and then. Other than that, if Sports hinder those plans I’ll be at Grayson County and we’ll see what happens. Last year, we made it to 15 nights before I ever even looked at National points or anything else. After that, we stuck around.”
RaceON.com Staff Writer
Photo by Debra Hix
