Paul White 1939-2015

ABOVE: Paul White (at left) and Paul Pfanner at the former
shop of Automotive Development and Swift Race Cars.

This obituary honors someone you may never have heard of but who had a significant impact on American racing that can still be felt today. The website you are reading this on now would almost certainly not exist without his positive presence and it is also safe to say that the current Verizon IndyCar Series Championship-winning team might not be so this year. Countless others in our sport would likely not be doing what they do today if were not for his guiding influence.

Paul Wayne White left this life at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 20 after a brave 17-year battle with Parkinson’s disease. In his final years, Paul’s dry wit and the formidable intellect that defined him was cruelly muted by the ravages of this deadly disease. Paul White was 76 years old and during the best of his years he lived a most interesting life at the heart of SCCA Formula Ford racing during its peak era from 1969 to the mid-1980s. He was the Obi-Wan Kenobi of this ultra-competitive category and his bold exploits forever changed the class worldwide.

Paul was one of the most visionary, competitive and willful people I have ever known and he lives on in those he nurtured and inspired. Paul was also modest and kind so he probably did not expect or get the credit he deserved for his role in creating Automotive Development and the company’s groundbreaking SCCA National Championship-winning 1973 ADF MKII Formula Ford (LEFT, photos by Jim Hanson) and later, Swift Racing Cars and the company’s game-changing 1983 DB1 Formula Ford, DB2 S2000 and the DB3 FF2000.

Paul White attracted some amazing collaborators in realizing his big dreams. His partner in Automotive Development was the late Jules Williams – the first man to win an SCCA Formula Ford National race and a master FF engine builder. Automotive Development’s designer was the brilliant David Bruns and Team AD’s team manager was none other than Mike Hull, who today is the Managing Director of Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

I was fortunate to be the arty kid responsible for team graphics, advertising and marketing ideas. This carried forward into the Swift era that began in 1983.

As president and co-founder of the new company, Paul set the bar very high. Swift was going to build a new Formula Ford that would repeat the on-track success that the ADF Mk II achieved in the hands of Bob Earl 10 years earlier but this time it was also going to be a commercial success, too.

RIGHT: 1983 SCCA National Championship-winning Swift DB1 Formula Ford driven by R.K. Smith (Photo by Jeff Zwart).

The new Swift DB1, driven by Swift partner, R.K Smith, qualified on pole and won its debut race at the 1983 SCCA Runoffs. Most importantly, unlike the ADF Mk II, the Swift DB1 was a huge sales success and the company took off. Paul told all involved in those early days that the intention was for Swift to build a winning Indy car someday. That someday came fourteen years later but a decade after Paul left Swift. However, I will forever cherish the magic moment Paul and I shared over a poor cell phone connection as Michael Andretti crossed the finish line at Homestead Miami Speedway in his sleek David Bruns-designed Swift 007i Ford Cosworth to claim victory at the opening race of the 1997 CART season. In that moment, I was struck by the realization that Paul White’s willful intention was the mother of invention for many of us who knew him and even for some he never met.

All of us who followed Paul's passionate leadership learned to dream big with him and to also execute to the best of our abilities. After my father passed away in 1973, Paul soon took on the challenge of taming and shaping the then teenaged me whenever the opportunity presented itself. He was the White light in many a pivotal moment and he served as a beacon to my life’s true direction and someone who supported my racing and publishing dreams fully. He was a wonderful friend and a truly great mentor with a penchant for answering a question with a thought-provoking question. It was an honor to go racing with Paul and a joy to have him involved in my personal and professional life. He changed me for the better in every way possible and his spirit will inspire me until my last breath.

Paul is finally home with his beloved second wife, Betzy and his Dalmatian “Lance” who both preceded him in death nearly two decades ago. He missed both of them dearly and I truly miss him now.

Paul is survived by his sister, Elizabeth (Libby) Smith and his first wife Barbara White along with their two children, James (Jim) and Lisa and grandson Jesse Schultz. All of us at RACER offer our heartfelt condolences to Paul’s family and to his many friends.

In closing, here is what a few of Paul’s racing friends have to say about him:

"Paul was one of the people who made a large difference. He helped to set direction for me, and often think that without his mentoring it would have been very different to anticipate and face the challenges with a “can-do” attitude. He believed that anything was possible, if you worked hard to make it happen. His attention to detail for the small things was denominator for the success that Automotive Development achieved in an ultra-competitive environment. As we move through our lives, each day does become more important. When you’re young, you don’t realize how fragile life is. Each person who passes causes greater reflection on the importance of the time that’s spent with each other. Over the years, as we intersect in each stage, it becomes easy to understand that everything does happen for a reason. I always felt that Paul has and will continue to be with me through every step." — Mike Hull, Managing Director, Chip Ganassi Racing and former Team AD driver and team manager

"I have great memories of working for Paul, he certainly thought of you as family. It was a long time ago but his mentorship has always been a large part of my career in motorsports and I will forever be in debt to him for taking me in and showing me the ropes." — Bill Van de Sandt, Director of Operations, Verizon IndyCar Series

"I have many great memories of Paul. I guess you could say that Paul was my first official car owner introducing me to the concept of driving a racecar for others. A concept I enjoyed a lot … After the time I spent driving for his team I never owned another racecar until a few years ago when I began collecting a few." — Dennis Firestone, President and CEO, KKW Trucking, 1976 SCCA Formula Ford National Champion and 1980 CART PPG IndyCar World Series Rookie of the Year

"Paul and Jules were huge influences in my life, as they were to so many of us young, know-it-all, whippersnappers back in the day. I can still recall getting the phone call from Paul asking if I wanted to be Swift’s first dealer back in '83. Little did I know how much that call would change the course of my business and my life for the next few decades." — Bill Fickling, Founder of P1 Racing, Swift Race Cars original dealer

"Without Paul White I doubt that I would have had the opportunity to accomplish what I managed to do in motor racing. He was certainly the focal point for the early FF days to the ADF and of course Swift Cars. The man had the will!" — David Bruns, ADF and Swift designer and former Team AD driver