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Don Whittington arrived from Ft. Lauderdale FL to the Reno/Stead facility early, ahead of most of the rest of the unlimited competitors. Standing alone in the pit, alongside the big rig tractor-trailer painted in the same colors - electric green and polished metal, his streamlined highly-modified P-51 gleamed in the late summer Reno sun. In the engine compartment sat a Rolls-Royce Griffon V-12. The extended nose held a special gearbox which turned the two stacked 3-bladed props in opposite directions, cancelling the effect of the engine torque and pushing a LOT of air. The wings were clipped and scalloped at the tips, the cockpit canopy racing streamlined. Not since the similarly transformed but ill-fated "RB-51" #5 Red Baron took two consecutive national championships in 1977-78, and Whittington's earlier mount Precious Metal came to Reno in 1988, has championship air racing seen such an aircraft in competition. Standing still, it was the fastest airplane at Reno 95!
With no official racing "name", the awesome fighter was nonetheless the talk of the tarmac as visitors and race veterans came by the pit to admire and speculate. "World Jet Inc.", the name on the fuselage and on the big trailer in the pit seemed somehow inappropriate with the big piston engine staring one in the face. "The Mixmaster" and other terms reflecting the potential food-processor qualities of the contra-rotating props didn't quite cut it either. The unbelievable sound that came from this machine when it cranked up on the ramp always drew plenty of attention no matter what it was called!
Qualifying at 380.951 mph it was clear, however that much needed to be done to be competitive with the fastest racers (John Penney had qualified Lyle Shelton's 7-time champion F8F Bearcat #77 Rare Bear 109 mph faster at 489.802 mph - a new Reno record).
Struggling through the heat races with mechanical problems, the mustang found itself placed third from the pole position at the start of Sunday's unlimited Silver Race behind Bill Reinschild in #45 Risky Business and Howard Pardue in the #14 Bearcat. Whittington blazed past them both to score an impressive victory, averaging over 18 mph faster than Pardue's second-place Bearcat.
The crowd had not seen the end of Don Whittington and his clean machine yet tho! He forfeited the win in the Silver race (as the rules allow) to compete in the premier event - the championship unlimited Gold Race of the 1995 Reno meet. In the final race of the week he upped his average lap speed by 10 mph to 390.456 mph but was ultimately lapped by the leaders going almost 80 mph faster. Now for next year...
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