Saturday, January 1, 2011
I met Tom White for the first time when I went to work at Rock Tenn Printing Co. in 1984. He was my supervisor on third shift. I talked to him about my racing and he was interested in getting into racing himself. He asked me if I would drive a car for him if he built one and of coarse I said yes. Tom already had a 72 Nova street car with a small block that would run in the nines. We wanted to race Pro Bracket so Tom built a 396 big block and we were racing it by mid season. On July 28, 1984, I won a $600 race at Brainerd. Tom was thrilled and wanted to go faster so he started looking for a smaller car. Over the next eleven years, Tom and I raced three different Chevy Vegas, each one quicker than the last. Those were the most fun years of my life. We won enough to keep it exciting and raced at several tracks including Calhoun, Sand Mtn., 411 Dragway, Knoxville, Crossville, Music City, Green Valley, Darlington, Southeastern Dragway, and Bristol. Tom White was an easy car owner to drive for. He never got upset if I made mistakes and he was always cheerful and getting ready for the next race. In 1988, Tom€™s Neice, Tonia came to watch her Uncle€™s race car. She saw the driver and fell in love, LOL. We eventually got married and she has been the best thing that ever happened to me. I appreciate Tom so much for the friend he was to me and the opportunities he gave me that I wouldn€™t have had otherwise. I feel for his two Daughters, Peggy and Penny, who have lost both of their parents in the last two years. I wish them the strength to get through this difficult time. They can take comfort in the fact that they did all they could to make their parents comfortable in their last days. R.I.P. Old Friend. Wayne Holland.
