TRD's Lee White Retires

Lee White, for 15 years the face of Toyota's motorsports initiatives, has retired, effective at the end of the 2013 season due to family health concerns.

White had intended to retire at the end of the year, but chose to step away from his daily duties of president of Toyota Racing Development at this time. He will assume the role of special advisor until his  retirement takes effect.

"I have been planning and working toward retirement at the end of this race season in December," he said. "I have been offered and accepted an opportunity to perform a reduced amount of duties from my home office. This generous arrangement afforded to us by the company will allow me to attend to personal family priorities."

White was responsible for all TRD activities in North America, including: engine development, manufacturing, chassis design and development, team and manufacturer relationships, manufacturer and sanctioning body relations as well as engineering support for Toyota teams participating in NASCAR, United States Auto Club (USAC), National Hot Rod Association, Grand-Am and Off-Road competition.

Prior to joining Toyota in 1997, White began his career in racing with LeeCo Engineering as an owner, driver and engineer. He served as manager and engineer for Read Racing Engines and later became team manager and engineer for Herman Miller Porsche Racing. He has since held positions as general manager and engineer for Roush Racing, Rocketsports Racing and Newman Haas Racing.

Throughout his career, White has participated in programs totaling approximately 1,000 individual race victories and 250 championships.  He is also a private, instrument-rated pilot, aircraft tuner and holder of two U.S. National and World F.I.A. speed records.

"Lee has contributed enormously to Toyota Motorsports in his 15 years with TRD. His leadership has resulted in victories and championships in a broad spectrum of racing series." said Toyota Group Vice President and General Manager Bill Fay.  "He's had an impressive career and his day-to-day leadership will be missed. We offer Lee and Lynn our support and best wishes."

White was a tireless worker in his role as TRD president, always around the garage and in the middle of things. His retirement, while not a shock, comes at a curious time for TRD's NASCAR program. Media outlets have stated that his retirement was not in any way attached to the engine problems that have beset the NASCAR program this season.

However, some in the media, myself included, thought the timing was a bit more than just coincidental. 

That in no way throws discredit on White and his team at TRD. The engines that have been produced have been uniformly powerful and won five of the first 13 races of the season. But six of them--the combined total of Ford and Chevrolet--have grenaded in Joe Gibbs Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing cars, often while those cars were leading or battling for the lead.

And of course, the saga of the 2.7-gram-too-light connecting rod in Matt Kenseth's engine had a life of its own. The fact that the majority of the penalties were dismissed helped, but it was a huge distraction.

Former NASCAR team member Matt Clark, now in a boradcasting role with SPEED, perhaps said it best.

"Let’s respect the body of work that Lee White has done, he had 15 years at TRD, and I definitely have a respect for a man that looks out for his family first," he said. "However, given the failures at TRD with the engines at Joe Gibbs Racing and MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) this weekend, a continued pattern exists there. It makes me question the timing of it, but at the end of the day, sometimes change is good for an organization. As big as TRD is, and everything that he’s done, the NASCAR engine program has not been up to par. Honestly, they have to get that (the engine program) back on track if those teams want to compete for a championship."

While no immediate successor has been named, Clark said that wouldn't matter in the near term.

"First of all, the impact is not immediate; it makes you question where you are at, what the long-term effects might be. Who’s going to fill the spot? But at the end of the day, this is all performance-based. At the team level, you’re like, maybe this change will shake some things up. Maybe, even if it's family-related, someone else with a different voice, different mission, a different rallying cry, could get things back on track for Toyota Racing Development. Change is sometimes good for an organization."

White, as a person, is an affable man with a lot of talent in a lot of arenas. His contributions to American motorsport cannot be overlooked, and we wish him well in his retirement.