Jason White is 35
years old and is married to Melissa Mckenzie, he has two daughters, Quinn (12)
and Jaida (5). He was born in Abbotsford British Columbia on May 3 1973, the
second child to Marty and Lil White, and brother to James. It wasn't far off
base to predict that these two brothers would become speed demons, as their
father Marty was a successful open wheel modified driver at the historical
"Langley Speedway" on the outskirts of Vancouver British Columbia.
At a mere two
weeks old (with cotton baton in the ears), Jason was introduced to oval track
racing, and cheering on the families famous #5 (The White Tornado). All the
cheering and family support drove Marty to his first championship in 1976.
NASCAR had awarded Marty White with the Northwest Division "Modified"
championship, this would be the start of a long career of success which included
competing with the likes of Sneva, Vuckovich, Vogler , Hamilton, Bliss and
Bettenhausen. A super modified championship in 1982 and many track records
across the pacific northwest ( of which some still stand), are landmarks in a
great career.
When Jason turned
15 it was time to start gearing up for a racing career of his own, the family
purchased a Midget Sprint car and Jason hit the dirt at Washington's Deming
Speedway, dirt was a learning curve, as the family had only raced on asphalt,
but this would be some important experience that would be needed later on his
career. Brother Jim (James) purchased a Midget sprint car as well, and together
they went racing' . Jim had been racing for about five years in different types
of cars including a stint in a super modified, so he became a mentor to Jason.
Marty was at the peek of his super modified career touring across the Western
states of America, so he wasn't at the track much. After five years the team
decided that the family needed to grow its trucking and excavating business, and
all three of the Whites hung up the driving suits for a break.
During the break
from the racing cars, Jason could not sit still, so he took his passion for snow
skiing and started competing on the world cup speed skiing circuit. This venture
took him around the world to Europe and to numerous world cups around north
America. Two top five (fourth both times) finishes in the Canadian championship
and a highlight career top speed of 205 km/h in Vars France at the 2003 French
Championships. Jason retired from speed skiing in 2005, but is still a coach as
well as a technical delegate for Canada's World Cup, held annually at Sun Peaks
Resort British Columbia.
In 2000 Sun
Valley Speedway (Vernon) was built by Gary Hammond and his family, this gave the
Whites a place to race that was close to home. Over the next 5 years Jason
proceeded to Win a CASCAR street stock championship (2003) and start building
the foundation for a step up into Canada's elite CASCAR super series. Jason
teamed up with Rob Zimmer and his Zimmer Wheaton GMC dealership out of Kamloops.
The partnership turned out to be a great success, the first year (2005) was a
banner year, the team finished every race on their way to the CASCAR western
super series Rookie of the year title. This consistency opened up the eyes of
many marketing people and advertising partners stepped up to work with the race
team. CASCAR held its final season of competition in 2006, Jim White was the
winner of the final CASCAR sanctioned event (west or east) at Saskatoon's Auto
Clearing Motor Speedway, on this day all three of the Whites were in the same
race together as Jim gathered enough points to capture the CASCAR western series
championship, and Jason captured his first top five finish, a very proud day for
the family.
In November of
2006 Racing in Canada was changed forever. NASCAR announced its take over of the
former CASCAR super series, and would form the "NASCAR Canadian Tire Series".
This take over meant big things for race teams that planned to compete. Jason
and his RZ Racing team competed in four events in 2007, one at Sun Valley
Speedway in Vernon then a trip to the Edmonton Grand Prix for the road course
race. The team finished the season off well with an 11th place finish in the
"Maritime Dodge Dealers 300", and then backed it up with an 8th place (lead lap)
finish at the "Ontario Dodge Dealers 250" in Kawartha, Ontario. The decision to
compete in 4 of the 12 scheduled NCATS races was due to the fact that NASCAR has
a rule if you only compete in 4 or less races the year before, you are still
eligible for the Rookie of the year championship the following season.
After attending
the Finishline Racing School in Florida as well as the world renounced Bondurant
Driving School in Arizona , Jason and his team plan to compete for the NASCAR
Canadian Tire Series Rookie Of The Year championship in 2008, they know this
will be a huge mountain to climb, both financially and competitively, but they
are up for the challenge. Look for Jason White and the RZ Racing teams #21
Zimmer Wheaton Monte Carlo at a race track near you.