Elijah
‘Tiger’ White never started driving a race car until he was
50 years old and a grandfather. Known for the black with orange
stripes Fords bearing the number "156", Tiger’s
driving career was a brief five years in length.
Tiger began racing at Oxford Plains Speedway in 1965 behind
the wheel of a 1956 Ford in the old Sportsman division. Even
though most of the drivers Tiger competed against were half his
age, before most race nights were over, they would be following
the "racing grandfather".
When Speedway 95 outside Bangor opened in July 1966, Tiger
raced twice on weekends – Saturday nights at Oxford Plains and
Sunday afternoons at Speedway 95 – and he won at both tracks.
After he won a race, Tiger delighted the race fans by doing a headstand on the roof of his winning car.
Tiger retired from driving in 1969, a season in which he
sustained injuries in several accidents. He returned to racing
the following season as a car owner with Stan Horne driving the
tiger striped "156". Together, they won the track
championship at Oxford plains Speedway in 1975. Tiger finally
retired from active participation in 1976.
