Interview: Kirk F. White

Kirk F. White took a circuitous route to his successful classic car business in Philadelphia, entering the workforce earlier than most young men after his father passed away when he was a pre-teen. Because he had to help keep the family afloat financially, he went to work as a gofer in a summer camp for $30 to be paid at the end of the summer! As luck would have it, his mother rented out one bedroom of their three-bedroom home to a Mr. John Jewell, who introduced Kirk to automobiles and the racing of them. Among his early haunts was the daunting Langhorne Speedway not far from his home, and eventually Kirk moved into car sales and worked his way up to owning his own dealership. Among his associates in the business was Roger Penske, who subsequently became his partner in several ventures that took him as far from home as Le Mans in France. Today, his motorsports life has slowed down a bit and its focus has turned toward collecting automobile memorabilia. VR contributing editor John R. Wright recently engaged White in conversation to discuss his life in the sport.

Despite enjoying a happy childhood, didn’t your life change completely after your father died in 1949?