In the fall of 2020, one of the events that was part of Goodwood SpeedWeek was a contest in which children designed livery for a Mini. The winning design, as selected by American stock car racing legend Richard Petty, was a child’s interpretation of the famous Petty blue and STP red that adorned several of Petty’s race cars.
The winning design was created by 9-year-old Stanley Wilkinson.
What wasn’t apparent at the time, it seems, was that Wilkinson’s design would be applied by Dub Customs to the livery of a full-scale 1963 Morris Mini Cooper S race car, which Nick Swift and Andrew Jordan drove to victory in the John Whitmore Trophy race during the recent Goodwood Revival vintage racing weekend.
Wilkinson and his family had been invited to watch the race by the Goodwood circuit.
“The 45-minute race saw one of the most illustrious grids ever assembled at Goodwood with Olympic Champion Sir Chris Hoy and rock legend Brian Johnson of AC/DC fame lining up alongside Le Mans 24hr winners Emanuele Pirro and André Lotterer; former Formula 1 drivers Jochen Mass and Brendon Hartley; the only multiple Formula E Champion in the series’ history, Jean-Éric Vergne; as well as F1 drivers-turned-broadcasters Martin Brundle, Karun Chandhok and Tiff Needell,” Goodwood said in its news release.
“The field of 30 Minis battled it out for top honors in the one-off race which celebrated 60 years of the Mini Cooper and was named after Sir John Whitmore, who won the British Saloon Car Championship in a Mini in 1961, his first year in competition.”
“I had the best day at the Revival,” the young livery designer is quoted in the Goodwood news release. “I was really excited to see the Mini and I could not believe it when I saw it in real life, it was exactly like my design.”
Young Nick was invited to take a hand in applying some final paint to the car before the race.
“I was cheering on the Mini during the race and it was amazing when Nick and Andrew won, and I got to celebrate with them afterwards. It was a day I will never forget.”
“It was an honor to be a part of this project although I can’t say I’ve ever had a Mini with a rear wing before,” Swift said. “It was brilliant to be back out on the track at Goodwood, and thanks to my co-driver Andrew, we were able to bring home the win and celebrate with Stanley.”
Here’s a video replay of the race:
Good for young Stan, good for Mini, just exceptional all ’round. Stanley must be the hero at his school.
Great job, Lil dude!
That a boy young fella hang on to that Mini admiration I remember those days when I and the Mini were young.