By James J. Lidington

Studying management under General Electric Co.’s legendary Jack Welch, owning a business in his early 30s and growing sales by more than $11 million in 17 years – undeniably, all big thrills in the business world. But for James “Sam” White ’78 of Columbia, S.C., nothing beats the rush from lying atop a nitro-fueled motorcycle drag racer hurtling down a quarter-mile patch of asphalt at more than 200 mph.

One of the owners of Walker White Inc., a Columbia-based commercial mechanical heating, ventilation and air conditioning and plumbing contractor, White, at age 50, is also a professional drag racer in the All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA).

White, who didn’t start racing until he was 45, is his team’s rider/owner. He oversees a crew chief and mechanic and is responsible for tuning the bike, a hand-built, 800-horsepower machine with a $100,000 price tag. Specialized racing stores – like White’s other business, Orangeburg Cycle Racing – sell them.

With one AHDRA race under his belt this season, White is currently focused on the points race and the eventual crowning of East and West Coast champions. He was the East Coast champ in 2002, the same year he achieved his highest ranking – third place – on the circuit. The experience of riding a nitro dragster is unlike any other, said White, who races in 12 events a year plus exhibitions. “It is crossing a football field per second on the bike. Blinding speed. You’ve got tunnel vision, your brain just scrambles. You’re not behind a windshield and you’re not strapped in. You just have to trust your senses.”

In more than 300 trips down the strip, White has never crashed, but has experienced two engine explosions. The bikes are equipped with a strap to hold engine parts together if the highly combustible nitro methane – “low-grade rocket fuel,” White calls it – ignites improperly. Riders wear suits of heavy-gauge leather, along with titanium chest and heart plates, as body armor. Those who survive a crash generally don’t race again.

White, who earned his degree in engineering technology, said he counts Professor Gary Crossman among his most influential role models. He “worked with us to solve problems,” White recalls. “He taught us how to succeed.“

Fresh out of college, White went to work for General Electric, building gas-turbine power plants with a team of 125 engineers in the Middle East, North Africa and Canada. He graduated from Welch’s London-based Crotonville Management School and headed the company’s Middle Eastern engineering services for three years. In 1988, White and his brothers, Bob and Travis, bought a well-known Columbia firm, Walker Inc. When they acquired the business, it had 20 employees and $900,000 in sales; today Walker White employs 100 and sales have reached $12 million.

White said he learned management from Welch, but acquired his trade and technology skills at ODU. As for his drag racing success, he also attributes that in part to his engineering background at the university. That, and a strong desire to compete against the best in a sport where speed, skill and daring are inextricably linked.