Don Whittington lost interest in air racing following the death of Gary Levitz in 1999 and put Precious Metal in storage. Levitz, a friend of Whittington, died during the Reno Air Races when his own Griffon-powered Mustang, Miss Ashley II, broke up in flight. In 2000, Precious Metal was bought by Ron Buccarelli, who intended to return the aircraft to Reno in 2001. The 2001 Reno Air Races were canceled following the September 11 attacks, but Precious Metal returned to Reno the following year. Buccarelli described flying Precious Metal as a "handful", in contrast Rare Bear, which he had a chance to fly in 2006.
