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52-621: Cole Whitt, born to Tobin and Kim Whitt, was inspired to race when he saw his cousin Brandon with a go-kart. After winning championships in go-karts, Whitt moved up to sprint cars in 2004. Whitt was quickly noticed by Red Bull and was in the semifinals for Red Bull's driver development search. After winning the Hoosier Sprint Rookie of the Year award in 2006, Whitt traveled around the United States

104-541: A great job with these cars right now. I am just the lucky guy that gets to drive these things." "I had a blast tonight," said Gordon, who remained on top of the point standings. "Great short-track racing here at Richmond. And to have a race car like that to drive from 25th up to the front was so much fun." Brad Keselowski was not happy with Matt Kenseth and showed his displeasure during the cool down lap when he brake-checked Matt. Dale Earnhardt Jr. tried to rundown Keselowski after he ran into Kenseth because of Brad, but

156-469: A little bit of a cushion, maybe enough of a cushion to make it four or five laps there.” Richmond International Raceway is a four-turn short track that is 0.75 miles (1.21 km) long. The turns are banked at fourteen degrees. The front stretch is banked at eight degrees and the back stretch is banked at two degrees. Richmond can seat 97,912 people. Kevin Harvick was the defending race winner after winning

208-507: A little bit to come that close because we worked so hard to try to win races. Running second is great but nobody is going to really remember that. But we're proud of it.” “Yeah, just very happy to finish there in the top three,” said Johnson. “I thought we had a shot at a win. I think if things stayed green after our last pit stop, we had a good chance at it, good shot at it. I'm happy with (crew chief) Chad's (Knaus) decision to go with two, and there were enough cars that took two that it gave us

260-441: A right-front tire failure on lap 157 and chunks of burning rubber from his car scattered onto the racing surface past the exit of pit road. This brought out the fourth caution of the race on lap 161. Clint Bowyer had a similar tire failure that caught fire and melted the right-front fender of the car. Gordon and Brad Keselowski swapped the lead with the former being pitted behind the start/finish line. He beat Brad off to resume leading

312-515: A team his father owned. He finished thirteenth in his debut, and ran six additional races that season, his best finish a thirteenth at California Speedway . In 2004 , Whitt and his team ran the Truck Series full-time with sponsorship from McMillin Homes and running Ford F-150s . Despite not finishing any race higher than 12th in his rookie season, Whitt finished 19th in the final standings. During

364-531: A time of 21.733 and a speed of 124.235 mph (199.937 km/h). Qualifying was rained out so the starting lineup was set by first practice results. Kyle Larson earned his first career pole as a result. “We came here and tested last year for Goodyear and had a good baseline and was pretty confident with our qualifying trim without getting used to the car yet,’’ Larson said. “Then we switched over to race trim and we were good in that, so excited about that.’’ Dave Blaney and Michael McDowell failed to qualify for

416-470: A top 10 finish, but was involved in the last lap crash finishing a season best 18th. On the series' return to Daytona, Whitt was able to avoid major crash involvement and crossed the line 11th, a new career best, and Jay Robinson's best finish as a Sprint Cup owner. During the season, Whitt also ran sporadically for TriStar Motorsports in the Xfinity Series and RBR Enterprises in the Truck Series. During

468-598: A transmission issue on lap 9, causing the No. 72 to finish 39th, beginning a three-race string of DNFs: at Kentucky, he finished 34th; at Loudon, he blew an engine on lap 66, finishing 38th. At Indianapolis, the team was able to avoid the crashes that gobbled up several racers and keep the engine running to finish 12th. Before the Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington, it was announced Whitt would run his grandfather's "lime green machine" modified scheme sponsored by Ted Whitt Plumbing. He ran

520-535: Is an American former stock car racing driver. A third-generation racer, he has run in all three of NASCAR 's top divisions. He is the older cousin of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Cole Whitt . Whitt won the Rookie of the Year title in NASCAR's Southwest Touring division in 2002 while attending college, and made his Craftsman Truck Series debut in 2003, driving the #38 Chevrolet Silverado for Clean Line Motorsports ,

572-406: Is exploring every available option. We hope to be in a position to provide a detailed update in the near future." On April 23, Swan Racing sold both of its teams to different shops. Anthony Marlowe merged his ownership of the number 26 car with BK Racing and the number 30 car was sold to Xxxtreme Motorsports. Cole Whitt stayed in the number 26 car for Richmond, but Parker Kligerman was not in

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624-532: Is the Southern 500, this is as big as it gets in NASCAR racing. It feels great. It’s allowed us with the way the points system is to go for wins and not have to worry about the bad weeks too much,” he said. “Really proud for these guys and looking forward to the last 10." “It's a little disappointing to come that close because I know I don't really run that well here and the opportunities to win are going to be very few compared to other tracks,” said Earnhardt Jr. “It hurts

676-579: The 2005 season, his team was purchased by Jeff Hammond and Tom DeLoach , renamed Red Horse Racing and switched to Toyota . He won his first race at Memphis Motorsports Park (from the pole) after taking the lead from a spinning Ron Hornaday Jr. on the last lap. He was dismissed from the team at the end of the season, leaving him out of a ride. However, Whitt soon signed with ARCA Racing Series team CLR Racing . In 2006, he attempted his first NEXTEL Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway with CJM Racing and qualified 37th, but finished 43rd. He

728-727: The Chase for the Championship , being replaced by drivers like D. J. Kennington . Whitt had a hand in determining the 2016 Xfinity Series champion. Late in the Ford EcoBoost 300 , a caution came out. Whitt was running eighteenth in TriStar Motorsports ' No. 14 entry and on the lead lap, but the team was out of tires. Whitt's crew decided to keep him out, meaning that he would restart first, alongside Chase contender Daniel Suárez . The other three Chase contenders were near Whitt; Elliott Sadler

780-579: The Cheez-It 355 at The Glen , Whitt crashed early in the race when his car drove straight into a tire barrier in turn 1 in an accident that loosely resembled Jimmie Johnson 's infamous crash at the same spot in 2000. Whitt climbed out mostly unscathed. Whitt led his first lap in Sprint Cup competition under caution in the GEICO 500 at Talladega . He would ultimately hang on for his then career-best finish of 15th. At

832-513: The Daytona 500 , Whitt qualified 17th, led three laps in the race's final stage, and finished 18th. Over the next four races, he recorded a best finish of 20th at Atlanta. Before Texas, TriStar struck an eight-race deal with RTIC Coolers starting at the track's O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 , where Whitt finished 30th. During the race at Talladega, Whitt dodged multiple wrecks and finished a then-season-high 16th. Whitt endured various issues with his cars over

884-687: The 2011 season, Whitt signed a contract with JR Motorsports to drive that team's No. 88 Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series in 2012, competing for Rookie of the Year honors. He also competed on a start and park basis in the Sprint Cup Series in selected races for Turn One Racing and Circle Sport . At the October Talladega race , Whitt was running in the top 15 before a crash involving Carl Edwards and Joey Logano took out Whitt on lap 17. In 2013, Whitt and JR Motorsports parted ways with

936-522: The Duel, Whitt stated, "It was a hard way to do it, being out and back in with just a lap or so to go. I didn't know if I was in when I crossed the finish line. It was a nail biter, for sure." In the Daytona 500, Whitt ran as high as fourth, but ran out of fuel, and was later down two laps. However, Whitt eventually returned onto the lead lap, but was involved in a crash with seven laps remaining. Whitt finished 28th in

988-501: The Nationwide and Truck Series events at Homestead-Miami Speedway , finishing 17th and 28th respectively, running the Truck race for Turn One Racing . Whitt drove for Turn One in 2011 and competed for Rookie of the Year honors. After failing to qualify in the No. 60 truck at Daytona, Whitt drove the No. 93 for RSS Racing before returning to Turn One. Whitt won the pole at Darlington, and became

1040-493: The No. 26. During 2014 Daytona 500 practice, Whitt's car had debris hit the nose, and without a backup car due to teammate Parker Kligerman 's crash during the session, Whitt's team was forced to make repairs, and he also did not have a provisional to lock him into the race. In the Budweiser Duels , Whitt's transfer into the 500 varied, but gained eight spots in the final five laps to finish 11th and qualify. When asked about

1092-488: The No. 35 car leaving Whitt with no ride in 2016. Whitt moved to Premium Motorsports in 2016, driving the No. 98 with sponsorship from RTIC coolers, Speed Stick, and Rinnai among others. While racing Michael McDowell in his Can-Am Duel race, Whitt spun and broke his transmission, which caused him to miss the Daytona 500 after qualifying the previous two years. Whitt finished a 26th place at Fontana on an unfunded team. At Talladega, Whitt avoided massive crashes contending

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1144-467: The car to a solid 23rd, three laps down. Whitt's first five races of the NASCAR playoffs resulted in finishes outside the top 30. At Chicagoland, he ran into various problems and finished 35th, 10 laps down, followed by runs of 30th and four laps down (Loudon), 32nd and eight laps down (Dover), 34th and 42 laps down (Charlotte), and 34th and 25 laps down following a wreck with Michael McDowell (Talladega). In

1196-511: The caution flew for the eighth time after Kyle Busch turned into Justin Allgaier and then into his teammate Denny Hamlin to send him spinning in turn 3. The race restarted with 18 laps to go and Joey Logano got a terrible restart that caused him to hold up the inside line. The ninth caution of the race flew with 16 laps to go after J. J. Yeley blew his engine in turn 1. The race restarted with nine laps to go. Matt Kenseth couldn't stave off

1248-508: The end of the season, in which he finished 31st in points, BK Racing owners Ron Devine and Anthony Marlowe announced that Whitt would not return to BK Racing in 2015. It was then rumored that he had left the team so he could replace David Ragan in the No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports . Marlowe then sent a Tweet congratulating Whitt for getting the ride with the team. However, less than 24 hours later, Front Row Motorsports spokesperson Shari Spiewak squashed that announcement by stating that it

1300-418: The event in 2013 . During the time between Darlington and Richmond, Swan Racing announced, on April 17, 2014, that they were closing shop and reevaluating their financial situation and put the team's prospects of competing at Richmond in doubt. "The team has been unable to secure the kind of sponsorship required to effectively operate the team," the team said in a statement. "As a result, the team management

1352-435: The faux grill. While Richmond International Raceway , like Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway , isn't very aero-sensitive, the damage was close enough to the actual grill to cause concern. Brad Keselowski took over the lead as a result. The race restarted on lap eight and the field made it through the lap with no accident. Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 32. A scheduled competition caution (second of

1404-416: The field. The race restarted on lap 171. Brad Keselowski took back the lead on lap 173. Jeff Gordon reclaimed the top spot on lap 209. The fifth caution of the race flew on lap 226 after Reed Sorenson cut down his right-front tire and missed the entrance to pit road. Gordon swapped the lead on pit road with Joey Logano , but came out the leader. The race restarted on lap 239. Joey Logano took back

1456-466: The first rookie to lead the Truck Series points after Charlotte, winding up ninth in points at the end of the season. He also drove a third Team Red Bull entry in the Sprint Cup Series in the final two races of the season at Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway , but ended Homestead with a DNF near the finish of the race. With the closing of Red Bull's racing program after

1508-475: The following races: at Kansas, he had multiple struggles but still finished 26th; in Charlotte's Coca-Cola 600 , he had engine problems and finished 34th; two races later at Pocono, he was running 25th when the right front tire blew out, causing him to finish 30th. During the first road race of the season at Sonoma, he ran as high as 13th, but dropped to 21st after deciding not to pit. In the return to Daytona, he had

1560-567: The former Swan co-owner and he merged his ownership into BK Racing , with Whitt remaining behind the wheel. The team debuted at Richmond for the Toyota Owners 400 under the BK Racing flag and maintained all accumulated 2014 driver and owner points. At Daytona in the Coke Zero 400 , Whitt was caught up into a multi-car pileup and he t-boned Kyle Busch throwing Busch onto his roof. At Watkins Glen in

1612-411: The lead on lap 243. Jeff Gordon took back the lead on lap 252. The sixth caution of the race flew on lap 296 after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had a right-front tire failure that caught fire after hitting the wall in turn 4. Gordon swapped the lead on pit road with his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. , but this time, Jeff Gordon got beat off pit road. The race restarted with 96 laps to go. Joey Logano retook

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1664-463: The lead with 95 laps to go. As is the case with short track races, drivers start becoming agitated and more aggressive in the closing stages of the race. Marcos Ambrose found himself being hit from behind on multiple occasions. Jeff Gordon took back the lead with 63 laps to go. Matt Kenseth took the lead with 39 laps to go. Debris in turn 3 brought out the seventh caution of the race with 33 laps to go. The race restarted with 24 laps to go and

1716-428: The lead. The 20 car ran me off the race track so I made sure to give him a bump and that was what Joey needed to win the race. I had a shot at winning the race and he ran me off the track. It was just a mind-boggling move to me. ... I thought it was uncalled for." The tempers didn't end on pit road. In the garage area, Casey Mears had got in a scuffle with Marcos Ambrose which ended with the latter appearing to punch

1768-606: The next year, running 60 races and gaining top-tens in 34 of those starts. To continue his racing career, Whitt and his mother moved to Lebanon, Indiana . In 2008 Whitt became the youngest winner of the USAC National Midget Championship , while winning the Hut Hundred . The next year Whitt raced in Silver Crown, Sprints, and Midgets, earning 17 wins driving for Keith Kunz . Whitt moved up to stock cars in 2010,

1820-489: The number 30 car and was without a ride for the foreseeable future. J. J. Yeley took his place. "I am very relieved to know that the Nos. 26 and 30 teams will be in good hands, and will continue to compete for the remainder of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season," Davis said in a statement. "Most importantly, most of the team members have the opportunity to continue their employment in the sport and to support their families. This

1872-445: The race) flew on lap 41 because of overnight downpours. Travis Kvapil stayed out to lead a lap before making his stop the next lap and handing the lead back to Harvick. The race restarted on lap 47. Keselowski retook the lead on lap 56. Debris in turn 4 brought out the third caution on lap 99. Landon Cassill stayed out to lead a lap before pitting. Jeff Gordon took over the lead. The race restarted on lap 107. Cole Whitt had

1924-406: The race. Kyle Larson led the field to the green at 7:14 p.m., but the field didn't make it to turn 1 before the caution flew on the first lap when Larson drifted down in front of Clint Bowyer before he cleared him and got turned around. To make matters worse, Larson caught the tail end of the field exiting pit road and hit the rear of Landon Cassill but only suffered a minor denting in of

1976-465: The race. Due to Swan Racing's restructuring, Whitt's future with the team was left in doubt, and on April 21, a representative from FUEL Sports Management Group announced that Whitt did not have a ride for the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond. However, Swan minority partner Anthony Marlowe stated his intent to run with Whitt for the remainder of the 2014 season. Days later the 26 team was acquired by

2028-420: The return to Kansas, he ran 24th. On the final lap of Martinsville, cars stacked up in front of him, and he was pushed into Erik Jones , causing the latter to spin. He avoided the crash and finished 25th. Whitt closed the season by finishing 29th, 36th, and 28th at Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead, respectively. On February 6, 2018, Whitt announced he would step back to a part-time ride in 2018 with TriStar, sharing

2080-886: The ride with Corey LaJoie . Whitt stated that the part time change was due to him wanting to spend more time with family. Whitt started the season in Atlanta, where he qualified 32nd and finished 28th. On November 12, TriStar Motorsports announced the 2018 Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway was his final race in NASCAR. Whitt was born in San Diego but raised in Alpine, California . He is a cousin of former NASCAR driver Brandon Whitt . ( key ) ( Bold  – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics  – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ) Season still in progress Ineligible for series points Brandon Whitt Brandon Whitt (born October 15, 1982)

2132-542: The same year he won the Super License award for USAC. Whitt ran for the Camping World East Series championship, where he impressed by winning the pole in his first start at Greenville-Pickens Speedway . Whitt eventually finished fourth in points. Whitt was rewarded with making his Nationwide Series debut at Phoenix International Raceway , where he made the race and finished 15th. The next week, Whitt ran both

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2184-437: The team citing lack of sponsorship. He later joined forces with Tri-Star Motorsports , driving their No. 44 Nationwide entry from Dover onward. He earned his first top-ten of the year with an eighth-place finish at Road America . Late in the season, he ran seven Sprint Cup races with Swan Racing Company as a replacement for David Stremme . The team then hired him for the full 2014 season, placing him in their new second team,

2236-429: The team, in the No. 35 Ford, the third full-time team car. Speed Stick GEAR, who had sponsored him for four races at Swan and seven at BK, followed him to Front Row in a ten-race deal, along with Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters for an undisclosed number of races. Whitt finished the year 31st in points for the second straight year, while improving his career best finish to 13th in the GEICO 500 at Talladega . FRM shut down

2288-539: The top five. The top rookies of the race were Kyle Larson (16th), Justin Allgaier (21st), and Austin Dillon (27th). On the final restart of the Bojangles' Southern 500 , Dale Earnhardt Jr. got an excellent start to get ahead of Kevin Harvick , but Harvick with four tires passed Dale on two and took the victory at Darlington Raceway . “This is the one race I told Rodney (Childers, crew chief) I wanted to win,” said Harvick. “We were able to put it all together, but this

2340-457: The two car challenge for the lead with Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski. Gordon got into the rear of Keselowski and this allowed Joey Logano to get back to the lead. He built an insurmountable lead with three laps to go over Jeff Gordon to score the victory. "It feels great,” said Logano. “I want to start winning some races in the Chase now. These cars right now are so good and (Team) Penske is doing such

2392-494: Was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on April 26, 2014, at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond , Virginia . Contested over 400 laps on the 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped short track, it was the ninth race of the 2014 Sprint Cup Series championship . Joey Logano recorded his fifth career win in this race. Jeff Gordon finished second, while Kyle Busch , Brad Keselowski , and Matt Kenseth rounded out

2444-419: Was behind Suarez while Erik Jones and Justin Allgaier were behind Whitt. On the restart, Whitt was slow on the gas, and while Suarez and Sadler sped by, Jones and Allgaier were trapped behind Whitt, who eventually fell all the way back to eighteenth in the ten laps remaining. Suarez wound up winning the championship. Jones harshly criticized Whitt after the race, calling the move "disrespectful", while Allgaier

2496-399: Was critically important to me." The entry list for the Toyota Owners 400 was released on Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 4:16 p.m. Eastern time. Forty-five drivers were entered for the race. Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 21.280 and a speed of 126.880 mph (204.194 km/h). Ryan Newman was the fastest in the final practice session with

2548-565: Was false and that they denied that Whitt was replacing Ragan at Front Row and that they are working to get Ragan and teammate David Gilliland contract extensions with them, leaving many including Ragan puzzled about what Marlowe was thinking. Marlowe later apologized to Ragan and the team about his inadvertent tweet in an interview with MotorSportsTalk, although he still insisted Whitt was headed to Front Row in some capacity. Whitt would eventually announce that he had left BK Racing. Later, on January 16, 2015, Front Row announced that Whitt would join

2600-403: Was more subdued. Whitt later apologized for the incident, saying, "It's not like you mean to do it." He also partially blamed Jones ramming him on the restart as to why he did not get up to speed. On February 2, 2017, it was announced that Whitt would join TriStar Motorsports for the entire 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule as a chartered team, driving the No. 72 Ford Fusion . At

2652-879: Was scheduled to run with CJM for 12 races in 2007 , but those plans changed when Whitt was released from the ride. Whitt drove one race later that season for Red Horse at Atlanta, where he finished twenty-third. Midway through 2008, he signed to drive for Specialty Racing in the Nationwide Series. On June 22, 2009, Whitt announced that he has left Specialty Racing and the #61 team. He has not raced since. ( key ) ( Bold  – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics  – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ) ( key ) ( Bold  – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics  – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ) 2014 Toyota Owners 400 The 2014 Toyota Owners 400

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2704-422: Was stopped by an official and directed to the garage area while Brad continued to the top five impound area on pit road. “Yeah it was a wild finish,” said Keselowski, who confronted Kenseth on pit road after the race. “It just came down to really a four way battle between the 2 (Keselowski), the 20 (Kenseth), the 24 (Gordon) and 22 (Logano) and we had a great car for the short runs and we got up there challenging for

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