Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Cole Whitt

  • Crunching The Numbers: Pocono/Iowa/Texas

    Crunching The Numbers: Pocono/Iowa/Texas

    After last weekend’s triple-header at Dover International Speedway, the three national series go their separate ways this weekend with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series headlining at Pocono Raceway, the NASCAR Nationwide Series heading to the Midwest for a Saturday night showdown at Iowa Speedway, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicking off the weekend in the Lone Star State with their race on Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway. This marks the one and only time during the season that all three series are at three different tracks in three different states in one weekend.

    Sprint Cup Series – Party In The Poconos 400 Presented By Walmart

    The Sprint Cup Series makes its first of two trips to Pocono Raceway this weekend to take on one of the most unique tracks on the circuit. With only three turns instead of the usual four and all three of varying banking (14 degrees in Turn 1, 8 degrees in Turn 2, and 6 degrees in Turn 3), this 2.5 mile track is one of the hardest to perfect a setup for and several of the top drivers in the series have yet to master the “Tricky Triangle”.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Jimmie Johnson 22 2 9 15 2 562 9.3 9.0
    Jeff Gordon 40 6 18 28 2 965 11.4 10.2
    Denny Hamlin 14 4 8 9 2 663 5.6 10.7
    Mark Martin 52 0 20 34 3 448 9.3 11.1
    Tony Stewart 28 2 11 20 2 156 12.4 11.3
    Ryan Newman 22 1 7 10 2 163 9.8 12.4
    Carl Edwards 16 2 5 8 0 212 19.0 13.2
    Kevin Harvick 24 0 5 8 0 5 19.8 14.1
    Matt Kenseth 26 0 3 10 0 54 18.5 14.3
    Brad Keselowski 6 1 2 2 0 27 19.5 14.5

    Who To Watch: No surprise with who’s on top of the list this week. Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson heads up the list with the best stats at Pocono with two wins, nine top fives, 15 top tens, two poles, 562 laps led and an average finish of 9.0 in 22 starts.

    While Johnson has the best overall stats, the most wins goes to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon, who has six wins, 18 top fives, 28 top tens, two poles, 965 laps led and an average finish of 10.2 in 40 starts. Two of Gordon’s six wins have come in the last four races at the track, and Gordon is the most recent Pocono winner with his win in the rain shortened event last August.

    Many drivers don’t get their first win at a tricky track like Pocono, but Denny Hamlin did just that, sweeping both Pocono races in his rookie season of 2006 and adding two more wins since then to give him a total of four wins, eight top fives, nine top tens, two poles, 663 laps led, and an average finish of 10.7 in 14 races.

    Others to keep an eye on include: Mark Martin, who nearly won this race one year ago before fading late, with 20 top fives, 34 top tens, three poles, 448 laps led, and an average finish of 11.1 in 52 starts; and Tony Stewart, winner of last week’s race at Dover, who has two wins, 11 top fives, 20 top tens, two poles, 156 laps led, and an average finish of 11.3 in 28 starts.

    Nationwide Series – DuPont Pioneer 250 at Iowa

    With only one Sprint Cup Series regular scheduled to make the trip to Iowa from Pocono this weekend, this race will truly be a showcase of the Nationwide Series regulars in what is sure to be great racing at the .875 mile short track in Iowa. Several of the Nationwide regulars have never turned a lap at this track and who comes out on top after 250 miles is anyone’s guess.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Elliott Sadler 4 1 4 4 3 100 2.2 2.8
    Parker Kligerman 1 0 0 1 0 0 10.0 8.0
    Michael Annett 6 0 1 2 0 4 20.7 10.2
    Kenny Wallace 4 0 0 3 0 0 20.2 10.2
    Justin Allgaier 6 0 1 4 0 150 5.8 11.3
    Cole Whitt 2 0 0 1 0 4 12.0 13.0
    Sam Hornish, Jr. 3 0 1 1 0 69 4.0 13.0
    Austin Dillon 4 0 1 2 0 53 7.0 14.2
    Reed Sorenson 3 0 1 2 0 77 16.0 15.3
    Mike Bliss 6 0 0 0 0 3 19.2 17.0

    Who To Watch: As the only driver who will be racing on Saturday that has a win at Iowa, Elliott Sadler comes in far ahead of the other drivers in the field with his one win, four top fives, four top tens, three poles, 100 laps led, and an average finish of 2.8 in four starts.

    Others to keep an eye on that have raced at Iowa before include: Parker Kligerman, Michael Annett, Kenny Wallace, Justin Allgaier, Cole Whitt, Sam Hornish Jr., and Austin Dillon. All of these drivers have average finishes of 14.2 or better.

    While drivers like Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, and points leader Regan Smith have never raced at Iowa, look for these drivers to also be in the running for the win on Saturday night.

    Camping World Truck Series – Winstar World Casino 400 at Texas

    With the Camping World Truck Series race at Texas also being a standalone event, there will be no Sprint Cup regulars making the trip down for Friday night’s race. This means we will get to see a great battle between those that have been in the Truck Series for years and with the young guns that have infiltrated the series this year. Just as we saw a couple of weeks ago at Charlotte, this race should be more of the same with two and three wide racing throughout the field for the entirety of the event.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Ty Dillon 3 0 2 3 0 23 6.7 5.0
    Joey Coulter 4 0 2 4 0 9 8.0 5.2
    Johnny Sauter 9 2 4 7 1 213 11.8 6.4
    Todd Bodine 17 6 10 11 1 329 11.3 9.7
    Matt Crafton 24 0 6 13 2 42 15.6 11.0
    James Buescher 8 0 0 3 2 129 7.8 12.6
    Ron Hornaday, Jr. 20 3 6 11 0 681 9.2 12.9
    Brendan Gaughan 17 4 7 7 0 163 17.4 13.6
    David Starr 29 0 7 11 0 20 14.1 14.3
    Timothy Peters 10 0 0 2 0 1 16.4 15.4

    Who To Watch: As Truck Series mainstays, drivers to watch at Texas include: Ty Dillon, with two top fives, three top tens, and an average finish of 5.0 in three starts; Joey Coulter, with two top fives, four top tens, and an average finish of 5.2 in four starts; Johnny Sauter, with two wins, four top fives, seven top tens, one pole, 213 laps led, and an average finish of 6.4 in nine starts; and Todd Bodine, with six wins, 10 top fives, 11 top tens, one pole, 329 laps led, and an average finish of 9.7 in 17 starts.

    While the mainstays will have a leg up in Texas, the young guns of the series can’t be overlooked. Drivers who have shown they have real potential in this sport that are making noise in the Truck Series including Darrell Wallace, Jr., Jeb Burton, and Ryan Blaney. One of these rookies have a real shot at the win, especially with no Cup regulars in the field.

  • Cole Whitt Ready For Some NASCAR Bashing

    Cole Whitt Ready For Some NASCAR Bashing

    [media-credit name=”JR Motorsports/Spin Master” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]JR Motorsports young gun Cole Whitt is all set to do some NASCAR bashing at his upcoming Nationwide race at Texas Motor Speedway.

    In fact, the up and coming young gun will be behind the wheel of the No. 88 NASCAR Bashers car, promoting a new race car toy made by Spin Master that wrecks, transforms and then is reassembled to do it all over again.

    “It is an awesome opportunity for me and JR Motorsports to be teamed up with NASCAR Bashers for Texas,” Whitt said. “We already had the Atlanta race with them and ran really well.”

    “That’s always fun when you run good with your sponsor.”

    While Whitt may be pleased to run well with NASCAR Bashers on the hood, he is most excited about the toy itself. And being a ‘big kid’, he has already had the opportunity to play.

    “It’s a really cool toy,” Whitt said of the NASCAR Basher, which is styled like an actual NASCAR race car that actually transforms after wrecking. “I went to an autograph signing at Walmart and they had them on the table, so I got to play with them.”

    “They kept me entertained.”

    Whitt acknowledged that the coolest part of the NASCAR Bashers is that there are not only countless ways to wreck them, but, just like his own NASCAR pit crew does for him, the cars can be rebuilt and readied to race once again.

    “I think what’s cool about it is the kids can beat and bang on them,” Whitt said. “That’s part of our sport and that makes it exciting and why people watch.”

    “Our cars are always on edge and when we crash, we may be out of the race,” Whitt continued. “But with NASCAR Bashers, the kids can play with them and crash them and they just break apart.”

    “But then they can snap them all back together and keep playing with them,” Whitt said. “I wish our race cars were that easy to put back together.”

    “That’s what makes it exciting for the kids.”

    Whitt admitted that he wished that he had toys like NASCAR Bashers, instead of having to do his own crash improvisations.

    “I didn’t get to have anything as cool as NASCAR Bashers when I was a kid,” Whitt said. “I had to take a hammer to my race cars and I’d just beat them up and make them look like they were all crashed up.”

    “My cars were done after that though,” Whitt continued. “At least with NASCAR Bashers you can put them back together and keep playing.”

    There was one other feature of NASCAR Bashers that really appealed to Whitt. And that was the important ability to attract a younger audience to the sport.

    “What’s cool about NASCAR Bashers is that they are for younger fans and that’s who NASCAR wants to bring into the sport,” Whitt said. “This starts a family tradition and that’s part of JR Motosports being a family tradition.”

    “It’s pretty exciting for us to get kids excited about the sport.”

    “I’m just an average kid that came up through the sport and JR Motorsports gave me this awesome opportunity,” Whitt said. “NASCAR’s really always focused on trying to find that next generation of fans and we finally have some young kids coming up in the sport and kids can relate.”

    “That’s what the Nationwide Series is all about with young kids trying to make a name for themselves and trying to win races with the bigger names.”

    NASCAR Basher’s maker, Spin Master, could not agree more with their young driver.

    “Spin Master wants to engage young fans with great products and unique means to reach them,” Craig Drobis, Marketing Director for Spin Master, said. “The NASCAR Bashers product and partnering with a young rising star like Cole does that.”

    At the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge in Texas, Whitt will not only run the NASCAR Bashers car but will also show off the new toys on his hero card and at autograph signings throughout the race weekend. And Whitt will have a special honor, that of serving as ESPN’s in-race reporter.

    As pleased as Whitt is about driving the NASCAR Bashers car, he is also thrilled to finish off the season on a high note from a performance perspective, especially after a bit of an up and down year.

    “This year’s been a little bit of a roller coaster,” Whitt said. “You’ve got to race and learn by your mistakes.”

    “So far, it’s been a good year and we’re starting to really hit our stride and run consistently lately,” Whitt continued. “There were a lot of changes throughout the season with JR Motorsports, all in the direction of making the team better.”

    “And I think we really have been improving.”

    Even with NASCAR Bashers on the hood at Texas and a strong run in the final races, Whitt is still unsure, however, of his future in the new year. He is hoping that he remains a part of JR Motorsports, especially with the recent signing of Regan Smith to the team.

    “So far, I’m not exactly sure what 2013 holds for me but we’re looking at it as we’re going into 2013 with JR Motorsports and we’re hoping to find a little more funding,” Whitt said. “We want to go for that championship.”

    “Hopefully our deal comes together and I find a little more sponsorship because I think we could really give it a run for the money,” Whitt said. “Plus Regan would be a great teammate I could learn from.”

    “I just hope we get that opportunity.”

    But until that time, Whitt will simply focus instead on doing some NASCAR bashing at Texas Motor Speedway.

    “I just think NASCAR Bashers are plain awesome,” Whitt said. “I always crashed my cars when I was a kid.”

    “So being able to put them back together is really, really awesome.”

    NASCAR Bashers are available at Walmart, Target, ToysRus, NASCAR.com and at official NASCAR Trackside Merchandise trailers at track. They are designed for children ages 5 and up and are reasonably priced at $9.99 for the NASCAR Basher race car, with additional accessories available.

     

  • Dillon and Stenhouse Lead the ‘Young Gun’ Movement Return to NASCAR Nationwide Series

    Dillon and Stenhouse Lead the ‘Young Gun’ Movement Return to NASCAR Nationwide Series

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]Through the past five years, there were many concerned NASCAR fans with regards to how they saw the second-tier divisions going. Concerned fans were questioning both series as they saw a lack of young drivers competing in the divisions.

    So far this year, the Nationwide Series looks to have defied the concept as seven drivers in the top 10 in points are considered ‘young guns’.

    For drivers coming into the divisions like Ty Dillon, it gives them hope for the future.

    “They kind of got away from having individual names that led that series,” Dillon says. “Now we’ve got young guys in each series that are developing their way from the trucks to the Nationwide and now to Sprint Cup. It’s really cool to see that and gives you hope as a driver making your way up the rankings. I’m glad to see more individuality in each series, so it’s really nice.”

    Currently, veteran Elliott Sadler leads the standing with a win that came at Phoenix International Raceway. However beyond his position, a group of hungry young drivers follow.

    21-year-old Austin Dillon currently sits second in points, 15 points behind Sadler. So far in the first three races of the season, he has finished fifth, fourth and seventh. This marks Dillon’s first season in the Nationwide Series after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship in 2011. Dillon got his start in racing at the age of 15 racing Banderos after seeing them run at Charlotte Motor Speedway with his brother.

    24-year-old Ricky Stenhouse Jr. currently sits third in points, 17 points behind Sadler. In the first two races of the season, he finished 19th and third while winning last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This marks Stenhouse’s third full-time season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series after winning the championship last year. He chose to stay in the Nationwide Series an extra year to therefore learn more.

    “Knowing what I want in a race car on the stock car side of it and knowing what these races take to be better throughout the whole race, and the right adjustments and just learning more about the race cars in itself,” Stenhouse says. “I can tell you everything about a sprint car, but there are so many parts on these stock cars that I’m still not 100 percent familiar with so I think to learn last year and so far in my stock car career I’ve been learning what I need for the race car to go fast. Now I want to learn the set-ups and things like being able to come into the pits and say, ‘Hey I need this’ and help the crew chief out instead of just telling him, ‘Hey I need to be tighter, fix it.’ So there are a lot of things I just want to get better at.”

    21-year-old Trevor Bayne currently sits fourth in points, 19 points behind Sadler. In the first three races of the season, he has finished 11th, seventh and fourth. This marks Bayne’s third season in the Nationwide Series after winning the Daytona 500 last season. Bayne is looking to run the full schedule to continue to gain experience, however it will depend if Roush-Fenway Racing can secure sponsorship.

    20-year-old Cole Whitt currently sits fifth in points, 22 points behind Sadler. In the first three races of the season, he has finished fourth, 13th and sixth. This mark’s Whitt’s first season in the Nationwide Series after turning heads last year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Whitt moved into the truck series last season after shocking fans by becoming the youngest USAC National Midget Champion in 2008.

    The average age of these four drivers is 21.5, so it is definitely showing proof that ‘young gun’ phase is back.

    One reason that you’re seeing the young gun phase come back is big teams are going back to taking a chance on younger drivers, rather than trying to reel in the money from big companies. Dillon drives for Richard Childress Racing, Whitt drives for JR Motorsports while both Stenhouse Jr. and Bayne drive for Roush Racing.

    Going after inexperienced, unknown drivers can present problems in finding sponsorship. Dillon was able to find sponsorship, as he has made a name for himself by being the grandson of Richard Childress. Whitt has been able to find sponsorship via having NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. as his car owner. Stenhouse has just found sponsorship for the year, while Bayne is not as lucky. Sponsors aren’t as willing to chance on a young driver as they do not have a proven background. With drivers running for big teams, it can sometimes be enough to per sway a sponsor.

    As the season goes forward, it will be interesting to watch how the young drivers do in comparison to the veterans and Sprint Cup Series drivers who dip in the series. So far the Nationwide Series-only have the upper hand as they have won the first three races of the season.

  • Cole Whitt Wide Open

    What makes Cole Whitt, driver of the No. 60 for Turn One/Red Bull Racing in the Camping World Truck Series, tick? Whitt explains it simply as running his life on and off the track “wide open.”

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]Whitt’s exposure to his now wide open racing style started at a very young age. And, as with many drivers in the various levels of NASCAR, he credits his family with initiating him in the sport.

    “I’d say who got me hooked is my cousin Brandon,” Whitt said. “He used to race and got me started in go kart racing and then moved up into the stock car world with late models.”

    “I watched him race the trucks a lot while I was just racing go karts,” Whitt continued. “I’d say my cousin Brandon got me my real start, but my dad and my grandpa all raced so, it’s really been in my family.”

    While Whitt’s cousin may have gotten him going in the wide open world of racing, his dad is the one that he credits for his competitiveness in the sport.

    “My dad helped me be competitive,” Whitt acknowledged. “A lot of my good characteristics come from my dad.”

    “He’s a hard worker,” Whitt continued. “He just raised me that way, to be competitive and be at the top.”

    In learning to race wide open, Whitt not only credits his father with being his mentor along the way but also mentions several other racing mentors. Tops among them are Cory Kruseman and Jon Stanbrough, both from the sprint car racing world.

    “There have been a lot of people that have helped me along the way,” Whitt said. “I’d say my dad definitely got me my main start. My cousin helped me out.”

    “But even along the way in sprint car ranks there are people like Cory Kruseman, who helped me find my way to Indiana and got me my start with Skeeter Ellis,” Whitt continued. “As I was racing out there, I became friends with Jon Stanbrough, who is the ‘King of Indiana’, in sprint racing.”

    “I became friends with Jon and we really hit it off,” Whitt continued. “We became good friends and had a lot of good battles throughout our career. Jon helped me out a lot.”

    With his support wide open, when did the light bulb go off for Whitt so that he knew that racing would be his career of choice? The young rookie Truck Series driver has an interesting response.

    “I don’t think the light bulb has gone off yet if racing is it for me,” Whitt said. “Trust me, if I can do it, I want to do it.”

    “The problem is actually being able to do it,” Whitt continued. “It’s hard.”

    “So, I’m not saying necessarily this is it for me,” Whitt said. “But at the same time, this is what I want to do for sure.”

    “As a kid racing go karts and I was doing good, winning races and championships, it was so much fun just enjoying all that with my family,” Whitt continued. “That was the time where I really wanted to race. That’s when it all happened for me.”

    Progressing from his early sprint car racing roots to being wide open in the Truck Series, Whitt has seen his share of ups and downs, especially in this his rookie year. Yet Whitt remains steadfast as well as confident in his abilities.

    “You can never quit,” Whitt said. “If it was easy, everybody would do it.”

    “Racing is a hard sport,” Whitt continued. “There are ups and downs.”

    “Obviously, the days that are great are the days you live for,” Whitt said. “But then the days that are bad, you just want to come back and redeem yourself and be that much better.”

    “You love to hate it,” Whitt continued. “It’s tough but it’s almost like an obsession to me.”

    Throughout his racing obsession, Whitt has had moments to remember, as well as moments that have broken his heart.

    “I’d say probably the pole at Darlington was my best moment,” Whitt said. “Also, running second to Kyle (Busch) at Dover was good.”

    “But another good moment would be Charlotte, when we ran third,” Whitt continued. “It was the last run of the day and we were running eighth to tenth.”

    “We jumped up to the high groove and worked our way up to third at the end,” Whitt said. “I was pretty proud of that moment too.”

    As wide open exciting as his career has been, Whitt also has had his moments of heart break.

    “There’s been a few,” Whitt said. “Missing the show at Daytona was crazy and one of the worst feelings I’ve ever had.”

    “And also another heart break was blowing the motor at Texas running fourth,” Whitt continued. “And we were running fourth at Atlanta and blew a motor.”

    “It seems like we can’t get any luck,” Whitt said. “The days that we run tenth to twelfth all day, nothing can go wrong.”

    “You’re sitting there thinking ‘Why couldn’t the motor blow up on a day like that instead of when we’re running up front?’

    “I guess that’s part of rookie luck and a first season,” Whitt continued. “You’ve got to pay your dues, just hopefully long enough to cash them in.”

    Whitt admitted that he also has some interesting ways to cope with these vagaries of the sport. He not only throws himself into fishing and hunting, but channels all of his energy right back into his racing career.

    “My life is pretty much all racing,” Whitt said. “When I’m at home, I go to the shop every day and work on the truck.”

    “I grew up that way,” Whitt continued. “My dad wanted me to be ‘hands on.’ It makes me appreciate my equipment more and my team appreciates me working with them.”

    What does Whitt want to accomplish for the remainder of this 2011 season? The rookie has only one thing on his mind.

    “Hopefully we can get a win,” Whitt said. “We’ve been chasing that win since the beginning of the year.”

    “I want to be a front-runner,” Whitt continued. “When I walk through the gate, I want people to know that I’m the guy to beat and that I have a fast truck.”

    “More than anything, I want to get a win and win this rookie championship.”

    While Whitt focuses on running wide open for the win and the rookie championship, he also acknowledged the need to think, at least briefly, about his future. And that is unfortunately wide open as well.

    “I don’t know,” Whitt said simply. “It’s going to be a weird and pretty crazy off season.”

    “The rumors started flying this year earlier than they ever have,” Whitt continued. “It’s kind of tough. I really don’t know what’s going to happen.”

    “Hopefully we can finish off the season strong and move on to something different,” Whitt said.  “Racing is all I’ve ever done.”

    “It’s the only way of life that I understand.”

     

     

  • Cole Whitt Is Just Being Cole Whitt

    Cole Whitt Is Just Being Cole Whitt

    On the heels of the induction of the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, young up and coming driver Cole Whitt is just taking it all in and learning from the masters of the sport.

    [media-credit name=”Photo credit: redbullusa.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]But most of all, the soon to be twenty year old rookie who is now leading the point standings in the Camping World Truck Series is forging his own path. And yes, he is just being Cole Whitt.

    “Anyone that is going to be inducted in the Hall of Fame is going to be someone that I look up to for sure,” Whitt said. “I look up to all of them.”

    “But at the end of the day, you have to have your own style and your own way of doing things,” Whitt continued. “I’m really just pushing my own road and doing things the way I need to do them for myself.”

    “Cole Whitt is going to be who Cole Whitt is.”

    Right now Cole Whitt is currently the youngest points leader ever in the Truck Series. After his second consecutive top-three finish, the driver of the No. 60 Red Bull/ Fuel Doctor race truck leads veteran Johnny Sauter by a mere point.

    “It’s pretty amazing to think we did it, especially where the team has come from the beginning of the year,” Whitt said. “We really didn’t have that great of a Daytona outing but the team really turned things around.”

    “To come this far into the season and already grab the points lead, it’s been pretty cool,” Whitt said. “The team has really come together and things are clicking really well. It’s awesome to see this team come as far as we have.”

    While Cole Whitt preaches just being who he is, the young driver also credits his success solely with his race team. For him, the team is his main motivating source.

    “I think it’s just a matter of having a lot of good people,” Whitt said. “We’re not a big team, which makes it tough. But at the same time it’s easy to keep everyone on the same page.”

    “I try to keep the guys really motivated,” Whitt continued. “I’m at the shop every day and I try to put in as many hours as they do and work hard with them.”

    “I think the main thing is trying to keep everyone having fun,” Whitt said. “At the same time, we care about it a lot. When we don’t run good, we’re upset. But at the same time, we push each other to be better.”

    Whitt realizes that his team, with owner Stacy Compton, is one of those small team ‘Davids’ fighting some of the ‘Goliaths’ of the sport.

    “Stacy’s team has never been one of the biggest teams or one of the teams that is looked to as the one to beat but we’re trying to be that team,” Whitt said. “When everyone shows up at the track, we want them to say ‘We want to beat that team.’

    Whitt knows that it is just a matter of time until he and his team win a race this season. He currently is the only Truck Series driver to complete all 1,134 laps for the season, with five top-10s, finishing no lower than 14th to date.

    “So far, we haven’t really been the team to win races but we’ve been so consistent, driving up front,” Whitt said. “I think that win is just really going to come as long as we keep running as good as we have.”

    Whitt’s success in the Truck Series has also caught the eyes of others in the sport. He recently was offered the chance to run for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing in their No. 99 Nationwide car at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend.

    “It came together pretty quick,” Whitt said. “Jay Frye (Red Bull Racing) had been talking to me before about doing some Nationwide stuff and I just wasn’t really sure where it was going to go from there. He called me up and asked if I wanted to do this one weekend deal.”

    “I’m really excited to run for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing and give that 99 car a good run,” Whitt continued. “I’m excited more than anything to go back to a track that I’ve already been on and made laps on where it’s a little more familiar.”

    Whitt is also excited to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday at the race track as well as at home, a real treat for any professional stock car driver.

    “More than anything, I’m looking forward to getting into that Nationwide car,” Whitt said. “That’s kind of like my celebration I guess you could say.”

    “I’m going to hang out around the house more than anything,” Whitt continued. “The best part about Charlotte is sleeping in your own bed.”

    While Whitt could not be more excited to take on the new Nationwide ride, he is realistic about his expectations. And that is just another way that the young driver is being true to himself.

    “I wouldn’t say I expect anything,” Whitt said. “At the beginning of the season, if you had asked me, I would have never thought we’d be leading the points.”

    “Would I have really thought it would be possible? Probably not,” Whitt continued. “But that’s cool. We pushed forward and we have a team that’s better than we expected to be.”

    “There’s so much to grasp and I’ve just been absorbing everything that’s been thrown at me,” Whitt said. “I’m so thankful for the chance to learn.”

  • Kyle Busch Wins Monster of a Truck Race; Nemesis Kevin Harvick Finishes Fifth

    Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of No. 18 Traxxas Toyota, put the controversy and trash talking with Kevin Harvick from last week’s Darlington race behind him to win the Lucas Oil 200 Truck Series race at the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware.

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”264″][/media-credit]Busch’s win also tied him with Mark Martin for the most wins in all three series, with both drivers now at 96 victories. He is also the first two-time winner in the Camping World Truck Series at Dover International Speedway.

    This was Busch’s 27th victory in 90 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. The win also was his third victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2011.

    “It was a really good truck,” Busch said. “I can’t say enough about this Toyota.”

    While Busch seemed to dominate most of the race, he affirmed that it was not as easy as it seemed.

    “Overall the race went pretty well for us,” Busch said. “It wasn’t quite the walk in the park it seemed.  This place is so difficult and so challenging and you feel like you’re always on edge.”

    Busch said that he and his nemesis Harvick managed to race each other clean and without issues.

    “I thought today’s race was good,” Busch said of his competition with Harvick. “We had some close moments and we raced each other hard but it was fine. All is good as far as I know.”

    For his part, Kevin Harvick finished fifth after an eventful race. Harvick, piloting the No. 2 Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet, had to rebound from a speeding penalty to work his way back through the field to score that top five finish.

    Red Bull rookie Cole Whitt had almost as good a race as winner Kyle Busch, finishing in the runner up position. The driver of the No. 60 Red Bull/Fuel Doctor Chevrolet posted his first top-10 finish, his first top five and his career best finish.

    “It’s crazy,” Whitt said. “I’m happy to be here in the first place. Trying to live the dream and chase it and drive door to door with half these guys, let alone Kyle Busch, is pretty cool.”

    “We had a great truck all weekend and this thing’s been pretty spot on,” Whitt said. “We’ve just been turning things around from the way the season started.”

    “Early in the race, we were good on long runs and our truck just couldn’t do it on short runs,” Whitt said, crediting that issue to his runner up status. “That’s what it just turned in to be. It was all short runs after that.”

    Whitt also acknowledged that he went to school at the feet of Kyle Busch, especially on those late race restarts.

    “Kyle is one of the best in the business on restarts,” Whitt said. “He definitely schooled me a few times and then I felt like I got a good one there at the end but it wasn’t good enough.”

    “We’re all small team trying to make it big.”

    Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Certain Teed Chevrolet, came in third but that was good enough for him to claim the points lead in the Truck Series.

    “At the beginning of the race, I couldn’t fire off and I was really, really loose,” Crafton said. “But at the end of the run, we’d be one of the best trucks on the race track.”

    This was Crafton’s sixth top-10 finish in 11 races at the Monster Mile. He is now leading the points by five over teammate Johnny Sauter.

    “It’s great to be the points leader,” Crafton continued. “We just need to keeping doing what we’re doing and running top five every week and having these top three finishes and throw a couple of wins off and see where we are at Homestead.”

    Austin Dillon, behind the wheel of the No. 3 BassProShops/Remington/Tracker Boats Chevrolet, finished in the fourth spot. Harvick rounded out the top five.

    Another notable in the race finishing order was rookie Joey Coulter, who qualified fifth and finished sixth in his No. 22 RCR/Rip-It Chevrolet. This was Coulter’s first trip to the Monster Mile and the driver and his family were thrilled with the result.

    Brendan Gaughan, James Buescher, Ron Hornaday, Jr. and Justin Marks, the pole sitter rounded out the top ten.

     

  • Cole Whitt: ‘We’re Trying Really Hard’

    Cole Whitt: ‘We’re Trying Really Hard’

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”250″][/media-credit]Red Bull development driver Cole Whitt has been tearing up the tracks in his No. 60 truck for his rookie season in the NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. He has had one pole, led 30 laps and currently leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year competition.

    To date, Whitt has three consecutive top-10 finishes, with an average start of 11.2 and an average finish of 8.5.  The young driver is currently tied for third in the point standings, just seven points behind leader Johnny Sauter.

    To what does Whitt credit his success so far this season in the Truck Series?

    “Everyone has just been working hard is the main thing,” Whitt said. “We’re not the biggest team and we’re not the most expensive team in the world but we get good results with what we got.”

    “That’s what’s kind of cool is everyone knows what we’re working with,” Whitt continued.  “We’re trying really hard.  Everyone puts so many hours in. It’s pretty cool to have guys that care about it that much.”

    Whitt likes to lead by example, going to the race shop every day.

    “I’m there from 7:00 AM in the morning to 4:00 PM in the afternoon,” Whitt said. “I like to go in and show them that I care and give back to them what they give to me.”

    Whitt also credits his team’s chemistry with the success that they have all enjoyed in the early goings of the 2011 season.

    “I’m a firm believer in chemistry and that your team has to be all gelled together,” Whitt said. “I try really hard at making the team work together. Everyone needs to communicate and everyone needs to get along. That’s how our team operates.”

    “We’re having fun racing and we’re loving it,” Whitt continued. “It’s been enjoyable.”

    One of the races that Whitt was not looking forward to, however, was the one now in his rear view mirror, the Kroger 250 at Martinsville. In spite of his apprehension about that race, Whitt qualified second and brought his truck to the checkered flag in sixth.

    “I wasn’t looking forward to Martinsville”, Whitt said candidly. “I feel like I run pretty good everywhere, but Martinsville is not the kind of track I look forward to.”

    “But to qualify as well as we did and race all day like we did and be fast all day was really exciting,” Whitt said. “We passed the most trucks, I think 53, by the end of the day so it was a long day but our truck was good.”

    With that good finish, Whitt is now ready to tackle the next race, the Bully Hill Vineyards 200. As is the case with many rookies, this will be Whitt’s first time ever at the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee.

    “I’ve never seen the place so I don’t know how it’s going to be,” Whitt said. “I’m usually good at places I’ve never seen though like Darlington, which was one of the best races of the year and I’d never seen that track a day in my life.”

    “We’ll spend time making sure our truck is the way we want it to be,” Whitt continued. “Other than that we’ll get our feet wet in the first practice session, learn the track the best we can and put the hammer down.”

    Whitt has only one wish as he heads into the Nashville race weekend.

    “I want to go win the race,” Whitt said. “That’s the way we approach every race. We go to run good and we’ll take what we can get, but we go to every race to win.”

    With that confidence comes a great deal of pride in his accomplishments to date. Whitt also revels in the increased attention that he and his team have garnered thanks to their performance.

    “I’m proud of everything and the way that it’s all gone down,” Whitt said. “I feel like our team deserves it.”

    “It’s kind of funny because we’re not a team that’s expected to run really good,” Whitt said. “But hopefully by the end of the year, we can change everyone’s minds and make it where everyone thinks of us as a winning team.”

    “I think a lot of people are now thinking that we’ve run well this far, but how long will they last?” Whitt said. “We’re looking to doing it all year.”

    Whitt will get that chance to run the full season and is especially excited about a new sponsorship deal that has just been announced. Fuel Doctor will be an associate sponsor for the next eight races starting with the Nashville race.

    “We’re pretty excited about that,” Whitt said of his new sponsorship deal.

    “Hopefully when we roll through the gates, everyone will worry that we’re there. That’s what we are working towards.”