Cole Whitt
Whitt atAuto Club Speedway in 2017
Born	Cole Daniel Whitt (1991-06-22)June 22, 1991 (age 34) San Diego, California, U.S.
Achievements	Youngest everUSAC Midget National Championship Champion (17 years, 5 months, and 5 days) 2008USAC Midget National Championship National Midget Champion 2009Copper World Classic Silver Crown Winner
Awards	2006 Hoosier Sprint Car Rookie of The Year 2010USAC Super License Award
NASCARCup Series career
161 races run over 8 years
2018 position	35th
Best finish	31st (2014,2015)
First race	2011Kobalt Tools 500 (Phoenix)
Last race	2018Can-Am 500 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCARO'Reilly Auto Parts Series career
53 races run over 5 years
2016 position	110th
Best finish	7th (2012)
First race	2010WYPALL 200 (Phoenix)
Last race	2016Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 18 0
NASCARCraftsman Truck Series career
28 races run over 4 years
2016 position	91st
Best finish	9th (2011)
First race	2010Ford 200 (Homestead)
Last race	2016Texas Roadhouse 200 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 11 1
Statistics up to date as of November 11, 2018.

Cole Daniel Whitt (born June 22, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who has competed indirt,off-road, andstock car racing.

After advancing his way throughkart racing, Whitt moved up to sprint cars and became a development driver forTeam Red Bull. After running in theK&N Pro Series East, Whitt made hisNASCAR debut in 2010. He last competed part-time in theMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 72Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 forTriStar Motorsports.^[1]

Cole Whitt, born to Tobin and Kim Whitt, was inspired to race when he saw his cousinBrandon with a go-kart. After winning championships in go-karts, Whitt moved up to sprint cars in 2004. Whitt was quickly noticed byRed 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 the next year, running sixty races and gaining top-tens in 34 of those starts. To continue his racing career, Whitt and his mother moved toLebanon, Indiana. In 2008, Whitt became the youngest winner of theUSACNational Midget Championship, while winning theHut Hundred. The next year Whitt raced in Silver Crown, Sprints, and Midgets, earning seventeen wins driving forKeith Kunz.

Whitt moved up to stock cars in 2010, the same year he won the Super License award for USAC. Whitt ran for theCamping World East Series championship, where he impressed by winning the pole in his first start atGreenville-Pickens Speedway. Whitt eventually finished fourth in points. Whitt was rewarded with making hisNationwide Series debut atPhoenix International Raceway, where he made the race and finished fifteenth. The next week, Whitt ran both the Nationwide and Truck Series events atHomestead-Miami Speedway, finishing seventeenth and 28th respectively, running the Truck race forTurn 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 the first rookie to lead the Truck Series points after Charlotte, winding up ninth in points at the end of the season.^[2] He also drove a thirdTeam Red Bull entry in theSprint Cup Series in the final two races of the season atPhoenix International Raceway andHomestead-Miami Speedway, but ended Homestead with a DNF near the finish of the race.^[3]

With the closing of Red Bull's racing program after the 2011 season, Whitt signed a contract withJR Motorsports to drive that team's No. 88 Chevrolet in theNationwide Series in 2012,^[4] competing for Rookie of the Year honors. He also competed on astart and park basis in the Sprint Cup Series in selected races forTurn One Racing andCircle Sport. At theOctober Talladega race, Whitt was running in the top-fifteen before a crash involvingCarl Edwards andJoey Logano took out Whitt on lap seventeen.

In 2013, Whitt and JR Motorsports parted ways with the team citing lack of sponsorship. He later joined forces withTri-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 atRoad America. Late in the season, he ran seven Sprint Cup races withSwan Racing Company as a replacement forDavid Stremme. The team then hired him for the full 2014 season,^[5] placing him in their new second team, the No. 26.^[6]

During2014 Daytona 500 practice, Whitt's car had debris hit the nose, and without a backup car due to teammateParker 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 theBudweiser Duels, Whitt's transfer into the 500 varied, but gained eight spots in the final five laps^[7] to finish eleventh and qualify.^[8] When asked about 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."^[9] 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.^[7] Whitt finished 28th in the race.^[10]

Due to Swan Racing's restructuring, Whitt's future with the team was left in doubt, and on April 21, a representative fromFUEL Sports Management Group announced that Whitt did not have a ride for theToyota Owners 400 at Richmond. However, Swan minority partnerAnthony Marlowe stated his intent to run with Whitt for the remainder of the 2014 season.^[11] Days later the 26 team was acquired by the former Swan co-owner and he merged his ownership intoBK Racing, with Whitt remaining behind the wheel.^[12] 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 theCoke Zero 400, Whitt was caught up into a multi-car pileup and he t-bonedKyle Busch throwing Busch onto his roof. At Watkins Glen in theCheez-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 resembledJimmie 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 theGEICO 500 atTalladega. He would ultimately hang on for his then career-best finish of fifteenth.

At 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 replaceDavid Ragan in the No. 34 Ford forFront 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 was false and that they denied that Whitt was replacing Ragan at Front Row and that they are working to get Ragan and teammateDavid 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.^[13] Whitt would eventually announce that he had left BK Racing.^[14]

Later, on January 16, 2015, Front Row announced that Whitt would join the team, in the No. 35 Ford, the third full-time team car.^[15] 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 thirteenth in theGEICO 500 atTalladega. FRM shut down the No. 35 car leaving Whitt with no ride in 2016.

Whitt moved toPremium Motorsports in 2016, driving the No. 98^[16] with sponsorship from RTIC coolers, Speed Stick, and Rinnai among others. While racingMichael McDowell in hisCan-Am Duel race, Whitt spun and broke his transmission, which caused him to miss theDaytona 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 a top-ten finish, but was involved in the last lap crash finishing a season best eighteenth. On the series' return to Daytona, Whitt was able to avoid major crash involvement and crossed the line eleventh, a new career best, and Jay Robinson's best finish as a Sprint Cup owner. During the season, Whitt also ran sporadically forTriStar Motorsports in the Xfinity Series andRBR Enterprises in the Truck Series. During theChase for the Championship, being replaced by drivers likeD. J. Kennington.^[17]

Whitt had a hand in determining the 2016 Xfinity Series champion. Late in theFord EcoBoost 300, a caution came out. Whitt was running eighteenth inTriStar 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 contenderDaniel Suárez. The other three Chase contenders were near Whitt;Elliott Sadler was behind Suarez whileErik Jones andJustin 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 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.^[18][19][20]

On February 2, 2017, it was announced that Whitt would joinTriStar Motorsports for the entire2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule as a chartered team, driving the No. 72Ford Fusion.^[21] At theDaytona 500, Whitt qualified 17th, led three laps in the race's final stage, and finished 18th.^[22] Over the next four races, he recorded a best finish of 20th at Atlanta. Before Texas, TriStar struck an eight-race deal withRTIC Coolers starting at the track'sO'Reilly Auto Parts 500,^[23] 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 the following races: at Kansas, he had multiple struggles but still finished 26th; in Charlotte'sCoca-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 thirteenth, but dropped to 21st after deciding not to pit. In the return to Daytona, he had a transmission issue on lap nine, 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.^[22] Before theBojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington, it was announced Whitt would run his grandfather's "lime green machine" modified scheme sponsored by Ted Whitt Plumbing.^[24] He ran the car to a solid 23rd, three laps down.^[22]

Whitt's first five races of theNASCAR playoffs resulted in finishes outside the top-thirty. 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 withMichael McDowell (Talladega). In the return to Kansas, he ran 24th. On the final lap of Martinsville, cars stacked up in front of him, and he was pushed intoErik 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.^[22]

On February 6, 2018, Whitt announced he would step back to a part-time ride in 2018 with TriStar, sharing the ride withCorey LaJoie. Whitt stated that the part time change was due to him wanting to spend more time with family.^[25] Whitt started the season in Atlanta, where he qualified 32nd and finished 28th. On November 12, TriStar Motorsports announced the2018 Can-Am 500 atISM Raceway was his final race in NASCAR.^[26]

In 2024, Whitt began competing indesert racing with aVolkswagen Beetle built by Sletten Engineering and Isenhouer Brothers Racing.^[27] He and his Beetle finished fifth inClass 11 at the 2025 Battle at Primm.^[28]

Whitt has also used his Beetle inshort course off-road racing. In 2025, he won the Class 11 World Championship atCrandon International Off-Road Raceway.^[27]

Whitt was born inSan Diego but raised inAlpine, California.^[29][30] He is a cousin of former NASCAR driverBrandon 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
¹ Ineligible for series points

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCole Whitt.

• Official website
• Cole Whitt driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• Living people
• 1991 births
• Racing drivers from San Diego County, California
• NASCAR drivers
• People from Lebanon, Indiana
• Sportspeople from Boone County, Indiana
• International Kart Federation drivers
• People from Alpine, California
• USAC Silver Crown Series drivers
• Michael Waltrip Racing drivers
• JR Motorsports drivers
• Daytona 500 drivers
• Coca-Cola 600 drivers
• Brickyard 400 drivers

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