Cole Whitt

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

After advancing his way through kart racing, Whitt moved up to sprint cars and became a development driver for Team Red Bull. After running in the K&N Pro Series East, Whitt made his NASCAR debut in 2010. He last competed part-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 72 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for TriStar Motorsports.

Racing career

USAC

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 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 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 seventeen wins driving for Keith Kunz.

NASCAR

Early years Whitt moved up to stock cars in 2010, 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 fifteenth. The next week, Whitt ran both the Nationwide and Truck Series events at Homestead-Miami Speedway, finishing seventeenth 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 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.

Xfinity Series With the closing of Red Bull's racing program after 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-fifteen before a crash involving Carl Edwards and Joey 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 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, the No. 26.

Cup Series

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 eleventh and qualify. 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." 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.

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 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 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 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 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 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.

Whitt's No. 35 Front Row Motorsports car at Homestead–Miami Speedway in 2015 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. 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 the GEICO 500 at Talladega. FRM shut down 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 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 for TriStar Motorsports in the Xfinity Series and RBR Enterprises in the Truck Series. During 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 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 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 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 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 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. He ran the car to a solid 23rd, three laps down. 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.

Off-road racing In 2024, Whitt began competing in desert racing with a Volkswagen Beetle built by Sletten Engineering and Isenhouer Brothers Racing. He and his Beetle finished fifth in Class 11 at the 2025 Battle at Primm.

Whitt has also used his Beetle in short course off-road racing. In 2025, he won the Class 11 World Championship at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway. He is a cousin of former NASCAR driver Brandon Whitt.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Monster Energy Cup Series Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts Ref 2011 Team Red Bull 84 Toyota DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT KAN POC MCH INF DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT TAL MAR TEX PHO25 HOM37 60th 01 2012 Turn One Racing 74 Chevy DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX KAN RCH40 TAL DAR38 CLT42 DOVDNQ POC MCH SON KEN DAY NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH 73rd 01 Circle Sport 33 Chevy CHI37 NHA DOVDNQ TAL40 CLTDNQ KANDNQ MAR TEX PHO HOM 2013 Swan Racing Company 30 Toyota DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX KAN RCH TAL DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON KEN DAY NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI39 NHA DOV27 KAN31 CLT34 TAL31 MAR35 TEX PHO40 HOM 65th 01 2014 Swan Racing 26 DAY28 PHO27 LVS36 BRI40 CAL18 MAR29 TEX31 DAR38 31st 532 BK Racing RCH41 TAL21 KAN28 CLT27 DOV27 POC30 MCH28 SON27 KEN28 DAY34 NHA28 IND32 POC21 GLN43 MCH25 BRI30 ATL30 RCH30 CHI30 NHA38 DOV30 KAN23 CLT28 TAL15 MAR18 TEX26 PHO42 HOM26 2015 Front Row Motorsports 35 Ford DAY22 ATL37 LVS32 PHO25 CAL24 MAR22 TEX35 BRI27 RCH36 TAL13 KAN35 CLT28 DOV26 POC28 MCH32 SON22 DAY25 KEN37 NHA28 IND33 POC27 GLN21 MCH27 BRI29 DAR43 RCH38 CHI29 NHA24 DOV28 CLT38 KAN33 TAL22 MAR20 TEX27 PHO33 HOM28 31st 553 2016 Premium Motorsports 98 Toyota DAYDNQ TAL18 SON34 DAY11 GLN28 37th 276 Chevy ATL37 LVS39 PHO36 CAL26 MAR30 TEX30 BRI28 RCHDNQ KAN39 DOV27 CLT35 KEN21 NHA IND29 POC31 BRI34 MCH34 DAR37 RCHDNQ CHI36 NHA35 DOV CLT27 TALWth MARWth TEXWth PHO HOM 55 POC30 MCH27 KAN33 2017 TriStar Motorsports 72 Ford DAY18 33rd 322 Chevy ATL20 LVS28 PHO34 CAL32 MAR21 TEX30 BRI21 RCH27 TAL16 KAN26 CLT34 DOV22 POC30 MCH31 SON21 DAY39 KEN34 NHA38 IND12 POC24 GLN34 MCH29 BRI33 DAR23 RCH33 CHI35 NHA30 DOV32 CLT34 TAL34 KAN24 MAR25 TEX29 PHO36 HOM28 2018 DAY ATL28 LVS28 PHO CAL28 MAR27 TEX19 BRI RCH30 TAL21 DOV KAN CLT POC30 MCH SON35 CHI DAY KEN NHA POC GLN34 MCH BRI DAR IND LVS RCH ROV20 DOV TAL KAN MAR24 TEX PHO25 HOM 35th 132

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 2014 Swan Racing Toyota 23 28 2015 Front Row Motorsports Ford 19 22 2016 Premium Motorsports Toyota DNQ 2017 TriStar Motorsports Ford 17 18

Xfinity Series NASCAR Xfinity Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Pts Ref 2010 Team Red Bull 84 Toyota DAY CAL LVS BRI NSH PHO TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT NSH KEN ROA NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP IOW GLN MCH BRI CGV ATL RCH DOV KAN CAL CLT GTY TEX PHO15 HOM17 107th 118 2011 Pastrana-Waltrip Racing 99 Toyota DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX TAL NSH RCH DAR DOV IOW CLT15 CHI MCH ROA DAY KEN NHA NSH IRP IOW GLN CGV BRI ATL RCH CHI DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 118th1 01 2012 JR Motorsports 88 Chevy DAY4 PHO13 LVS6 BRI16 CAL30 TEX13 RCH19 TAL4 DAR10 IOW7 CLT28 DOV14 MCH4 ROA9 KEN14 DAY29 NHA18 CHI9 IND17 IOW19 GLN24 CGV33 BRI6 ATL8 RCH14 CHI14 KEN6 DOV6 CLT13 KAN5 TEX12 PHO29 HOM10 7th 994 2013 TriStar Motorsports 44 Toyota DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX RCH TAL DAR CLT DOV16 IOW16 MCH15 ROA8 KEN31 DAY16 NHA CHI IND17 IOW20 GLN8 MOH ATL20 RCH CHI KEN9 DOV16 KAN CLT TEX20 PHO HOM9 21st 426 10 BRI14 2016 TriStar Motorsports 14 Toyota DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO16 HOM18 110th 01

Camping World Truck Series NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Pts Ref 2010 Turn One Racing 60 Chevy DAY ATL MAR NSH KAN DOV CLT TEX MCH IOW GTY IRP POC NSH DAR BRI CHI KEN NHA LVS MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM28 107th 79 2011 DAYDNQ PHO6 DAR8 MAR6 NSH12 DOV2 CLT3 KAN15 TEX28 KEN26 IOW6 NSH19 IRP8 POC15 MCH10 BRI12 ATL32 CHI9 NHA15 KEN8 LVS8 TAL14 MAR27 TEX17 HOM22 9th 764 RSS Racing 93 Chevy DAY14 2012 Hillman Racing 27 Chevy DAY MAR CAR KAN CLT DOV TEX KEN IOW CHI POC MCH BRI ATL IOW KEN LVS TAL13 MAR TEX PHO HOM 91st 01 2016 RBR Enterprises 92 Ford DAY ATL MAR KAN DOV CLT TEX IOW GTW KEN ELD POC BRI MCH MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR12 TEX PHO HOM 91st 0

K&N Pro Series East NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pts Ref 2010 Team Red Bull 84 Toyota GRE3 SBO2 IOW22 MAR9 NHA26 LRP2 LEE5 JFC2 NHA5 DOV26 4th 1420

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points