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BACK HOME IN INDY: WHITT POSTS TWO TOP TENS IN USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR |
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 – The State of Indiana’s official song is “Back Home Again in Indiana”. For Cole Whitt, the State of Indiana has grown into a second home for his family from April thru October. Therefore, Cole Whitt, Keith Kunz Motorsports and USAC are full throttle into Sprint Car / Midget racing. While the weekend was scheduled for three nights of Indiana USAC National Sprint Car racing, the weather had slightly other plans.
Whitt’s first night of racing was at Gas City I-69 Speedway. The nearly 40-car field meant that there would be a number of top teams and drivers that have spent decades competing at this regular USAC site. After a mid-field qualifying performance with an apparent motor issue, Cole and the crew went to work trying to trouble shoot the problem. Finally the crew was able to isolate the problem, finding a loose fuel line. However this meant that Cole would have to start in 24th position. Cole was able to fight from the rear of the feature grid to capture a tenth place finish after 30 laps. 
After a solid performance the first night, Cole and his Keith Kunz Motorsports no. 67k Red Bull Bullet Sprint Car arrived at re-designed 3/8 mile high banked Lawrenceburg Speedway. Another mid-pack qualifying performance meant he would have his work cut out for him in the feature race event. Cole made quick work of the mid-pack before finding himself in a five-car duel for 5th – 10th place. The race track was hooked up and fast with a treacherous bumpy turn 1 that claimed numerous competitors. Cole fought his way to a championship minded eighth place finish at the end of 30 laps.
Unfortunately, Cole was not able to race on Sunday at the high-banked pavement oval of Winchester. The race was cancelled due to weather. Therefore, Cole was not able to capitalize on racing at a track that he finds to be one of his favorite pavement tracks. Cole had this to say after the weekend, “Overall we recovered with a strong performance, and I’m happy about that, but I know we are capable of so much more. It’s a long stretch, and in order to compete for a championship, it requires consistent top ten finishes and victories when we can get them.”
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