Cole Whitt entered the final USAC National Midget Series event with an opportunity to make history. The finale, the 2008 Turkey Night Grand Prix, hosted a showdown between Cole Whitt in the number 71 Keith Kunz Motorsports midget who trailed Tracy Hines by 17 points, in his number 21 Tony Stewart Racing midget. For Cole, he needed to finish several positions in front of Tracy to win the title (depending on finishing position).
As Cole moved into the practice, he posted the quickest time amongst the 64 midgets. After qualifying in the 10th position meant he was automatically locked into the feature race and would start 10th. Cole’s point competitor Tracy needed to use a provisional to start the event. In addition to the point implications for the event, the format for this feature is unique. The race is a tradition that has taken place for more than 60 years. The race event is 98 laps to commemorate the number used by race creator JC Agajanian. Therefore, for the race event, not only would Cole need to stay as close to his qualifying position to win the championship, but he would also need to endure the 98 laps of racing that would take place around him to win a prestigious end of season event. The race started and as the lap counter moved toward the 98 lap mark, Cole drove the race with a style of aggression mixed with tact. The difficult task for Cole was that he did not know exactly where he needed to finish as the points gap changed based on finishing position. However, Cole was able to keep his vehicle in EXCATLY the position that clinched the championship, finishing 11th. It wasn’t until Cole had exited the track after the race and entered the pit area, when the USAC officials indicated that Cole needed to move back on track to accept the award for his national title. Cole was very proud of his team, family, and support system that helped him to reach this point, “I really want to thank my family, Keith, Pete, Esslinger engines, the whole Keith Kunz team, and all my sponsors and friends that have supported me and helped me get here today. When we started the season this was our goal, and to capture a national title during my first complete season is really amazing.” 17 years and 158 Days, Cole is now the youngest USAC National Champion in the 50 plus year history of the organization.
In addition to the USAC National Midget series event, the Turkey Night Grand Prix also hosted a USAC Western States 360 cubic inch sprint car event. The event was an opportunity for Cole and his father Tobin to bring back out the car that competed in this event last year. Cole was able to take the number 67k pavement sprint car to a 3rd place qualifying. For the 40 lap feature race, Cole started the event in 4th and moved up one position to finish in a fine third place while running very hard to keep the position through numerous lapped vehicles.
This is the final race update for Cole Whitt in his 2008 season. However, look for an announcement upcoming that will outline the 2009 Cole Whitt race plans.
