Tuesday, July 21, 2009 – The past two weeks for Cole Whitt and his Keith Kunz Motorsports race team have been a whirlwind.  The combination of the annual Indiana Sprint Week series in combination with a USAC National Midget make up race and a Sunday night race with the 29w at Kokomo Speedway meant that the recent days have been a blur.  While Cole was not able to post a victory in the Sprint Week (although he was SO close), he was able to consolidate his third position in the points and close the gap on second and get win number five at Kokomo in the 29w!

Night one of Sprint Week was in Lawrenceburg, IN.  The track at Lawrenceburg has a tendency to quickly become a full throttle, “World of Outlaws”-like event.  This race was no exception.  From 14th place at the start, Cole did a lot to break the top 10 at the finish as very few passes were made in the entire event.

Gas City, IN was next for the tour.  As was similar to every night on the tour, 40 plus cars arrived at the I-69 Speedway to contest night two.  After taking a 12th place start into the top three in the feature, track debris broke two of the eight plug wires off the motor and Cole disappointedly had to retire due to lack of power.  Whitt was scored in 17th place.

Kokomo Speedway was next.  While this is for sure a favorite of Cole’s in all of racing, a bad qualifying draw can play havoc into your potential results.  Cole managed to draw at a point where he was not able to attack the track and qualified back in 32nd.  However, once into the feature and starting 22nd, Cole posted the third quickest race lap time en route to an 11th place finish.

Onto North Vernon, IN for a USAC National Midget make-up race.  The race was another one where tough luck caught Cole.  After moving into the top 10 quickly in the event, Cole suffered a cut tire and had to pull into the pit under yellow.  The crew was not able to get the tire changed in time and Cole went a lap down, however determined, Cole raced his way from the back to post a top 10 finish in the feature.

The Terre Haute Action Track was the site of the fourth night of Indiana Sprint Week.  Back in the sprint car and heading into the 2nd leg of sprint week, Cole was determined for better results.  The track was fast and allowed some good top and bottom action in the feature.  Cole battled his way from seventh to fourth at the end of the feature.

Kamp Motor Speedway in Boswell found 37 cars arrive ready to race on night five of the tour.  Cole was fast from the beginning of the night.  Once into the feature, Cole began an epic duel with legendary dirt sprint car driver Dave Darland.  The two crossed the finish line side by side.  It took a number of photo finish replays and a final judged gap of .0027 seconds, determining Darland as the winner and Cole 2nd.  

Bloomington, IN was night six for Cole, Keith Kunz Motorsports, and the entire Circus!  Cole worked again hard to get a decent qualifying run with a later draw among the 50 competitors.  After starting 12th in the feature, passing was tricky.  The track was completely slick from top to bottom, making passing almost impossible.  Cole posted a top 10 finish.

The final night of the tour at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Indiana continued Cole’s form.  A third in qualifying meant a good starting sport for the feature.  Cole drove a smart race on a very racy track and battled with the top five to post a solid fourth place finish.

With Sprint Week over and most wanting to relax after a hectic schedule, Cole and C-Squared Motorsports rolled out the no. 29w.  Cole was able to use the heat race finish of second to achieve a fourth place starting position in the main event.   Hungry for a win, Whitt drove high and low on the track to get to the top spot at the checkered flag.  “The Sherriff” of Kokomo, Whitt, achieved his 5th win of the season at Kokomo Speedway.

Whitt said, “What a crazy life we lead!  It seems like a flash and we just did another awesome Indiana Sprint Week.  I am real proud of the crew guys and everyone who supports me on these types of events.  It was a great tour and I have to say that racing Dave to the finish at Kamp will be one of my highlights of the year, even in getting a second place finish.  I am also excited to have a solid third place in the points as we move to the second half of the season.”