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Whitt Begins 2009 USAC Sprint Car / Midget Season in Arizona |
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009 – The 2009 dirt oval season officially began for USAC in Phoenix, AZ this past weekend. USAC held a two night event for all three major national series (midget, sprint, silver crown) with one feature race held on Saturday, February 21. This meant that Cole Whitt was able to return to the track in both the sprint car and midget class. The return to the track was a mix of known and unknown elements for Cole and his Keith Kunz Motorsports team.
For the sprint car class, it was return to the familiar 67k Bullet chassis racing car. In the midget, Cole and KKM unveiled the #1 on the Bullet chassis / Toyota powered race car. For Cole and the team, the weekend in Arizona left the team ready to attack for the national championships in both classes for the next 10 months.
Whitt and the 67k were the first of the two race cars that competed in Friday night schedule. The ½ mile dirt oval was treacherous both evenings for all of the 55 USAC Sprint Cars that competed. Cole and his team were able to make a number of good predictions so that Cole posted the fourth quick time in qualifying. This meant Cole would start fourth in the 2nd neat race. A smart second place in the heat meant that Cole earned an automatic transfer to the Saturday night A Main. Cole started in the 4th position in the Saturday night A Main. He and his KKM Bullet no. 67k were fast enough to move to the fourth position after 40 laps. This was a solid way to begin the season. Cole added, “It is good to get back to racing after a long break. We are looking forward to a great season again and I think the 67k USAC Red Bull Sprint Car will be a contender for wins and the championship.”
The 2008 USAC Midget National Champion comes into this season with the “target” on the side in the no. 1. The opportunity to partner with Red Bull and Toyota in the midget class is a great challenge for Cole and Keith Kunz Motorsports. The first weekend in USAC competition offered a glimpse to the competition that the no. 1 Red Bull Toyota Bullet will be strong. A seventh in qualifying from 40 midgets was very solid as the track was difficult to set up for both Cole and KKM. However, the team and driver had issues in the heat race that relegated Cole to a sixth place result. Whitt recovered to finish a very strong second place in the B Main. This meant Cole started 14th for the Saturday night 40 lap feature. Unfortunately, the track conditions were not ideal for the no. 1 Red Bull Toyota Bullet and Cole settled for a 16th place at the finish. Whitt commented, “We are very excited to work with our Red Bull Bullet and partner with Toyota this year. We believe we have great potential to repeat for the championship and are looking forward to a great season with Toyota in 2009.”
The no. 67k and no. 1 Red Bull Toyota Bullet return to action on Wednesday in Las Vegas before moving to Perris for two nights on Friday and Saturday. Look for updates from both venues. |
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