Tuesday, August 18, 2009 – First off Cole Whitt would like to congratulate Red Bull Racing Team and Brian Vickers for win number one in NASCAR Sprint Cup. As for Cole, the past ten days have been busy. So busy it’s hard to keep up! The races in this period have been successful for Whitt in all of his various entries. In addition to his victory on August 8th, Cole Whitt is now the 2009 Kokomo Speedway Track Champion. Whitt joins a roster of greats including Rich Vogler, Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart as apart of the track’s past, Cole is honored to be crowned champion.

The race at Kokomo was another barn-burner. After drawing a poor time to qualify, Cole was able to recover in the heat race. His result from qualifying meant that he would start back in seventh position for the feature. The seventh starting position was one which required Cole to drive both on the top and bottom side of the race track. Once into second position, Cole moved quickly toward then-leader Dave Darland. After making a couple of attempts to make a pass for the lead, Cole found his way past Darland and collected his 8th win of the season. With one point race remaining, Cole’s victory meant that he clinched the season championship. This was a great reward for Cole and crew chief Chuck Gurney Jr. for the hard work in preparing and running the no. 29w Red Bull sprint car each week.

After racing at Kokomo, Cole moved on to the no. 67k Red Bull sprint car for USAC racing in Knoxville and Oskaloosa, IA. Rain forced Knoxville’s cancellation, so the crew moved on to Oskaloosa’s ½ mile. Cole and the Keith Kunz Motorsports team were excited to get back on track and the team was able to roll off of the truck fast. The event did not have the traditional qualifying and therefore meant that the two heat race finishes and combined passing points constituted the starting order for the feature. Whitt posted a third in both heats earning a 10th starting position for the feature amongst the 45 competitors. Once in the feature, Whitt and the no. 67k were among the fastest cars on track. A good charge in the feature earned a fifth at the end of the race.

After the long trip back to Indiana, the no. 29w returned to the track at Gas City Speedway.  Whitt took a drawn position for the heat race that allowed him to post a second place finish.  The result of the heat race gave Cole a fourth position for the start of the feature.  Whitt and his one man crew were able to make some adjustments on the car that meant Cole was easily the fastest car on the track.  The speed for the Red Bull sprint car allowed Cole to move to the lead and a victory at the finish.  Cole and Chuck were also able to now post double digits with their 10th victory in the no. 29w Red Bull sprint car for 2009.

Finally, Cole moved back to Keith Kunz Motorsports and both the no. 67k sprint car and the no. 1 Toyota powered midget.  In both cars, Cole was exceptionally fast straight off the trailer.  Posting a fourth in qualifying on the Salem pavement, the no. 67k Red Bull sprint car stayed consistent for the heat and into the feature.  The car was quick in the feature, but developed a loose condition in the 50 lap feature therefore a fourth place at the finish was the best result possible.  In the no. 1 Red Bull Toyota midget, Cole was even better and a first in qualifying meant that Cole would start the feature in sixth due to the 6 car inversion.  This was not ideal as the track remained difficult to pass in the midget and went green all 30 laps.  However, Cole found a couple of places to get runs on his competitors and made a number of passes en route to a second position at the finish.

Whitt said, “We continue to show great results in everything we are running right now.  I am really proud of the effort of everyone that is apart of our program.  In the 29w, we have now gained a very special track championship.  We are always so honored to race at Kokomo in front of a really appreciative crowd and to gain the season championship means a lot to Chuck and me.  In addition, we have made a lot of gains in the no. 1 Red Bull Toyota midget.  We ran out of laps at Salem but had a lot of fun.  In the 67k, the top five results keep us in with a shot at the national title, and we continue to work to close the gap.”