Blown Engine Ends Cole Whitt Night Early

Cole Whitt’s Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway lasted all of 10 minutes. The engine in his No. 60 Turn One Racing truck blew up on lap 20, leaving a trail of smoke and oil on the track.

“Can’t catch a break, boys,” groaned Whitt, who had climbed to fifth from his 11th-place starting position. Instead, he finished 32nd and took a hard hit in the points standings. He lost three positions to eighth — only nine points out of fifth but 57 out of first.

It’s been no summer vacation for the 20-year-old Truck Series rookie. Since a 28th-place finish June 10 at Texas — a span of nine races that has seen two engine failures and a sideswipe at Kentucky — Whitt’s average finish is 17.3. In the season’s first eight events, Whitt had completed all the laps with an average finish of 8.3.

Red Bull Racing PR