Whitt puts out fire in Richmond, finishes 41st

Cole Whitt and the No. 26 Scorpyd Crossbows Toyota Camry team finished 41st at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in the Toyota Owners 400 on Saturday night.  After working on the balance of their car early in the event, the BK Racing team had to overcome a right front brake fire that sent Whitt to the garage for nearly 40 laps.

With this team recently acquired by BK Racing, Cole Whitt made his first start of the season with the Statesville, N.C.-based organization.  Prior to Richmond, the 22-year-old Whitt had started all eight races this season with Swan Racing and recorded a season-best finish of 18th at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

With qualifying cancelled for rain on Friday afternoon, the No. 26 Scorpyd Crossbows Toyota Camry team lined up in the 40th position for the Toyota Owners 400, per the NASCAR rulebook.  Whitt worked closely with crew chief Randy Cox throughout the opening 150 laps to improve the balance of their car, but the team fought to gain ground on the fast 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway.  Just past lap 150, Whitt called into the team to report brake issues, and by lap 158 he was getting ready to pull down pit road with a fire in the right front of his car.  The BK Racing team quickly extinguished the fire and pushed their Scorpyd Crossbows Camry to the garage area for repairs.  Shortly before lap 200, Whitt returned to the field.  Scored more than 30 laps behind the leader, Whitt returned to competition patiently logging laps and gaining positions.  By the time the checkered flag waved, Whitt was scored in the 41st position.

“I’m really proud to be competing with the BK Racing organization for the remainder of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season,” commented Whitt.  “BK Racing puts together a great product, and while things came together late and we struggled a bit this week, my crew chief [Randy Cox] and I are very excited about the potential for the rest of the year.  I’m looking forward to the next few weeks where we can all get familiar with each other and uncover the strengths that our Scorpyd Crossbows Toyota team can build on.”

BK Racing PR