WHITT SCORES SEAT IN PWR'S NO. 99
MOORESVILLE, N.C. - Red Bull Racing Team and Pastrana-Waltrip Racing have joined forces to put Cole Whitt in PWR's No. 99 Toyota for the May 28 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The 19-year-old Whitt will make his third Nationwide start in the Top Gear 300, having competed in two events late last season.
"This is an awesome surprise. I had no idea this would happen," Whitt said. "I've been having a blast learning the tracks in the truck, but this is great. It's my dream to get to the Cup Series, and now I'm a little closer.
"I can't thank Red Bull enough for helping me make these steps. They've been with me since I was 14 racing sprint cars, and now I'm getting another chance to show what I have in a Nationwide car. I'm looking forward to driving the Pastrana-Waltrip Racing car. They've had a lot of success so far, and I hope to add to it."
Whitt finished 15th in his Nationwide debut last November at Phoenix and followed up with a 17th-place showing a week later at Homestead. He currently ranks third in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points standings with four top 10s in six races. He finished a career-best second May 13 at Dover.
Ty Norris, PWR vice president and general manager, said Ryan Truex will drive the No. 99 at Iowa Speedway on Sunday and at Chicagoland Speedway on June 4.
"This is a case of two teams helping each other out," Norris said. "Red Bull wants to see their young phenom compete against NASCAR's best, and PWR has top-notch equipment and crew but needed the sponsorship. This is a true win- win-win scenario for Red Bull, PWR and Cole Whitt. We're thrilled to be able to help."
Michael Waltrip, David Reutimann and Truex have raced the No. 99 in 2011.
Action sports star Travis Pastrana will race seven times this season with Boost Mobile sponsorship beginning at Lucas Oil Raceway on July 30. Patrick Carpentier will race for PWR on Aug. 20 in Montreal with NAPA AUTO PARTS sponsorship.
Michael Waltrip Racing, Gary and Blake Bechtel and Travis Pastrana own Pastrana-Waltrip Racing that fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C.
-source: rbrt
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Michael Waltrip explains decision to retire after 2017 Daytona 500
NASCAR Roundtable - Daytona
2017 Daytona 500 to be Michael Waltrip's final NASCAR race
Perez: F1 safety car meant it was "game over" for second place in China
2024 F1 Chinese GP results: Max Verstappen wins for Red Bull
The ironic reason Newey thinks Red Bull hasn't been caught in F1 yet
RB brands Ricciardo/Tsunoda Chinese GP crashes "unnecessary"
Manthey on Porsche defending DTM title: “Don’t think they’ll allow that”
Ferrari announces Miami F1 livery change to mark US anniversary
Haas F1 boss says Magnussen's Chinese GP penalty not "justifiable"
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments