Cole Whitt led his BK Racing teammates to the checkered flag with a 23rd-place finish in the No. 26 Moen Toyota Camry at Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Whitt was followed by JJ Yeley in the No. 83 Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota Camry who finished 29th, and Alex Bowman who finished 32nd in the No. 23 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry.
Racing at Kansas Speedway for the second time this season, Whitt rolled off 33rd for Sunday’s 400-mile event. The Sunoco rookie contender fought the balance of his car throughout most of the race, suffering from a loose condition through the center of the turns. However, several chassis and air pressure adjustments helped improve the Moen Toyota throughout the course of the race. Taking advantage of several wave-around opportunities to regain lost track position, Whitt was able to cross the finish line in the 23rd position, marking his fifth top-25 finish of the 2014 season.
“I’m proud of the effort of our Moen Toyota Camry team today,” commented Whitt. “Our BK Racing team had a good car when we unloaded this weekend, and we were able to improve it throughout practice and qualifying to make it even better. We were able to capitalize on some opportunities to gain track position and break back into the top 25.”
Yeley rejoined BK Racing to drive the No. 83 Burger
King / Dr Pepper Toyota Camry at Kansas Speedway. Racing on his 38th birthday, Yeley rolled off 38th for Sunday’s 400-mile race. Positioning the Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota as BK Racing’s highest-running entry for most of the day, Yeley was pleased with his car’s overall balance. Needing more grip in the corners, Yeley worked closely with his Burger King / Dr Pepper crew to make adjustments and improve the handling of their car with each pit stop. By the time the checkered flag waved, Yeley was scored in the 29th position.
“It was fun to be back with BK Racing this weekend,” commented Yeley. “Our Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota Camry was a pretty good car–the handling was dialed in and we had good balance throughout the day. We just lacked some of the grip we needed to get through the corners. I really enjoy working with this group and I’m thankful for the opportunity to have driven the Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota Camry again this weekend.”
With just five minutes left in final practice, Bowman made contact with the turn two wall to force the Dr Pepper team to their backup car for Sunday’s 400-mile race. Despite recording BK Racing’s top qualifying effort, Bowman was forced to the rear of the field for the start of Sunday’s race. Without an opportunity to dial-in the Dr Pepper Toyota Camry prior to the start of the race, Bowman worked closely with his crew throughout the course of the event to make adjustments and improve their tight racecar. Just past the halfway point, Bowman was forced to pit road for an unscheduled pit stop to address a vibration. The stop put Bowman on a different strategy than the rest of the field and caused the No. 23 team to lose valuable track position. By the time the checkered flag waved, Bowman was scored in the 32nd position.
“Our Dr Pepper Toyota Camry team certainly had our work cut out for us this weekend,” commented Bowman. “We entered the race without having even one lap on the track in our No. 23 machine. Clearly we had notes from our primary car, but not every chassis reacts the same, so it was a disadvantage to go into the race without any experience in our backup car. My BK Racing team did a great job working through adjustments to help improve the car throughout the race. Unfortunately, with fighting a tight car during the early laps, we just lost too much track position to be able to regain the ground that we lost. I’m looking forward to bouncing back and getting back behind the wheel next weekend.”
BK Racing PR
