Whitt leads BK Racing with a 28th-place finish in Charlotte

Cole Whitt led his BK Racing teammates to the checkered flag with a 28th-place finish in the No. 26 Rinnai Toyota Camry at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Saturday night.  Whitt was followed by Alex Bowman in the No. 23 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry who finished 30th, and JJ Yeley who finished 38th in the No. 83 Painters Ice Cream Toyota Camry. 

Competing in the final night race of the 2014 Sprint Cup season, Whitt rolled off 33rd for the Bank of America 500.  Fighting a very tight Rinnai Camry during the early stages of the race, Whitt worked closely with his crew to make a series of adjustments throughout the 500-mile event.  With the balance of his car improving as the race progressed, Whitt raced inside the top-30 most of the night.  When the checkered flag waved, Whitt was scored in the 28th position.  

 

“The races at Charlotte are always some of the most challenging of the season,” commented Whitt.  “The track conditions here change drastically from day to night, and it’s difficult to get the setup exactly as you need it going into the race.  Our Rinnai Toyota Camry was a little off in the early stages of the race, but we were able to adjust on it and improve the balance as the race progressed.  All-in-all, I’m happy with another solid top-30 finish, and I’m looking forward to some superspeedway racing next week.”

 

After finishing 12th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, Bowman competed in his second race of the weekend while driving the No. 23 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry for BK Racing.  Early in the race the Sunoco rookie contender fought a loose racecar, but with changing track conditions Bowman worked closely with his Dr Pepper team to make a series of adjustments to their Toyota Camry.  The balance of the car improved with each change, and Bowman was able to take advantage of several ‘wave-around’ opportunities during caution periods to regain track position.  By the conclusion of the 500-mile event, Bowman was scored in the 30th position.  

 

“Our Dr Pepper Toyota Camry team had a decent weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway,” commented Bowman.  “We fought the balance of our car a little bit, but we were able to get it handling pretty well by the end of the race, and we were able to take advantage of some wave-around options to regain some track position.  We were fortunate enough to stay out of trouble all night and bring home a solid finish.  I’m looking forward to racing Talladega next weekend; you never know what will happen there.”

 

Back behind the wheel of the No. 83 Painters Ice Cream Toyota Camry for BK Racing, Yeley rolled off 41st at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  With a racecar that was free on exit, Yeley struggled to gain the track position he needed.  The veteran driver worked closely with his crew to make several significant adjustments throughout the night to improve the handling of the Painters Ice Cream Toyota Camry.  Having lost valuable track position while focusing on improving the balance of their car, Yeley and the Painters Ice Cream Toyota Camry team were scored with a 38th-place finish. 


  “We had a challenging night in our Painters Ice Cream Toyota Camry,” commented Yeley.  “We fought the handling quite a bit, and in the process we lost a lot of track position.  Track position is so important at this track, and it’s hard to get back once you lose it.  We had the car handling a little better at the end, but it was too late to try to regain the ground we lost.”

 

BK Racing PR