Whitt leads BK Racing to checkered flag with 26th-place finish in season finale

Cole Whitt led his BK Racing teammates to the checkered flag with a 26th-place finish in the No. 26 Speed Stick GEAR Toyota Camry at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday afternoon.  Competing in the final race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, Whitt was followed by Alex Bowman in the No. 23 DipYourCar.com Toyota Camry who finished 33rd, and JJ Yeley who finished 37th in the DipYourCar.com Toyota Camry. 

Driving in the final race of his rookie season, Whitt rolled off 42nd for Sunday afternoon’s race.  The Sunoco Rookie contender quickly called into his team to report a tight Toyota Camry, which was a condition that the Speed Stick GEAR crew would fight for the rest of the afternoon.  Making several air pressure and chassis adjustments, Whitt continued to fight the balance of his racecar throughout the duration of the event.  Despite his struggles, Whitt and his BK Racing team were able to utilize some pit strategy to gain additional track position at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway and were scored in the 26th position by the time the checkered flag waved.

 

“I’m proud of my Speed Stick GEAR Toyota Camry team for salvaging a good finish today,” commented Whitt.  “We fought the balance of the car throughout most of the afternoon, but they never gave up and we kept fighting for ways to gain additional track position to bring home the best finish possible.  I’m very thankful to BK Racing for the opportunity this year, and for adding my team and I to their lineup mid-season.  It’s cool to know that people believe in me enough to do that, and it means a lot to me both personally and professionally.”

Bowman rolled off 41st in his No. 23 DipYourCar.com Toyota Camry for Sunday’s400-mile race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  Initially reporting a tight Toyota Camry, the DipYourCar.com crew made a series of air pressure and chassis adjustments, which caused the car to also gain a loose-off condition when exiting the corners.  With two flat right rear tires throughout the race, Bowman was forced down pit road for unscheduled pit stops causing him to lose valuable track position.  Despite being on a different pit cycle than the rest of the field, Bowman was able to drive to a 33rd-place finish.

“Our DipYourCar.com Toyota Camry was just a bit off with its handling this afternoon,” Bowman said.  “We made a lot of adjustments throughout the afternoon, but it took a lot of work to get it handling to where I needed it.  We also had a couple of flat tires that caused us to lose track position and gave us another hurdle to overcome.  All in all, it’s been a very cool season with BK Racing.  I appreciate all the hard work that my team has put in this year.  We qualified for the Daytona 500, and we’ve had some good races and qualifying efforts throughout the season.  I’m happy that I’ve had the opportunity to race for BK Racing.”

 

Recording BK Racing’s top qualifying effort, Yeley took the green flag on Sunday afternoon from the 34th position.  Initially radioing his team to report an extremely tight racecar, Yeley lost valuable track position during green flag competition.  However, the team was able to take advantage of their time on pit road to make air pressure and chassis adjustments to dial-in the handling of their car.  Working lap 256, Yeley was involved in an accident in turn four that left his DipYourCar.com Toyota Camry with severe rear end damage.  With only 11 laps left in the race, the BK Racing team had to retire from the event, leaving Yeley with a 37th-place finish. 

“We didn’t get the finish we hoped for this afternoon with our DipYourCar.com Toyota Camry,” Yeley said.  “We had just broken into the top-35 and were picking up positions when we got involved in an accident in turn four.  We had some great guests at the track from DipYourCar.com, so I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to put on a better show for them, but I’m very grateful for the opportunity to represent them.  It’s been really cool racing with BK Racing over the last few months–I’m happy we were able to partner to finish out the season.”

BK Racing PR