HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (February 2, 2016) — Premium Motorsports is pleased to announce it has officially signed Cole Whitt to drive the No. 98 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car. The 24-year-old Whitt, who will be entering his third full season in the premier Sprint Cup Series, finished 31st in driver points each of his first two seasons.
“We believe Cole is an accomplished young driver who drives aggressively, yet smart,” team owner Jay Robinson said. “He’s a great fit for our team as we look to improve our competitiveness in the Sprint Cup Series.”
This off-season, Premium made several strategic moves to upgrade the team and its race cars. On the competition side, Premium acquired additional updated equipment along with hiring Mike Hillman to fill the role of competition director and Mark Hillman to serve as crew chief. Mike and Mark join team manager Scott Eggleston along with owner Jay Robinson to round out the Premium Motorsports management team.
“Jay and the crew at Premium Motorsports impressed me with their vision for the future and commitment to making the No. 98 car competitive week in and week out,” said Whitt. “I look forward to being a big part of the family atmosphere at Premium and having a successful start at the Daytona 500 in a few weeks.”
Whitt starting racing at a young age out of his native state of California, rising up through the karting, midget and sprint car ranks. In 2008, he became the youngest winner of the USAC National Midget Championship. Whitt switched to NASCAR in 2010 to run a full season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, later moving up to run full seasons in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2011 and the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2012. He finished in the top 10 in driver points each of those rookie seasons.
Many of Whitt’s previous partners in the Sprint Cup Series the past two years are expected to support him again in 2016 at Premium. More details regarding car sponsors will be released at a further date.
