Cole Whitt

Whitt should return to TriStar Motorsports and the No. 72 Chevrolet, however, as of this writing it's not a done deal just yet. The journeyman driver started all 36 events last season for this race team, and collected four Top-20 finishes. That led to a 33rd-place finish in the final driver standings, and some growth for this small race team. The team's charter is in question and that puts a question mark on Whitt and TriStar's potential 2018 season, although we feel it's a good chance that a deal get works out and they will race in the upcoming season. If Whitt hopes to improve on last season better qualifying efforts will be a must. Starting an average 32.1 on the grid is not the way to ensure good finishes each week. - February Update - Whitt will only race part-time in this car in 2018 and will yield many of the starts to Corey Lajoie.

Whitt spent all of last season racing in a part-time capacity for Premium Motorsports. He made 26 starts in the 36-event schedule spread between the team's No. 55 and No. 98 Chevrolets. It was a season of mixed results for the young Californian. It didn't quite measure up to the decent campaign Whitt had in 2015. So he left the team late in 2016. Whitt says he has team plans in the works for 2017, but those have yet to be announced as of late December. The young journeyman driver has the capability of piloting a small race team to Top-25 and Top-20 finishes if given the right equipment and support. That makes Whitt a valuable commodity on the free agent driver market, and is what will likely land him a ride for 2017. Although it's hard to gage just exactly what his fantasy racing value is until his plans have been announced.

Of the lower tier drivers, Whitt had a pretty good season in 2015. The 24-year-old driver competed in his second full season of Sprint Cup Series racing with Front Row Motorsports and he managed to better his average finish by half a point over his rookie season. While it still added up to a lowly 31st-place finish in the championship standings, Whitt can take away some encouraging things. The top-15 finish in the spring Talladega race was the season's biggest highlight, and his 20th-place finish in the fall Martinsville Chase race wasn't too far behind that. Some things need to happen to make a more favorable environment for Whitt this season. Hopefully the FRM technical alliance with Roush Fenway Racing will bring some much-needed equipment and knowledge to the No. 35 team.

Whitt is a free agent driver in 2013.