According to a Tweet by BK Racing’s minority owner Anthony Marlowe, Cole Whitt will be taking over the #34 Ford of Front Row Motorosports that has been driven by David Ragan for the previous three years.(11-26-2014)
UPDATE: Anthony Marlowe, who was the co-owner of the #26 team with Cole Whitt at Swan Racing and now is the part-owner at BK Racing, posted an interesting tweet late Tuesday night. Apparently, Whtt’s representation sent a letter to BK Racing late last week informing team principals the driver would not be returning in 2015. Whitt moved with Marlowe to BKR before Richmond in April after Swan folded. When Motorsport.com reached out to Ragan on Wednesday morning about Marlowe’s tweet, the veteran replied via text, ‘I don’t know. I haven’t been told anything is changing on my end.’(Motorsport)(11-26-2014)
UPDATE 2: A BK Racing co-owner tweeted congratulations to Cole Whitt on landing the #34 ride at Front Row Motorsports for next season, but a Front Row Motorsports spokesperson said there are ‘no expected changes with the 34 car.’ David Ragan drove the #34 car this past season, finishing 32nd in points. Shari Spiewak, a spokesperson for Front Row Motorsports said Wednesday morning that it was anticipated that Ragan will be with the team again in 2015. ‘The team is working on getting its 2015 plans finalized and, hopefully, should be able to have everything buttoned up in a few weeks,’ Spiewak told Motor Racing Network. Ian Moye, a spokesperson for BK Racing, said that the team has not announced any of its drivers for next season. Whitt, JJ Yeley and Alex Bowman finished the season with the team this past year.(Motor Racing Network)(11-26-2014)
UPDATE 3: It’s not every day that a NASCAR team owner publicly apologizes for an error he made, especially in a large forum such as Twitter. But give BK Racing minority owner Anthony Marlowe credit for making a classy move at righting his wrong by offering exclusively to MotorSportsTalk a heartfelt apology and explanation for his inadvertent actions. Here is Marlowe’s entire statement to MotorSportsTalk:
‘I did not intend for it to make national news,’ Marlowe said of his original tweet. ‘Aside from it being smart alecky, it was just a tweet congratulating a friend, and current supplier of driver services on his ride for next year. We could have had someone else drive the 26 car this year at BKR, but my new partners and I felt (Whitt) deserved a full season after his past NASCAR teams were not committed to him for the long term, along with his auspicious start to the 2014 season. That mission was accomplished. Additionally, we offered Cole (and it has been on the table since July) a multi-year option contract in the Cup series. Needless to say, I wish he would have stuck around and built this franchise with us over the years, but he obviously has and/or somehow created a better opportunity somewhere else.’
On David Ragan / The number:
‘I should have left the #34 out of it (the tweet). Although I am fairly confident based on my multiple sources that he (Whitt) is going to Front Row, not all of those sources have been so sure it is the #34 car. Regardless if time tells us any of this is true or not, I feel like I owe David Ragan an apology. He is a Cup winner and seemingly great guy. I sincerely regret him being pulled into this.’(NBC Sports)(11-28-2014)
