News Article

Whitt Wins First Truck Race and First ‘Elvis’ in Final Turn

July 25, 2005
D. Franklin

MEMPHIS (July 23, 2005 – nascarmedia.com) – In Saturday night’s inaugural run “under the lights” at Memphis Motorsports Park, 22-year-old Brandon Whitt was heading toward a career-best finish, sitting in second behind race leader Ron Hornaday, Jr., when he saw smoke in turn four.

Whitt, the pole winner, captured the O’Reilly 200 when Hornaday braked for smoke laid down by Jimmy Spencer’s turn 4 spin.

That was all Whitt needed to put his Toyota Tundra truck in victory lane as he scored a 1.442-second decision – about five truck lengths – over outside front-row starter David Reutimann.

For Whitt, who drove the No. 38 Cure Autism/McMillin Homes Toyota, Memphis will now mean more than Elvis and Graceland. He will remember it for the day he won his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and became the first driver to win the ‘Elvis’ trophy.

“It’s cool to get my first win,” Whitt said. “I think I’ll hold Memphis Motorsports Park close to my heart forever. The track, the fans, everything I love about it. You can’t get a better trophy for your first win.”

Earlier in the day, Whitt recorded his first career pole. He also led the first laps of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career. The win and the pole follow his previous best career performance, a sixth-place finish at Kentucky Speedway earlier this season.

“I can’t say I wasn’t nervous at the end of the race,” said Whitt. “I had butterflies right there at the end. My Tundra was great all night long and I knew we were going to be good at the end of the race. Tonight’s just a perfect example of why you always need to remember that it’s never over until it’s actually over.”

Not only was it Whitt’s first win, but it was also the first win for his crew chief Jamie Jones and owner Tom DeLoach, who became the first owner in 2005 to win his first race.

“We’ve had some good runs this season,” Whitt said. “But the addition of Jeff Hammond and Tom DeLoach helping us form Red Horse Racing has been the extra push we needed to get over the top.”

For Whitt, the off-week will allow him to celebrate his win a little bit longer.

“This is a dream come true,” said Whitt, who became the fifth-youngest winner in series history. “I’m on cloud nine and I don’t think I’ll come down for a couple of weeks. It’s pretty hard to forget your first win, but it’s impossible when you have ‘The King’ as a trophy to remember it by.”

Hornaday, his Chevrolet knocked sideways by Whitt’s truck, wound up 21st, covering much of the final stretch in reverse. The 27-time series race winner led 79 laps – the most by any of the event’s four leaders.

Whitt, who averaged 71.182 mph, won ,275. The finish was the El Cajon, Calif. driver’s first top five on the series and followed his best previous effort – sixth at Kentucky Speedway two weeks ago.

He was doubtful of catching Hornaday in the two-lap sprint that followed the night’s 13th caution and extended the 200-lap distance by two laps around the .75-mile track.

“We needed something freak to happen,” said Whitt. “A win doesn’t come here very often. You have to appreciate it when you get it.”