Sunday’s Cup race at ISM Raceway was the last NASCAR race for Cole Whitt, TriStar Motorsports announced on social media after the race.
The team said Whitt, 27, “has elected to hang up his helmet and step away from his life behind the wheel.”
A native of Alpine, California, Whitt has made 242 starts across NASCAR’s three national series since 2010. Sunday’s race was his 161st Cup start. He finished 25th.
Whitt said before the season he was “looking forward to taking the next step” in his life “and trying to spend most of my time with my family.”
Last month, Whitt told frontstretch.com “It’s been a slow, steady drive of me to get away from racing and move back to be around family and friends and to live a normal life. That’s been a drive for the past couple of years.”
Whitt competed full-time in Cup from 2014-15 and 2017.
Whitt split time this year in the No. 72 Chevrolet with Corey LaJoie, making 13 starts.
The best season of Whitt’s career came in 2012 in the Xfinity Series. Driving the No. 88 for JR Motorsports, Whitt earned four top fives, 14 top 10s and finished seventh in the standings.
Bittersweet day for us as one of our all-time favorites has elected to move on to the next phase of his life. Thank you @ColeWhitt for the memories!! We’re going to miss you but are happy that you are following your heart and wish you the very best!! pic.twitter.com/hWqAFfGI5U
— TriStar Motorsports (@TriStarRaceTeam) November 12, 2018