Stremme Out, Whitt In at Swan Racing

By Lee Spencer, FOX Sports

RICHMOND, Va. -- David Stremme appeared surprised by an internet report that he would be out of the Swan Racing Toyota after Richmond International Raceway.

Swan Racing team owner Brandon Davis confirmed the story late Friday morning.

Earlier, however, Stremme appeared taken aback by the news.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t know what the hell is going on,” Stremme said by phone Friday morning. “No one has told me anything. I thought was going to Chicago (next week).”

Stremme, 36, has competed in the Sprint Cup Series since 2005. He competed in eight races for Davis, who took ownership of the No. 30 car at this race last year and in every event except the Daytona 500 in 2013.

Stremme is currently 31st in the point standings. His best finish of the season was 12th at Talladega in May.

When FOXSports.com asked Stremme if he had ownership in Swan Racing, he elected not to comment.

Davis also confirmed by text the report by PopularSpeed.com said Cole Whitt would replace the veteran next week at Chicagoland but added, "We are planning to try a bunch of different young guys. Looking for the driver for our future."

The official announcment by the team was made this morning.

"We welcome Cole Whitt to Swan Racing as the team builds for the future," said team owner Davis. "Cole is a very talented driver with a bright future and we are eager to see him compete for Swan Racing. I also want to thank David Stremme for his commitment to the team and for helping me learn so much about the sport in my first full season in NASCAR."

Whitt is currently scheduled to drive the car in four other races this season including Kansas, Charlotte, Talladega, and Phoenix. The team will finish off the season using as many as two other drivers. Those drivers will be named at a later date.

"We are going to take a look at a number of young drivers this year as we begin to prepare for 2014. It is important that this team take continued steps forward in every aspect," Davis said.

Whitt was happy, to say the least.

"I am thrilled to get back to racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Swan Racing. I told Mr. Davis that I will give him all I have to make this team successful," said Whitt.

Whitt competed for JR Motorsports last year and finished seventh in the Nationwide Series standings as a rookie. The 22-year-old Alpine, Cal.-native currently campaigns for TriStar Motorsports in NNS. Although Whitt has made seven Sprint Cup starts, six were start-and-parks. In his Cup debut, Whitt ran the fall race at Phoenix and finished a career-best 25th.