on february 6, 2018, whitt announced he would step back to a part-time ride in 2018 with tristar, sharing the ride with corey lajoie. whitt stated that the part time change was due to him wanting to spend more time with family. whitt started the season in atlanta, where he qualified 32nd and finished 28th. on november 12, tristar motorsports announced the 2018 can-am 500 at ism raceway was his final race in nascar.