whitt moved to premium motorsports in 2016, driving the no. 98 with sponsorship from rtic coolers, speed stick, and rinnai among others. while racing michael mcdowell in his can-am duel race, whitt spun and broke his transmission, which caused him to miss the daytona 500 after qualifying the previous two years. whitt finished a 26th place at fontana on an unfunded team. at talledega, whitt avoided massive crashes contending a top 10 finish, but was involved in the last lap crash finishing a season best 18th. on the series' return to daytona, whitt was able to avoid major crash involvement and crossed the line 11th, a new career best, and jay robinson's best finish as a sprint cup owner. during the season, whitt also ran sporadically for tristar motorsports in the xfinity series and rbr enterprises in the truck series. during the chase for the championship, being replaced by drivers like d. j. kennington.