MARTINSVILLE, Va. – After the heartbreak of missing the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway last month, CR7 Motorsports has tapped Doug George to lead the team ahead of Saturday’s Martinsville 250 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway with driver Codie Rohrbaugh.
George, a longtime NASCAR veteran crew chief joins CR7 with a wealth of knowledge and a winning history – a valuable asset to the Mooresville, N.C.-based team.
Rohrbaugh an accomplished short track racer from Petersburg, West Virginia looks to impress with George at his side in his first NGOTS race of 2019.
“Daytona was tough, but that’s history and we’re focused forward,” said Rohrbaugh. “We’re excited to have Doug join the team and be a strength to our growing operation.
“I’m eager to get to Martinsville and some good ole’ short track racing and put our No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet Silverado in contention for a strong finish.”
In two NGOTS starts last season, Rohrbaugh made his series’ debut at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, another short track where he successfully qualified into the field before charging to a respectable and career-best 16th place run.
This weekend, the 25-year-old hopes for more of the same with the leadership of George and general manager Mark Huff.
“We have some really smart guys on this team with a lot of heart and dedication,” added Rohrbaugh. “It’s our goal to go to Martinsville this weekend and have a solid recovery and get some momentum for our next race at Texas Motor Speedway next weekend.”
When it comes to Martinsville, Rohrbaugh has been studying film and participating in iRacing events to help him prepare for his third career series start.
“I know Martinsville is a rhythm track,” Rohrbaugh sounded. “We need to find our footing during practice on Friday and then work on that for qualifying and the race on Saturday. I’d say if we can come out of Martinsville with a top-15 finish, that’d feel like a win for us.”
Following Martinsville, CR7 Motorsports plans to compete at Texas Motor Speedway before returning to the ARCA Menards Series next month for the General Tire 200 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Apr. 26.
In 19 career ARCA starts, Rohrbaugh has a best finish of seventh twice at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (July 2018 and Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (February 2019). He has qualified a career-best fourth on four different occasions including at Kansas Speedway (Oct. 2018).
Marketing partnership(s) opportunities are available for the No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet and No. 9 Grant County Mulch Ford for the 2019 ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series seasons and beyond. Interested inquiries are encouraged to contact at tonya@gcmulch.com or 304.257.8783.
The TrüNorth™ Global 250 (250 laps| 131.5 miles) is the fourth of 23 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races on the 2019 schedule. Practice begins on Fri., Mar. 22 from 1:05 p.m. – 1:55 p.m. A final practice session is set for 3:05 p.m. – 3:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Sat., Mar. 23 beginning at 10:40 a.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 2:00 p.m. with live coverage on FOX, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).
