TALLADEGA, Ala.: While his ARCA Menards Series (AMS) debut did not turn out like he hoped at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, rookie Jason Kitzmiller will get a second chance with the veteran CR7 Motorsports team in Saturday afternoon’s General Tire 200 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
With the guidance of crew chief Doug George and the leadership of former ARCA Menards Series driver Codie Rohrbaugh, Kitzmiller is hoping his second career ARCA start will yield a strong recovery in the third ARCA Menards Series race of the season.
“Pretty thankful to Codie, Doug and the entire CR7 Motorsports team for working hard to put this car together for this weekend,” said Kitzmiller. “It’s no secret that Daytona didn’t go as we hoped it would, but Talladega is another race full of opportunity and I
hope we can execute on that.”
Talladega’s schedule will however look much different than Daytona. With just a brief half-hour session to fine-tune his No. 97 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet and a random draw to decide his starting position, Kitzmiller is focused on taking the advice of those around him to successful guide him to a potential top-10 finish.
“There was a lot of time to prepare for everything in Daytona with the open test and all, but Talladega is going to be really quick with a short practice and then the race,” Kitzmiller explained.
CR7 Motorsports has already had success on the superspeedways this season. In the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Daytona, Rohrbaugh earned a career-best third place finish after spinning earlier in the race.
“Jason will be fine,” offered Rohrbaugh. “Superspeedway isn’t as easy as just holding the steering wheel and turning left. There is a lot that goes into making the race successful. A good driver, a good spotter, a prime pit crew and a fast race car. We showed speed in preseason testing at Daytona, but unfortunately never were able to showcase that.
“We’ll try on Saturday and then regroup and see what the next step is.”
Marketing partnership(s) opportunities are available for the No. 97 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet and No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet for the 2020 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 General Tire 200 (76 laps | 202 miles) is the third of 20 races on the 2020 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Sat., June 20 with a half-hour session from 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. The race is set to take the green flag shortly after 1:00 p.m. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), while ARCARacing.com will stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities. All times are local (Central).
