BRISTOL, Tenn.: Fresh off a superb top-10 finish in last Thursday night’s ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, Codie Rohrbaugh and his CR7 Motorsports carry the momentum of their second top-10 finish of the season hoping for a duplicate performance of Richmond in Thursday night’s UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
A brilliant call from crew chief Doug George, plus a blazing fast No. 9 Praying for Joshua Chevrolet Silverado allowed Rohrbaugh to scream through the field during Stage 3 and land his third career top-10 finish in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.
With an upbeat morale from the team, the Petersburg, WV native is looking forward to his return to Thunder Valley.
“I can’t tell you how much our Richmond performance meant for our CR7 Motorsports team,” said Rohrbaugh. “Everyone did their jobs to perfection and we took advantage of strategy and a fast truck to contend and successful leave there with a top-10 effort.
“This for sure was the rebound we needed after we’ve been back teetering week to week with our finishes. Knowing that we’re in a place to pick up on the momentum and get back-to-back top-10 finishes in Truck Series competition is what we’re after.”
After finishing 16th at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile in 2018, Rohrbaugh is confident in his family-owned team led by George that they can contend on Thursday night and continue to steal the thunder from some of the series’ regular.
And while this week’s race is the opening round of the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs, Rohrbaugh says he’ll be respectful of his competitors but also knows he has a job to do for his team.
“Bristol is going to be a busy race,” Rohrbaugh added. “It’s the first race of the Playoffs and while I plan to be completely respectful of the guys in the Playoffs, we still have a job to do on Thursday night.
“If we have a chance at a top-10, we’re going for it. If we’re in position to win, heck yeah I’m going to go for it. We’re trying to make some noise of our own in the Playoffs – even though we’re not it in, but Bristol also is a place where the competition will be super tight and little room for error.”
Many have pointed to CR7 Motorsports’ recent two-week break from Truck Series competition for being a contributing factor to the recent stretch of respectable finishes, the 26-year-old driver is letting it be known, there’s still plenty of work to be done.
“We’re making gains that’s for sure,” he said. “But we’re not going to get complacent. From now until Phoenix, the competition is going to be fierce, but we’ll be ready. I promise you of that.
“Richmond gave us a great boost and I hope we can carry that dosage for the next couple of weeks, if not months.”
For their 10th consecutive race, CR7 Motorsports and their partner Grant County Mulch has again given up their space this weekend race for Joshua Shirk.
The No. 9 Chevrolet Silverado has been designed with a western-theme scheme, personally selected by Shirk.
The hood carries a special touch with Shirk displaying a message of his own that he wrote before the accident, “I am a child of God. He saves me. I talk to he.”
On May 17, 2020, eight-year-old Joshua Shirk was kayaking with family in rural West Virginia.
While on the water, the kayak capsized and Shirk became trapped under the water in debris.
When the family was finally able to pull him to safety, the young boy had no pulse. Quick work by medical workers at a local hospital was able to revive him but he remained in critical condition.
Shirk was later transported to WVU hospital in Morganton, West Virginia where he has made vast improvements but still needs the love, prayer and support of many.
Over the last two and a half months, Shirk has been able to come off a breathing machine and has started intense physical rehabilitation with a focus on working his muscles and standing up with assistance. His progress lately has been exceptional, as his muscles continue to strengthen – but a long road still remains.
After 16 races, Rohrbaugh is 21st in the championship standings.
CR7 Motorsports will have a busy Thursday at Bristol. Following the UNOH 200, Jason Kitzmiller will make his seventh ARCA Menards Series start of 2020 in the Bush’s Bean 200.
CR7 Motorsports has 25 NGOTS starts to their credit with a career-best finish of third at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (February 2020). Additionally, the team owns two other top-10 finishes at Richmond (Va.) Raceway (sixth) in September 2020 and Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (10th) in October 2019. An 11th place qualifying effort at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (Oct. 2019) is the team’s best time trials effort to date.
In 20 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 most recently at Kansas Speedway (Oct. 2018).
Marketing partnership(s) opportunities are available for the No. 97 A.L.L. Construction | Grant County Mulch Chevrolet and No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet for the 2020 ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series seasons and beyond. Interested inquiries are encouraged to contact at tonya@gcmulch.com or 304.257.8783.
The UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics (200 laps | 106.6 miles) is the 17th of 23 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 36-truck field will take the green flag on Thurs. Sept. 17, 2020, shortly after 7:00 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).
