RICHMOND, Va. After inhaling his first experience on the dirt in the most recent NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for the Pinty’s Dirt Truck Race, CR7 Motorsports driver Codie Rohrbaugh is ready for some familiar territory in Saturday afternoon’s ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
And the popular Virginia short track may be exactly what the doctor ordered for the Statesville, N.C.-based team as they look to the 0.875-mile oval to put their 2021 Truck Series season back on the right footing after tough finishes of 29th and 27th at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway and Bristol respectively.
“I’m really pumped up about Richmond this weekend,” said Rohrbaugh. “The Bristol dirt race was definitely different and while I was thankful for the experience – the finish wasn’t what we hoped. Hopefully, we can go to Richmond this weekend and turn our 2021 season back around with a similar finish from last fall.”
CR7 Motorsports certainly turned heads last September as Rohrbaugh brilliantly crafted through the field in Stage 3 on fresh tires and vaulted inside the top-10 before settling for sixth, one of his three top-10 finishes last season.
Knowing what put them on the map in the Sept. 10, 2020 race – Rohrbaugh is hoping that he and crew chief Doug George can continue their Richmond presence and collect their second top-10 of the 2021 season.
“We took a gamble last year and it paid off,” recalled Rohrbaugh. “If we find ourselves in a spot where we can do that again on Saturday, I’m sure we would make that call all day long. Luckily for us, the race stayed green and we were able to take advantage of track position and tire grip to put us inside the top-10.
“I’m not sure what to expect this weekend since the race will be during the day compared to being run at night last year – but that’s why I have Doug. He’ll know what to do when the cards are dealt.”
If Rohrbaugh is going to contend for his sixth career top-10 finish in Trucks, he knows he’ll have to negotiate traffic early and maintain a lead lap presence with his No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet Silverado.
“Track position is incredibly crucial at a place like Richmond, so staying on the lead lap is probably our biggest priority in Stage 1. From there, we can work on the balance and set ourselves up to be in a good place at the end of Stage 2 to race to the finish.
“We know what we are fighting for this weekend, I just hope we’re able to again deliver.”
Based on metrics set by NASCAR without practice or qualifying, Rohrbaugh will lineup 20th for his second Truck Series start at Richmond.
CR7 Motorsports has 32 NCWTS starts to their credit with a career-best finish of third at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (February 2020). Additionally, the team owns five other top-10 finishes at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (fifth) in October 2020, Richmond (Va.) Raceway (sixth) in September 2020, Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway (seventh | Grant Enfinger) in March 2021, Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (eighth) in February 2021 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.
With 17 races remaining, Rohrbaugh, 27, is 22nd in the championship driver standings, just two points from 20th. CR7 Motorsports holds a solid 15th in the championship owner standings after five races.
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 also available for the No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, as well as the team’s ARCA Menards Series No. 97 A.L.L. Construction | Grant County Mulch Chevrolet program with driver Jason Kitzmiller for the 2021 seasons and beyond. Interested inquiries are encouraged to contact
tonya@gcmulch.com or 304.257.8783.
The ToyotaCare 250 (250 laps | 187.5 miles) is the sixth of 22 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races on the 2021 schedule. The 40-truck field will take the green flag on Sat., Apr. 17, 2021, shortly after 1:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM Satellite Radio NASCAR Channel 90.
