LONG POND, Pa.: Looking to put his NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season back on track, Codie Rohrbaugh and his CR7 Motorsports head to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway looking for their second top-10 finish of the season in Saturday’s Pocono Organics 150.
Back-to-back races at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway have attempted to dampen the spirit of the team, but under the leadership of crew chief Doug George, Pocono might be exactly what the doctor ordered.
Although he has never been to the 2.5-mile triangle in a truck, Rohrbaugh has four ARCA Menards Series starts from 2017 to 2018 with a best finish of seventh in his most recent race.
Even since it has been more than a year since Rohrbaugh has competed at the “Tricky Triangle,” the Petersburg, West Virginia native is looking forward to getting reacquainted.
“I’ve always enjoyed Pocono,” said Rohrbaugh. “I can’t believe I haven’t been there since 2018, but it’s one of those tracks I had a lot of fun racing. It is so different and presents a different style of racing. I know Doug and the rest of the CR7 Motorsports team has been working hard to make sure our No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet truck is ready for Saturday.”
Despite the rough patch the last two races, Rohrbaugh says it is not anything that his family-owned team can’t recover from.
“Not every race is going to be perfect,” added Rohrbaugh. “We’ve had rather good trucks at Atlanta and Homestead – just had our races change because of circumstances. We learn and grow as a team and just go to the next race with our head held high.”
The sixth race of the season is just 60 laps and Rohrbaugh means its hammer down when the green flag waves.
“It’s like an ARCA race in Trucks,” he chuckled. “Maybe that will be a benefit for us. I know the dos and don’ts when it comes to these relatively short races, especially when it comes to racing at Pocono, so hopefully that will be a benefit.
“I think Saturday will come down to timing and track position. If we get a late race restart, it’s going to be a mad house – but that should be exciting for us drivers and the fans watching. I just hope we come out on the good end, ha.”
Speaking of George, the veteran crew chief has five prior Truck Series starts at Pocono as the team leader with a best finish of sixth twice with former Truck Series champion Johnny Sauter in 2015 and Rico Abreu in 2016.
After five races, Rohrbaugh is 17th in the championship standings, 47 points from 10th.
CR7 Motorsports will also field an entry in Friday evening’s General Tire #ANYWHEREISPOSSIBLE 200 ARCA Menards Series race at Pocono Raceway. Newcomer Jason Kitzmiller will drive the No. 97 Chevrolet on the heels of his career-best eight-place finish last weekend at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
Following Pocono, the Statesville, N.C.-based team plans to return to NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series competition at Kentucky Speedway on Sat., Jul. 11, 2020.
CR7 Motorsports has 15 NGOTS starts to their credit with a career-best finish of third at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (February 2020). Additionally, the team owns another top-10 finish at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway 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 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 Pocono Organics 150 (60 laps| 150 miles) is the sixth of 23 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 40-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 12:30 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).
