KANSAS CITY, Kan: Continuing to impress in his limited ARCA Menards Series schedule with CR7 Motorsports, rookie Jason Kitzmiller invades Kansas Speedway looking for his third top-10 finish in just his sixth series’ start in Friday night’s Dawn 150.
After bouncing back from an accident at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway last month, Kitzmiller and his Codie Rohrbaugh-led team bounced back with a top-10 finish at Kentucky Speedway earlier this month, a huge accomplishment for the rookie in his intermediate track debut.
With success in the books, Kitzmiller heads to Kansas Speedway extremely humbled and determined to add more laps to his resume.
“I’m ready,” says Kitzmiller. “I learned a lot in Kentucky. I mean a ton. It was important for me and our CR7 Motorsports team to not only bounce back but make some strides. We kept working on our No. 97 A.L.L. Construction Inc. Chevrolet and it was really comfortable at the end of the race.
“I need to go to Kansas Speedway this weekend and capitalize and keep showing everyone that we have fast cars and that experience is paying off.”
Being a rookie in ARCA Menards Series competition, Kitzmiller admits he has put pressure on himself to perform, especially with his lack of stock car experience, but with the armed personnel of former ARCA competitor Rohrbaugh and advice from a spotter like Tim Fedewa, Kitzmiller is happy with his 2020 season so far.
“Codie, Doug (George) and Tim (Fedewa) have all been a huge asset to me,” Kitzmiller added. “Whether it’s doing something right or doing something wrong – I’m listening to every word.
“Codie has had success at Kansas Speedway before and I’m hoping that I can adjust to a similar setup and we can be in a good position when the green flag drops. I think it is going to be a quick race and I believe we will have a couple of opportunities to work on it and be better for the future.”
It will be a busy weekend for CR7 Motorsports. In addition to the Dawn 150, the team will also compete in back-to-back NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race with Rohrbaugh aboard the No. 9 Chevrolet Silverado.
The team will continue to bring attention to Joshua Shirk.
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 family was finally able to pull him to safety, the young boy had no pulse. Quick work by medical workers at a local hospital were 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 three weeks, Shirk has been able to come off a breathing machine and has started intense physical rehabilitations with a focus on working his muscles and standing up with assistance. His progress this week has been exceptional, as his muscles continue to strengthen.
With prayer, love and support working, Rohrbaugh and Kitzmiller hopes others will now pledge their support alongside his CR7 Motorsports team uniting strength in numbers and the power of prayer.
“This continues to be really important to me,” said Rohrbaugh. “The prayers from everyone are working and I’m so happy that Joshua is making huge strides towards his recovery. I plead when asking the NASCAR and ARCA communities to continue to support him by offering their thoughts and prayers to his family. It really means a lot to me.”
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 Dawn 150 (100 laps | 150 miles) is the eighth of 20 races on the 2020 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Fri., Jul. 24 with a one-hour group practice session from 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag shortly after 9:00 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).
