Howard to Compete Full-Time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for CR7 Motorsports
STATESVILLE, N.C. (February 7, 2023)—CR7 Motorsports, owned by Codie Rohrbaugh, will field a single-entry in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) with a new driver in its stable. Colby Howard has been named the full-time driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Silverado for the 2023 season.
Howard enters his second full-time season in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, and his fifth season in NASCAR’s top-tier series. In 2022, Howard had three top-10 finishes with an average finish of 19.4, including 10 laps led.
Howard made his series debut on November 8, 2019, at the Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway. In two seasons (2019, 2021) racing a part-time schedule in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Howard made five starts, including two top-15 place finishes. He entered three NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series events with CR7 Motorsports.
In 2021, he competed in 21 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) events, as well as 22 events in 2020. Howard has five starts (2018, 2019, 2022) in the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Menards Series, with four top-10 finishes.
The Simpsonville, S.C., -native has 46 career starts in NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series with four victories, 20 top-five and 39 top-10 finishes at the NASCAR Home Tracks of Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway and Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway. Howard has also made three starts in the Champion Racing Association (CRA) Late Model Stock Tour.
Proving to be both versatile and adaptable behind the wheel, he has eight starts in the Southeast Limited Late Model Series with two wins and has also earned one win and three top-five finishes in three starts in the Southeast Limited Late Model Series Challenger Division. In the Show Me the Money Series Pro Late Models, he earned three wins, four top-five and four top-10 finishes in five starts in 2019. In addition, he made one start (2019) in the CRA JEGS All-Stars Tour presented by Chevrolet Performance.
“It was an easy decision for us to put Colby (Howard) in the No. 9 Chevrolet Silverado with the speed he showed two years ago when he ran select events with our team, and also with the impressive season he had last year,” Rohrbaugh said. “I have been very pleased with the work and dedication he has put into CR7 Motorsports during the off-season. We have a lot to prove this year.”
CR7 Motorsports will enter its sixth NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season.
In 2016, Rohrbaugh founded CR7 Motorsports, based in Statesville, N.C. CR7 Motorsports boasts seven years of ARCA Menards Series competition with drivers Jason Kitzmiller and Rohrbaugh, collecting 10 top-10 finishes. The team also has three top-five finishes and eight top-ten finishes in 70 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts. In the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, CR7 Motorsports has had four drivers; Blaine Perkins, Grant Enfinger, Colby Howard, and Rohrbaugh.
Rohrbaugh spent four years as a driver in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The Petersburg, W.Va., -native has 36 starts in the series, including two top-five finishes and five top-10 finishes. In addition, he is a veteran of the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East and CARS Solid Rock Carriers Tour.
Michael Shelton, winner of the 2012 championship and seven victories as a crew chief in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, has been named competition coordinator at CR7 Motorsports. He will work with team owner Rohrbaugh and oversee the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series teams.
Shelton comes to CR7 Motorsports with experience in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, and ARCA Menards Series where he served as crew chief. The 51-year-old from Stanley, N.C., provided guidance for Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM), formerly Turner Motorsports, and also for Athenian Motorsports. He has previously manned the helm for drivers James Buescher, Cody Coughlin, Spencer Davis, Todd Gilliland, Kaz Grala, Riley Herbst, John Wes Townley, Scott Wimmer, and Rohrbaugh.
For additional information, news and the latest updates, please visit CR7 Motorsports’ Twitter page @CR7_Motorsports, and on Instagram at @cr7motorsports. “Like” CR7 Motorsports on the official Facebook page at facebook.com/CR7- Motorsports.
