Focused on taking advantage of a much needed and welcomed off weekend, Codie Rohrbaugh and his CR7 Motorsports team are feeling recharged ahead of Friday afternoon’s Michigan 200 at Michigan International Speedway.
Approaching the halfway point of the 2020 season, the CR7 Motorsports team has certainly had its fair share of highs and lows, but feeling refreshed and focused on the schedule ahead, Michigan brings an opportunity to put the family-owned team back on the map.
“It felt good to have the break, but we’re ready to get back to the track,” said Rohrbaugh. “It’s no secret that the last month or so haven’t been the kindest to our team, but there will be growing pains when you’re building a team like ours.
“I have the faith in my team and crew chief Doug (George) and I know they believe in me. I’m excited to go back to Michigan International Speedway this week and contend for a solid finish.”
Rohrbaugh made his Irish Hills debut at the two-mile oval last August where after starting 21st, he finished a respectable 17th.
This weekend, Rohrbaugh wants to settle for nothing less than a top-15 effort.
“Michigan is such a fast place, I love it,” Rohrbaugh added. “The track is so wide, and it seems to provide fantastic racing for the Trucks. It’s a relatively short race though, so we have to attentive to moving forward from our starting spot and getting ourselves in a good position for the race.”
When it comes to Michigan, Rohrbaugh can chalk the 100-lap race to a mini-superspeedway race where the draft is critical to making a pass and keeping his competition at bay.
“You race Michigan like a Daytona or Talladega,” he said. “The draft is crucial in a lot of ways. You need to use it to your advantage to make a pass – while also trying to keep your position and so on. It makes the racing exhilarating at times.
“We turned some heads with a third-place finish at Daytona and it sure would be nice to turn heads again as we get closer to the second half.”
For the sixth 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 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 five 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 lately has been exceptional, as his muscles continue to strengthen.
With prayer, love and support working, Rohrbaugh hopes others will now pledge their support alongside his CR7 Motorsports team uniting strength in numbers and the power of prayer.
“Our mission 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 continue to plead when asking the NASCAR community to please support him by offering their thoughts and prayers to Josh and his family. It really means a lot to me.” After 10 races, Rohrbaugh is 22nd in the championship standings.
CR7 Motorsports will also field an entry in Sunday afternoon’s VizCom 200 ARCA Menards Series race at Michigan. Newcomer Jason Kitzmiller will drive the No. 97 Chevrolet and eyes his third career top-10 ARCA finish in just his sixth series start.
CR7 Motorsports has 21 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 [email protected] or 304.257.8783.
The Henry Ford Health System 200 (100 laps| 200 miles) is the 11th of 23 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 38-truck field will take the green flag on Fri., Aug. 7, 2020 shortly after 6:00 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).
CR7 Motorsports PR
- TEAM CHEVY NASCAR RACE ADVANCE: Talladega Superspeedway - April 17, 2024
- American Sprint Car Series Starts New Chapter at Super Bee Speedway - April 17, 2024
- Big Machine Racing – ‘Dega here we come - April 17, 2024