After a two month break from NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKPSE) competition, Codie Rohrbaugh and his Grant County Mulch Racing (GCMR) team head to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for Saturday afternoon’s running of the PittLite 125.
For Rohrbaugh, the 2014 CARS Pro Cup Series Rookie of the Year, Bristol’s intimating high-banks offers a chance for his family-owned team to shine as they make their transition to a healthy part-time schedule this season.
Make no mistakes though, Rohrbaugh knows tackling “Thunder Valley” is bound to have its defining moments.
“We’re ready to get back on the track this weekend,” said Rohrbaugh. “It seems like it’s been forever since we’ve actually competed in a K&N race, but we’ve steadily preparing our No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet in hopes of a successful weekend at Bristol.”
Apart of their 10-race NASCAR K&N Pro Series schedule, the Petersburg, West Virginia native competed in the 2015 season-opener at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway in February where the likable driver maneuvered a respectable result.
Despite getting spun late in the Hart 2 Heart Breast Cancer Foundation 150, Rohrbaugh made a gallant comeback and matched his career-best K&N finish of 13th. The avid driver posted the same result in his series debut last June at Five Flags (Fla.) Speedway.
“Overall, New Smyrna went good,” recalled Rohrbaugh. “From start to finish we made improvements and that’s what this season is all about. We qualified a career-best 10th and even though we faced some adversity during the race, we made a nice comeback and a solid finish for everyone at Grant County Mulch. I can’t thank Mark (Huff, crew chief) and the guys enough for their hard work.
“Now though, our attention turns to Bristol this weekend, a track I’ve been looking forward to competing at for a long, long time.”
During practice on Thursday afternoon at the 0.533-mile oval, Rohrbaugh quickly adapted to the abrasive racing surface and mounted competitive practice times in the top-20. Changes from the Grant County Mulch Racing team left high hopes for qualifying.
No disappointment.
Rohrbaugh was one of the first cars out during qualifying Thursday afternoon and ripped off a fast lap that for much of qualifying left the No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet second.
But, as the session went on, some teams came out swinging with Rohrbaugh dropping to ninth fastest overall and eclipsing his previous best qualifying run at New Smyrna.
“We had a good day Thursday,” the 21-year old rookie said. “We worked hard on our car from practice to qualifying and it paid off with a strong run in qualifying. We have some momentum. Now, we just need to execute it.”
While a top-15 finish would be ideal for the CGMR team, Rohrbaugh knows that sometimes “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile” has been kind to rookies on occasion. This weekend, he hopes the track is feeling generous.
“If you can stay out of trouble, stay on the lead lap and be around for the finish, Bristol has at times pulled off upsets performances for rookie drivers. How cool would it be for us to be that upset? It could happen and that’s our motivation for Saturday afternoon.”
Rohrbaugh is one of 12 rookies pre-entered for the series’ fourth trip to the historic Tennessee short track.
By qualifying ninth, Rohrbaugh will make his fifth career start Saturday afternoon.
The PittLite 125 is set for Sunday, April 18. The 125-lap (67 miles) feature is scheduled to take the green flag shortly after 4:30 p.m. following the NASCAR XFINITY Series Drive to Stop Diabetes 300. The race will be tape-delayed on NBC Sports Network with an air date on Thursday, April 23 with a scheduled air time to be announced. All times Eastern.
Codie Rohrbaugh PR
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