Codie Rohrbaugh NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Dover Drive Sober 125 Fast Facts

Codie Rohrbaugh NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Dover Drive Sober 125 Fast Facts

Topics: Codie Rohrbaugh, Drive Sober 125

Codie Rohrbaugh NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Dover Drive Sober 125 Fast Facts

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
October 1, 2015

Codie Rohrbaugh, No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet SS Drive Sober 125 Fast Facts

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Race No. 14, Drive Sober 125, Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Dover, Delaware

Race Information: Event: Drive Sober 125, Friday, October 2 at 5:00 p.m. Local Time Track: Dover (Del.) International Speedway Qualifying: Friday, October 2 at 12:30 p.m. Local Time Track Length: 1.0-mile concrete oval.

Welcome Back Grant County Mulch Racing: After a three-week break on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East tour, Grant County Mulch Racing (GCMR) returns for Friday afternoon’s season finale, the Drive Sober 125 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway with rookie driver Codie Rohrbaugh at the helm.

Last Time Out; The UNOH 100: In the penultimate NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, Rohrbaugh and his family-owned team flexed their muscle.

Despite producing fast laps in practice Thursday afternoon, qualifying would be rained out – forcing Rohrbaugh to start per the rule book lining his No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet SS 20th on the starting grid.

As the race progressed, the faster Rohrbaugh paced his way through the field. Unfortunately, his efforts would be stalled when Mother Nature returned and soaked the 0.875-mile race track, which eventually forced NASCAR to declare the event official after 70 laps.

Rohrbaugh finished 13th in his Richmond debut, recording his fourth top-20 finish in five starts.

2015 Year-In-Review: In a limited NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule, Rohrbaugh started his season off with a respectable 13th place finish at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway after starting 10th. At Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, he qualified a career-best ninth, before experiencing late race setbacks to finish 22nd.

In the team’s third race of the season, they returned to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where they fought through handling issues to post a 19th place finish after qualifying a respectable 16th.

At Motordrome, Rohrbaugh proved that despite adversity, his family-owned team can persevere, collecting his career-best finish of ninth in seven K&N races.

Returning To Monster Mile: Rohrbaugh aims to make his second NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start at the Monster Mile Friday afternoon. Last year, he qualified a season-best 15th, but was collected in an early race accident which resulted in a 29th place finish.

Live Flag-To-Flag Coverage: For the first time ever, the K&N Pro East Series finale will be broadcast live on MRN radio and MRN.com. MRN will broadcast a special edition of NASCAR Coast to Coast dedicated to the K&N Pro Series East championship battle starting Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET. For those in the Delaware area, the broadcast will air on local station WDOV-AM. NASCAR Next alumnus and 2014 K&N Pro Series East champion Ben Rhodes will join MRN in the booth to help announce and analyze the Drive Sober 125.

Getting Dirty’: In-between NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race Rohrbaugh returned to his stomping grounds where he competed in a few go-kart dirt races near his hometown of Petersburg, West Virginia.

You Went Where?!: While Rohrbaugh is excited to get back behind the wheel of a race car this weekend, the Petersburg, West Virginia native is still reflecting on his recent vacation in South Africa. With members of his family, for two weeks, Rohrbaugh toured the country, hunted and enjoyed some much needed rest and relaxation.

Must Qualify On Time: Poised to tame Mile’s Monster Mile for second time on Friday afternoon, the Grant County Mulch Racing driver must qualify his No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet SS on time. With 33 cars pre-entered for the event, the team must qualify 26th or better to earn a starting position by speed.

Meet Codie: Rohrbaugh will meet and greet race fans during the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East autograph session on Friday, October 2 from 2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

Dover International Speedway Fast Fact: This season marks the seventh time since 2004 the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season has concluded at Dover. In the previous six races, the champion has never won the race. The best finish by the eventual champion was Joey Logano (2nd in 2007). Andy Santerre is the only driver to win the Dover race in a championship season. The four-time series champ picked up the win in 2005 when the Monster Mile was the 11th of 13 races on the schedule.

Chassis Intel: Mark Huff, crew chief Grant County Mulch Racing has elected to bring chassis number 001 to the 1.0-mile concrete oval this weekend. This race chassis last competed in the K&N Pro Series East race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway on September 10. It was also raced in the season-opener at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway in February, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in April, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Motordrome (Pa.) Speedway in August.

Grant County Mulch Racing, Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Pre-Race Quotes: Codie Rohrbaugh, driver of the No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet SS:

On Richmond (Va.) International Raceway: “Man, we had a fast No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet at Richmond.

“We showed almost right off the bat that we still had the speed that we had at Motordrome in August. The car was handling really well from the moment we unloaded it off the hauler. Mark (Huff, crew chief) made a few tweaks from practice and we thought we could contend for the pole.

“Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans and we were forced to start mid-pack and make our climb from there. We had a really fast car, we just ran out of laps. I’m really proud of our team for their hard work and we’re focused on Dover.”

On Dover (Del.) International Speedway: “I feel we got robbed last year at Dover.

“We had a really good car and were run over by someone a little impatient. That’s behind us though, we’re focused on having a good run and contending for the win on Friday afternoon.

“It will be important for our Grant County Mulch Racing team to unload just as strong as we’ve had the last two races. Dover is a very tough track. It’s a fast track, but a tough one.

“You have to be able to ride the momentum through the corners, but make sure you can carry the speed on the exit of the corners too. I enjoy the challenges of Dover for sure.”

On Goals For Dover (Del.) International Speedway: “I honestly think if we can unload as competitive as I think we’re going to, we should be able to contend for a top-five finish on Friday afternoon.

“Of course, I think the bigger story of the weekend may be the weather, but as a team we’re prepared for anything and just glad to be heading to the Monster Mile.”

On MRN Broadcasting Season Finale: “It’s a big deal for our series to have the Motor Racing Network broadcast our race live. MRN is such a spectacle when it comes to NASCAR and I just think it’s an awesome way to showcase our series. I think they’ll enjoy calling a great race.”

On Future Outlook: “Well, we made it to the final two NASCAR K&N Pro Series races. There’s potential for maybe more NASCAR racing by season’s end. We’ll see.

“We’re hunting sponsorship all the time, so we’ll just have to see how the cards play out. We’ll be fine though. We have a great time with a lot of ambition and goals and we’ll make best of any opportunity we’re given.”

PRIOR RESULTS:

Codie Rohrbaugh, Dover International Speedway NKNPSE Performance Record:

Site	St	Fin	#	Sponsor / Owner	Car	Laps	Status
Dover	15	29	05	Grant County Mulch (Larry Berg) Crew Chief: Mark Huff	Toyota	51/150	crash

The Drive Sober 125 (125 laps / 125 miles) is the 14th of 14 races on the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule. Practice begins for the one-day show on Friday, October 2 from 8:30 a.m. – 10:0 a.m. Qualifying is set for a short time later at 12:30 p.m. The event will take the green flag just after 5:00 p.m. that night. A five-minute break will occur at or near the conclusion of Lap 65. The event will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on NBC Sports Network, Thursday, October 8 at 4:00 p.m.

PHOTO CAPTION: Codie Rohrbaugh, driver of the No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) competition for Grant County Mulch Racing.

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