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Codie Rohrbaugh NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Jet Tools 150 Race Preview

Topics:  Codie Rohrbaugh, Jet Tools 150

Codie Rohrbaugh NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Jet Tools 150 Race Preview

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
12 February 2016

Codie Rohrbaugh, No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet SS Jet Tools 150 Fast Facts

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Race No. 1, Jet Tools 150, New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway, New Smyrna, Florida

Race Information: Event: Jet Tools 150, Sunday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m. Local Time Track: New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway Qualifying: Sunday, February 14 at 5:30 p.m. Local Time Track Length: 0.48-mile paved oval.

Hello 2016: After a productive off-season, Codie Rohrbaugh and his Grant County Mulch Racing team returns to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East series for a limited schedule in 2016 driving the No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet SS. Veteran industry crew chief Mark Huff will continue to call the shots for the junior year driver.

A Look Back At 2015: Stepping up his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule from 2014, Rohrbaugh and Grant County Mulch Racing competed in six events earning a career-best finish of ninth at Motordrome (Pa.) Speedway last August. Additionally, the team earned back-to-back top-10 starting spots at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway respectively. Rohrbaugh was also running at the finish of all six races the team entered in 2015.

New Year; New You: With a new year upon the team, Grant County Mulch Racing and their young driver will unveil a new paint scheme for Sunday night’s running of the Jet Tools 150. The team’s new look will carry over into their six to eight race schedule in 2016.

10th Career Start On Deck: By taking the green flag in Sunday’s night race, Rohrbaugh will make his 10th career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start. Last season, the 22-year-old improved on his starting position by six spots.

Pedal Down At World Center Of Racing: Sunday’s race at New Smyrna won’t be the first time that Rohrbaugh has sat behind the wheel of race car in 2016. In January, the Petersburg, West Virginia native participated in a two-day open test session for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, where the rising star earned his superspeedway clearance after producing competitive lap times in solo and draft runs.

Testing, Testing, 1,2,3: In an effort to be as competitive as possible for the season-opener, Rohrbaugh and his team will partake in the open test session at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 13 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The team hopes to improve on their 13th place finish from last year.

Pushing The Limit: With limited owners points to fall back, Grant County Mulch Racing and driver Rohrbaugh must qualify on-time for the Jet Tools 150. With 31 cars pre-entered for the event, the team must qualify 24th 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 Sunday, February 14 at 5:30 p.m. on the frontstretch at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.

New Smyrna Speedway Fast Fact: Opened in 1964, New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway has 600-foot straightaways, 720-foot turns with 23 degrees of banking. The 0.48-mile banked oval was repaved in January 2007 and has a grandstand capacity of approximately 8,000. Additionally, the track is part of the weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

Chassis Intel: Mark Huff, crew chief Grant County Mulch Racing has elected to bring chassis number 001 to the 0.875-mile paved oval this weekend. This race chassis last competed in the K&N Pro Series East race at Motordrome (Pa.) Speedway last month. New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. It was also raced in the season-opener at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway in February, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in April and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Grant County Mulch Racing, New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway, Pre-Race Quotes: Codie Rohrbaugh, driver of the No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet SS:

On 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Season: “I can tell you that were real proud of our efforts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East last season. We started off the year with some strong qualifying runs at New Smyrna and Bristol, but we’re able to get the finishes we wanted when it was all said and done. Still, I’m really proud of the work Mark and the guys have done our No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet and I’m looking forward to seeing what the 2016 season has in store for us.”

On New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway: “You know, New Smyrna really seems to be a track that fits my racing style and I hope we can use what we learned last year to our advantage tenfold.

“Of course, we expect the car and the track to change this time around, but I think we have a good baseline setup on where we want to be. With every short track, taking care of your brakes is crucial, but also getting the car to rotate is equally important.

“Hopefully the open test on Saturday goes good and we can have a shot at finishing inside the top-five on Sunday night.”

On Testing ARCA Car At Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway: “I’m appreciative of the opportunity that Win-Tron Racing and Kevin Cywinski opened up to me for the ARCA open test at Daytona.

“It was a unique experience and something that you’ll never forget. By the end of the test, the car seemed to be really at its best, the weather was our biggest hindrance. I’m not sure if we’ll be at Talladega in May to run the ARCA race, but I’m thankful for the opportunity and hope to maybe do some more with Win-Tron Racing soon.”

On 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Outlook: “We’re just glad to be back on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East tour this season. We’re inching closer and closer to maybe running a full season in the future, but for now we’re focused on the races ahead of us.

“We’ve worked really hard to make sure our car is as competitive as possible, while made some internal and external changes within our organization all with the intent to make us as competitive as possible. We’ll lay out our full plans for 2016 soon, but we’re happy with the direction of our Grant County Mulch Racing team.”

PRIOR RESULTS:

Codie Rohrbaugh, New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway NKNPSE Performance Record:

Race	Site	Cars	St	Fin	#	Sponsor / Owner	Car	Laps	Status	Led
2015-01	New Smyrna	26	10	13	7	Grant County Mulch (Larry Berg)	Chevrolet	151/151	running	0

The Jet Tools 150 (150 laps / 72 miles) is the first of 14 races on the 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule. An optional practice run is open for teams on Saturday, February 13 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Official practice begins for the one-day show on Sunday, February 14 from 1:45 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. A final practice session has been etched in from 2:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Qualifying is set for later in the day at 5:30 p.m. The event will take the green flag just after 7:30 p.m. that night. The event will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on NBC Sports Network with a to-be-announced time and date.

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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