Truck: No. 04 Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc. Ford F-150 for Roper Racing
Crew chief: Shane Whitbeck
Atlanta 200 Notes of Interest
• Owner and Driver, Cory Roper, and the #04 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Team are headed to Atlanta Speedway for the Atlanta 200 from the headquarters in South Texas. This season will be Roper Racing Team’s second NASCAR truck series season and Roper’s first attempt at this 1.5-mile track.
• Last Race: Last race was Cory Roper’s first time at Daytona National Speedway. Starting in the 25th position, Roper maneuvered his way to the front of the pack, narrowly escaping two wrecks in the field behind him. Wheel hugging the yellow line and drafting behind the eventual race winner, Roper advanced to an impressive second position with less than 25 laps to go. Coming out of turn 4, Roper got caught up underneath the race leader and lost the front end causing the truck to take a hard turn left into the wall.
• The Team: Roper Racing headquarters are located on the outskirts of Houston, Texas in Mont Belvieu. Roper Racing fields the No. 04 Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc. Ford F-150 and 2019 season marks the team’s second year into competing in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. The team plans to run a full season for 2019. The Team is currently self-funded by Roper who is actively seeking sponsorship to continue to build this new and upcoming successful race team.
• The Driver: Cory Roper is currently in contention for Sunoco’s Rookie of the Year for the 2019 NGOTS season. Roper is no stranger to racing. He grew up watching his dad, Kenny Roper, compete. At the age of 14, Roper got his first racecar and started competing on a local and regional level at short tracks in Texas and Oklahoma, where he was Points and Track Champion. The Vernon, Texas, native now resides in Mont Belvieu, Texas with his wife, Cherie and daughters Megan and Britney.
• The Crew Chief: NASCAR veteran Shane Whitbeck serves as crew chief for the No. 04 Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc. Ford F-150. The Sarasota, Florida, native previously worked at Brad Keselowski Racing for 10 years. Whitbeck relocated to Texas at the end of 2018 season as a full time Crew Chief for Roper Racing.
• The Trucks: At the conclusion of the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, Roper Racing purchased several Ford F-150s and a number of additional assets from the Brad Keselowski Racing stable to build Roper Racing Team.
• About Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc.: Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc. is a global industrial construction, fabrication and maintenance company, headquartered in Baytown, Texas. The company executes turnkey construction projects from scope development, safety management, project controls, project management, procurement, staffing, fabrication, and construction. Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc. serves the power, chemical processing, and refining industries
Cory Roper, driver of the No. 04 Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc. Ford F-150
What are your goals for the race?
“My goal is to try to qualify towards the front of the pack and then try to maintain the lead lap. Would like to run with the leader and have a good result and the end of the day.”
After your run at Daytona last weekend, is there anything you learned from that experience?
“I really need to pay attention to how the air coming off the other trucks are affecting my truck.”
Shane Whitbeck, crew chief of the No. 04 Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc. Ford F-150
What are your goals for the race at Atlanta Speedway?
“My goal for this weekend is to build off the speed we had at Daytona. Cory learned a lot about the way the air works in a big pack. I think it is going to help him pass trucks at the mile and a half. The guys did a great job getting another Ford F-150 Preferred Industrial Contractors truck prepared for this weekend.”