NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series at Michigan International Speedway Corrigan Oil 200 Saturday, August 10th, 1:00pm ET on FS1 and MRN
Truck: No. 04 Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc. Ford F-150 for Roper Racing
Crew chief: Shane Whitbeck
Michigan International Speedway Notes of Interest
- Team owner and Driver, Cory Roper, and the #04 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Team are heading to Michigan International Speedway for the Corrigan Oil 200. This will be the first time in Roper’s NASCAR career to race in Michigan. This is not a short trip for this Texas race team traveling 1,241 miles, approximately 20 hours, from their racing headquarters! Michigan will be Roper’s 15th truck series start. Roper finished 9th the last race in Texas. Texas Motor Speedway was the team’s first top ten finish.
- The Track: Michigan International Speedway is located in Brooklyn, Michigan and is a 2-mile track. This D shaped speedway is known to be NASCAR’S fastest and most entertaining track. Saturday’s Corrigan Oil 200 race format will consist of 3 stages of 20/20/40 laps to equal 200 miles total.
- Last Race: Due to funding, Texas Motor Speedway in June was Roper’s last race. Although Roper qualified 20th in Texas and saved the truck after spinning out in turn 2, he brought home his first top 10 finish in 9th place.
- 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 mark the team’s second year into competing in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. The team planned to run a full season for 2019, but had to scale back to a part-time schedule due to funding. The Team is currently self-funded by Roper who is actively seeking sponsorship to continue to build this new and upcoming successful race team in 2020.
- The Driver: Cory Roper was born and raised in Vernon, Texas. He comes from a family of hard workers who still work with him today in his company, Preferred Industrial Contractors, and for Roper Racing. Over half of the Roper Racing crew are family members who volunteer their personal time to work on the NASCAR trucks and travel to the races. 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 at the local and regional levels at short tracks in Texas and Oklahoma, where he won Points and Track Championships. 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 Team purchased 16 Ford F-150 trucks and a number of additional assets from the Brad Keselowski Racing stable to build Roper Racing Team.
- About Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc.: Roper Racing Team is actively seeking sponsorship to grow the race team but is currently self-funded by Roper’s company, Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc. (PIC). PIC 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 Michigan International Speedway?
“My goals are to qualify in the top ten and stay there all night. Our last race in Texas was our first top ten finish which proved we can run up front. I think we have a great Ford F-150 truck for this Michigan track. The guys have put a lot of time into this truck to make sure everything is perfect.
Shane Whitbeck, crew chief of the No. 04 Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc. Ford F-150
What are your goals for Michigan International Speedway?
“It is good to be heading back to the racetrack with the Roper Racing Preferred Industrial Contractors Ford F-150. This will be Cory’s first time at Michigan so we will take some times running with the pack during practice so Cory can see what the race will be like. I would like to bring home a top ten finish. I feel our team is capable of finishing there again.”