Statesville, N.C. (August 11, 2025) – CR7 Motorsports is proud to announce that Carson Kvapil will pilot the No.97 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet Silverado RST in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Richmond Raceway. Michael Shelton will serve as the crew chief. The event marks the return of the No.97 Truck to competition for the first time since 2024, when it was last driven by team owner Codie Rohrbaugh in Daytona. 

Kvapil, a rising star in the NASCAR ranks, will make his debut in CR7’s second entry alongside the team’s flagship No.9 Truck. Sponsored by Grant County Mulch, the No.97’s return brings added excitement to the hometown race. 

“I’m really excited to join CR7 Motorsports and drive the 97 Truck at Richmond in front of the families and friends of Codie (Rohrbaugh) and Grant County Mulch,” said Carson “It will be a bit of a learning curve as I have never been to Richmond, but I look forward to the experience and opportunity. I can’t wait to get on track with the 97 group and see what we can do!”

The team owner Codie Rohrbaugh expressed his enthusiasm about bringing back the second entry and having a driver like Kvapil behind the wheel. 

“We are thrilled to have Carson (Kvapil) in the 97 Truck,” said Rohrbaugh. “He’s a talented young driver with a lot of upside. It is special to have the 97 Truck back on track with Grant County Mulch. We have a great team put together and I look forward to Michael Shelton coming out of retirement to be back on top of the pit box!”  

Kvapil will debut the GCM No.97 Chevrolet Silverado RST on Friday August 15^th for the eero 250 at 7:30 p.m. EST. The EERO 250 will air live on Fox Sports 1, The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 

About Grant County Mulch:

Grant County Mulch, Inc. (GCM) has been supplying the lawn and garden industry with quality landscaping products throughout the Mid-Atlantic region for more than thirty-eight years. GCM’s continued success is due to their commitment to service and quality. With ten locations in the Mid-Atlantic, GCM not only meets your needs, but exceeds them. Their customers demand a great product at a great price, and GCM is pleased to help meet these goals, both in quality and efficiency, while also in a cost-efficient manner. GCM provides their customers with the highest quality mulch, straight from the source, allowing you to create and sculpt the ideal landscape. Our process of composting organic waste reinforces our commitment of providing 100% all natural mulch products. For more information visit: www.GrantCountyMulch.com

Source: CR7 Motorsports

A veteran stock-car driver at a North Carolina short track died over the weekend after suffering a medical emergency while competing in a race, officials said.

Robbie Brewer’s car struck head-on a wall on the quarter-mile (0.40-kilometer) track at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem and came to a stop near the start-finish line.

Track workers peeled away the roof to remove 53-year-old Brewer, and an ambulance took him to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist hospital, after which he died, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.

“We are saddened by the passing of Robbie Brewer after he was transported to an area medical facility following an on-track medical incident,” track officials said Sunday in a statement. “Robbie was a talented and passionate racer, and highly respected competitor among his peers. Our thoughts and prayers are with Robbie’s family and friends at this time.”

Details of the medical emergency weren’t released.

Brewer was competing in a 20-lap Sportsman Series race at Bowman Gray, where thousands of racing fans turn out weekly on Saturday nights in the spring and summer for races across four divisions. Bowman Gray also was the locale for this year’s preseason NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event in early February.

Brewer’s first career start at the oval came in 1990, and he made nearly 260 starts in the Sportsman Division, winning the points championship in 2011, the newspaper reported.

Fellow Bowman Gray driver Brad Lewis, whose race shop is near where Brewer lived, said Brewer “was like a big brother to me even though we were not that far apart in age.”

“He was a wheelman through and through,” Lewis said. “I’m not only going to honor him the rest of the season but for as long as we race out there. He’ll be missed.”

The 2025 NASCAR season kicks off on Feb. 16, 2025 with the 67th running of the Daytona 500.

A NASCAR insider wants the governing body to get back to basics when it comes to the Cup Series and the playoffs. On The Teardown podcast, Jeff Gluck of The Athletic sounded off on the playoff system after covering the Watkins Glen race.

“I’m almost there, where everything needs a rest,” Gluck said. “I don’t know how you do it, but I’m almost there on what is even the point of playoffs at all. What is even the point of a 10-race chase? I get all the drawbacks, and could you have runaways and all this stuff? I don’t think you can argue that a large part of the fanbase is airing frustration because they have feelings of how things were or how things used to be, and they want the simplicity back in whatever way it is.”

Gluck then talked about the Watkins Glen race and what happened with Kyle Larson. If there were no playoffs in the NASCAR Cup Series, Gluck said that Larson would be the story of the day because his last-place finish at Watkins Glen would have prevented him from winning the NASCAR Cup Series Championship. But with him already clinching a spot in the playoffs, the last-place finish for Larson is an afterthought.

Should NASCAR re-evaluate the playoffs?

“I just don’t think it’s going to be easy to soothe them,” Gluck said about NASCAR fans. “There’s not one thing right now that’s going to make everybody happy again. How do you rest things? How do you sort of get back to simplicity, back to basics a little bit, where people are going to be like, ‘Okay, this is something we feel good about?’

NASCAR’s playoff system has been in existence in the Cup Series since the 2004 season. There have been changes over the years, and the current format features 16 qualified drivers competing in the final 10 races of the season. After three races, four drivers are eliminated, and the final four compete in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway in November.

Robbie Brewer, a short-track racecar driver, died over the weekend after suffering a medical emergency while competing in a race. 

Brewer’s vehicle smashed head-on into a wall at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Saturday night. He was competing in the 20-lap Sportsman Series race, which occurs every weekend across four divisions. 

The car came to a halt near the finish line, and the 53-year-old Brewer was taken out of it after track workers took the roof off. 

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Track crew members rip the roof off of Robbie Brewer’s car to remove him after a medical emergency in the first 20-lap Sportsman Series race at Bowman Gray Stadium, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Walt Unks/The Winston-Salem Journal via AP)

Brewer was rushed to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist hospital, where he eventually died, per the Winston-Salem Journal.

“We are saddened by the passing of Robbie Brewer after he was transported to an area medical facility following an on-track medical incident,” track officials said in a statement on Sunday. 

INDYCAR STAR JOSEF NEWGARDEN FLIPS IN TERRIFYING CRASH AT WTT RACEWAY

“Robbie was a talented and passionate race, and highly respected competitior among his peers. Our thoughts and prayers are with Robbie’s family and friends at this time.”

Details of Brewer’s medical emergency were not disclosed. 

Robbie Brewer’s car skids down the front stretch after a wreck on the restart on lap 16 of the first 20-lap Sportsman Series race at Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Winston-Salem, N.C.  (Walt Unks/The Winston-Salem Journal via AP)

Brad Lewis, a fellow driver at Bowman Gray, said Brewer “was like a big brother to me even though we were not that far apart in age.” Lewis’ race shop was near where Brewer lived.

“He was a wheelman thorugh and through,” Lewis added. “I’m not only going to honor him the rest of the season, but for as long as we race out there. He’ll be missed.”

Brewer has been racing at the track, which served as a preseason NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event back in February, since 1990. 

Track crew work to remove Sportsman Series driver Robbie Brewer from his car after suffering a medical emergency on the restart on lap 16 of the first 20-lap Sportsman Series race at Bowman Gray Stadium, on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Walt Unks/The Winston-Salem Journal via AP)

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Brewer made almost 260 Sportsman Division starts, and he won the championship in 2011, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A veteran stock car driver at a North Carolina short track died over the weekend after suffering a medical emergency while competing in a race, officials said.

Robbie Brewer’s car struck head-on a wall on the quarter-mile (0.40-kilometer) track at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem and came to a stop near the start-finish line.

Track workers peeled away the roof to remove 53-year-old Brewer, and an ambulance took him to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist hospital, after which he died, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.

“We are saddened by the passing of Robbie Brewer after he was transported to an area medical facility following an on-track medical incident,” track officials said Sunday in a statement. “Robbie was a talented and passionate racer, and highly respected competitor among his peers. Our thoughts and prayers are with Robbie’s family and friends at this time.”

Details of the medical emergency weren’t released.

Brewer was competing in a 20-lap Sportsman Division race at Bowman Gray, where thousands of racing fans turn out weekly on Saturday nights in the spring and summer for races across four divisions. Bowman Gray also was the locale for this year’s preseason NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event in early February.

Brewer’s first career start at the oval came in 1990, and he made nearly 260 starts in the Sportsman Division, winning the points championship in 2011, the newspaper reported.

Fellow Bowman Gray driver Brad Lewis, whose race shop is near where Brewer lived, said Brewer “was like a big brother to me even though we were not that far apart in age.”

“He was a wheelman through and through,” Lewis said. “I’m not only going to honor him the rest of the season but for as long as we race out there. He’ll be missed.”