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Tag: Roper Racing

  • Marco Andretti inks part-time ARCA, Truck Series rides in 2024

    Marco Andretti inks part-time ARCA, Truck Series rides in 2024

    Marco Andretti will be elevating his racing resume to new heights by competing on a part-time basis across the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series divisions in 2024.

    The 36-year-old, third-generation Andretti from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, will be joining forces with Cook Racing Technologies for 14 ARCA events, beginning at Daytona International Speedway in February, and make seven Truck Series starts with Roper Racing, which is aligned with Cook Racing Technologies, beginning at Circuit of the Americas in late March.

    Andretti’s other Truck starts with Roper Racing will include Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in July, the Milwaukee Mile in August, Bristol Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway in September, Homestead-Miami Speedway in October and the finale at Phoenix Raceway in November.

    The news comes as Andretti is coming off an eventful season, where he competed in his 18th consecutive Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, where he finished 17th. He also competed in the Camping World SRX Series, where he finished in the runner-up spot in the final standings, and made his first three Truck Series career starts with Spire Motorsports, where he notched two top-20 results and a season-best 18th-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway last October.

    “I’m really happy with the program we’ve put in place for my racing schedule in 2024,” Andretti said. “This plan is a good mixture of races with the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series that provides maximum track time, which is what I’m after. It will answer a lot of my unknowns in stock cars. I also want to do it the right way and not go right to the top of their sport on my INDYCAR and SRX merit as I respect the amount of talent in all of the various stock car series. I’m looking forward to having a lot of fun with Bruce and the team. I’m confident that we can be pretty competitive right out of the gate.”

    To date, Andretti, the grandson of racing legend Mario Andretti and the son of former racer Michael Andretti, has achieved two victories, six poles, 20 podiums and 1,035 laps led in 251 starts in the NTT IndyCar Series, with his best result in the Indy 500 being a runner-up result during his event’s debut in 2006. Having achieved championships in Skip Barber National division and the SRX Series along with making a single start in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Andretti made his NASCAR national touring series debut in the Xfinity Series level at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October 2022 with Big Machine Racing Team, where he ended up in 36th place.

    The addition of Andretti to Cook Racing Technologies brings excitement for Bruce Cook, co-owner of the team who will serve as Andretti’s crew chief, as the organization is coming off the 2023 ARCA Menards Series West owner’s championship and three victories produced between Landen Lewis and Kaden Honeycutt.

    “I am looking forward to working with Marco and helping him to develop and grow as a driver in stock cars,” Cook said. “Marco has a proven track record across multiple racing platforms. I think with some more seat time and guidance in the stock car world, he’ll be able to compete up front on a regular basis.”

    Marco Andretti’s part-time campaign in the ARCA Menards Series is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 17 and air at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1. His part-time campaign in the Craftsman Truck Series is set to occur at Circuit of the Americas on March 23 and air at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Third-place finish solidifies Roper’s bonafides as a serious Truck competitor

    Third-place finish solidifies Roper’s bonafides as a serious Truck competitor

    One thing that could be taken away from the last lap of Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Daytona is that Cory Roper did not show up to stroke around in his underfunded Roper Racing Ford. He saw the opportunity come to take the lead at Daytona late in the going, took it, and almost pulled off the upset win on the final lap before being passed on the final stretch by Ben Rhodes and Jordan Anderson and ultimately finishing third.

    “I knew I was a sitting duck whenever I didn’t feel a push,” Roper said in Zoom media availability post-race. “I knew I got too far off out coming off of (turn) 2 and got too big of a gap. I’m still learning where I need to position things in the truck to be able to race something like this different than anywhere else. I wish I had another shot at that, but you gotta be grateful for what you’ve got, we’ll take it, move on and build from it.”

    The Vernon, Texas native made his national touring debut in Spring 2018 at Martinsville in his No. 04 F-150, finishing 13th after starting 17th. From there he proceeded to have several strong runs such as climbing to second at Daytona in 2019 before contact with the wall ended his day, or a fifth-place qualifying effort at Las Vegas in late 2019 (that was derailed in an early incident with Matt Crafton).

    Roper also proved himself to be a stout qualifier, having posted three top-15 qualifying runs including his top-five appearance at Las Vegas, despite limited sponsorship and limited equipment. Regardless, incidents involving the No. 04 Ford have been few and far between, as Roper doesn’t seem to overdrive himself or his truck’s limitations. That, along with his stout runs, managed to help Roper Racing land sponsor opportunities from CarQuest Auto Parts and Alliance Aviation, who adorned his truck Friday night.

    This has come quite a long way from the group who used to camp out at Texas Motor Speedway every time NASCAR came through Fort Worth. It’s only fitting that Roper ended up earning his first top-10 ever at Texas, a ninth in June 2019. Granted that was an attrition-filled event, but it only backed up the notice that Roper takes care of his equipment and has a tendency to keep his truck out of trouble.

    All said, Roper’s presence in the garage serves as a reminder to the old-school racers of the sport’s history. He hasn’t bought out another ride with family or sponsor money; rather, he took his money and decided to start and build a team from the ground up. At first it was with old equipment bought from Brad Keselowski Racing and Shane Whitbeck as the Crew Chief, but as time has gone on he’s managed to build his team and his group up and just like fellow underdog owner/driver Anderson, Roper found himself in the spotlight at Daytona.

    Rhodes expressed admiration for Roper in Victory Lane, saying that there was a need for more guys like him and his Roper Racing group in the NASCAR garage. Given the outcome Friday night and what led up to it for Roper and Roper Racing, that’s a valid statement to make.