After making a splash in his limited tenure for Our Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series last season, including a stage victory at Talladega Superspeedway, Blaine Perkins is getting ready to tackle the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series full-time in 2022.
The 21-year-old will get the opportunity to compete in all 23 events for CR7 Motorsports next season, piloting the No. 9 Chevrolet Silverado, the entry owned by part-time driver Codie Rohrbaugh.
Christmas came early this year! ??
Can’t wait to pilot the No. 9 @chevrolet for @Cr7Motorsports full time in @NASCAR_Trucks next year. I’m humbled by the opportunity & thankful for everyone who’s a part of it.
More at 1:30pm ET on @SiriusXMNASCAR!#NASCAR #LeftCoast pic.twitter.com/AtPB72uMQl
— Blaine Perkins (@BlainePerkins21) December 23, 2021
“This is pretty special,” Perkins said. “This is my first fulltime season in any of NASCAR’s top-tier series. I am looking forward to getting into the Chevrolet Silverado this year at CR7 Motorsports. We are going to have a good year.”
Last season, the No. 9 Chevrolet Silverado was split by Rohrbaugh and Grant Enfinger, tallying one top-five and four top-10 finishes, including a non-superspeedway best for the organization at Circuit of The Americas.
“I am always looking forward to the short tracks,” Perkins said. “That is where I grew up racing – at the half-mile and quarter-mile tracks. Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway will be fun. And road racing, I love road racing as well.
“The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has a very diverse group of tracks. Even the dirt tracks – I have never driven a stock car on dirt, so I will definitely be working on that a lot. But I know we are going to be fast when it comes to racing there. It is really going to be fun to run all these different types of tracks.”
Perkins is a veteran of the ARCA Menards Series West, collecting three victories and second-place points finish in 2020, before transitioning into NASCAR’s top-three series. In eight NASCAR Xfinity Series starts last season, Perkins recorded a best finish of 13th at Talladega, after leading two laps and winning the race’s second stage.
Doug George will continue as crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Silverado in 2022, while the organization will pick up some valuable engineering support from GMS Racing.
“I have high expectations for the upcoming season,” Rohrbaugh said. “Grant (Enfinger) provided CR7 Motorsports a very solid foundation that we can continue to build from. Blaine (Perkins) will have to learn how the Chevrolet Silverados drive compared to the NASCAR Xfinity Series cars. He will have all the tools around him to be successful – a good crew chief, GMS Racing support, and good Chevrolet Silverados. I really look forward to next season, and, hopefully, making a Playoff run.”
The 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season will mark the first full-time season for CR7 Motorsports with a single driver, as the team has previously run a partial schedule with multiple drivers.
“I think it is a big opportunity for CR7 Motorsports,” Rohrbaugh said. “It gives the crew, and Blaine the opportunity to learn and work together, and get that much better every weekend.”
February’s event at Daytona International Speedway will mark the debut for Perkins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
“I have never driven in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series before, so that will be my biggest challenge. Fortunately, we will have practice and qualifying next year, so that will be beneficial,” the first-generation driver said. “We also have huge experience behind the scenes with CR7 Motorsports in Doug and his team. Between my team, the Hornaday’s, my spotter, Tim Fedewa, and the CR7 Motorsports’ team, our goal is to be a contender this year for a championship. We have huge goals to meet this season, but we have the right team to get it done.”
