Ricky Carmichael
No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: VFW 200 – August 20, 2011
Venue: Michigan International Speedway – Brooklyn, Mich.
Ricky Carmichael’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Performance History at Michigan International Speedway
DATE START FINISH LAPS TOTAL EARNINGS STATUS
COMPLETED LAPS
06/12/10 11 15 100 100 $ 11,675 Running
TOTAL AVERAGE AVERAGE LAPS TOTAL EARNINGS
STARTS START FINISH COMPLETED LAPS
1 11.0 15.0 100 100 $ 11,675
. This Week’s Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado . Ricky Carmichael will pilot chassis TMS-021 from the Turner Motorsports (TMS) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) stable in Saturday’s VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway. Built new for 2011, this is the same Monster Energy Chevy Carmichael raced earlier this season at Kentucky Speedway (St. 14, Fn. 16), Texas Motor Speedway (St. 9, Fn. 6) and Charlotte Motor Speedway (St. 17, Fn. 12).
. Michigan Minutes . Carmichael started 11th and finished 15th in his lone NCWTS start at MIS and completed all 100 laps.
. Pocono Points . Despite a late-race penalty, Carmichael still managed to muscle out a top-20 finish two weeks ago in the rain-delayed Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service 125 at Pocono Raceway. The 31-year-old, father of twins was 13th with only five laps to go but was penalized by NASCAR for changing lanes before the flag stand during the second-to-last restart of the 125-mile event. As a result, the 15-time AMA National Champion was forced to drive his TMS-prepared Chevrolet down pit road at a painfully slow 55 mph while the field thundered by at full speed. Fortunately, Carmichael was able to maintain his position on the lead leap and another quick caution afforded him the opportunity to catch back up with the leaders. He snared four positions over the final two laps to record a respectable top-20 showing.
. In a Nutshell . The 2011 season marks Carmichael’s second year competing on a full-time basis and third year overall in the NCWTS. Since making his series debut 57 races ago, the father of twins has gone on to earn three top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. Over those same 57 races, the motocross legend has logged a 15.4 average start, a 17.1 average finish, led 38 laps and completed 91 percent of the laps run, earning just over of $735,000 in purse money.
. Testing One, Two, Three, Testing . On Tuesday, Aug. 9, Carmichael and his Mark Rette-led Monster Energy Team spent the day testing and fine-tuning their No. 4 machine at Gresham Motorsports Park – a 12-degree banked, half -mile oval, located in Jefferson, Ga.
. Turner Truck Totals . In 14 NCWTS races in 2011, TMS entries have earned six top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. James Buescher leads the way with six top fives, including his third-place finish two weeks ago at Pocono Raceway where he maintained third in points following his 10th-consecutive top-10 finish. With the exception of Martinsville, Buescher has finished inside the top 10 in every race in which he has competed in the division this season. Carmichael has logged three top 10s, including a season-best sixth-place showing at Texas Motor Speedway and is 17th in the standings. Mark Martin finished seventh in the No. 32 machine at Pocono while Brad Sweet drove the same truck for the first eight races of the year and logged a pair of top 10s.
. Mark’s the Man. For the second time in as many races, Mark Martin will drive the No. 32 Exide Batteries Chevy this weekend in Michigan. Martin has 24 NCWTS starts to his credit, dating back to 1996, and boasts three poles, seven wins, 16 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. The truck will feature a throwback-style paint scheme reminiscent of the Exide Batteries machine Martin drove in the mid-90s.
. Get to the Point(s) . Carmichael slipped to 17th in the NCWTS driver point standings following his 20th-place finish two weekends ago at Pocono. Still, he is just 30 points outside the top 12 and 51 back from the top 10. Buescher maintained third in points following his top-three effort in Pocono but now sits just 13 points behind second-place Johnny Sauter and only 14 behind point leader Austin Dillon. While Martin has made just one NCWTS start in 2011, the No. 32 machine is assured a spot on the starting grid by virtue of being 17th in the NCWTS owner point standings.
. Welcome Aboard . Turner Motorsports and Monster Energy are pleased to feature Family Fare on the lower-rear quarter panels of the No. 4 Monster Energy Silverado this Saturday in Michigan. Family Fare has 38 supermarkets located in western and central Michigan. In each department, Family Fare showcases many great products and services for their customers to shop. Such items include a delightful floral section, a tasteful bakery, phenomenal meat and seafood departments, full line of Spartan Brand products and much more.
. Nationwide Notes . In 23 NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2011, TMS-fielded teams have notched three wins, 19 top-five and 45 top-10 finishes. Reed Sorenson, driver of the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet, maintained second in points after finishing 13th last weekend at Watkins Glen. Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 31 Brandt Chevrolet, was 12th in the final rundown last weekend and held on to fifth in points. Jason Leffler finished 18th at Watkins Glen and held on to sixth in the standings. This weekend, the drivers and teams of the NASCAR Nationwide Series head north of the border to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for the third and final road course race on the 2011 schedule. The NAPA Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge will take the green flag Saturday, Aug. 20 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 2 p.m. EDT and broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
. Up to Speed . Live coverage of the VFW 200 from Michigan International Speedway will take the green flag Saturday, Aug. 20 beginning at noon Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be televised live on SPEED and broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Qualifying for the 15th of 25 races on the 2011 schedule will be televised live on SPEED the same day at 9 a.m. EDT.
RICKY CARMICHAEL QUOTES
Talk about last year’s Truck Series race at Michigan.
“Last year was the first time I’d raced at Michigan. I was very optimistic going in because a lot of people told me that Michigan was a lot like California and I did pretty well, there. We fired off pretty well in practice and qualified 11th but once we got going, the truck was really loose during the race. The track is very temperature sensitive so that really amplified the way the truck was handling. It was pretty much a struggle for us all afternoon.”
Did you learn anything last year that you can apply this weekend?
“Last year taught us a lot. I think we’ll be much better in the race this time. I’m going to take a little different approach to practice so we’re better prepared once we get going Saturday afternoon. I’m excited about what we’ve got for this weekend. We tested last Tuesday and worked on some of the front-end stuff we had last year and that gave me a lot more of a positive feel in the steering wheel and helped with the drivability of the truck. I’m really looking forward to seeing how that will translate into our race setups. I’m optimistic. I think it will be a good weekend for us.”
Do you like the way Michigan races?
“Michigan is so wide that you’re not stuck in a box as far as what line you have to run. You can go high, you can go low or you can run the middle. That’s what’s cool about it. You’re so aero-dependent at Michigan but because the track is so wide, you can move around if you need to compensate for the way your truck is handling. If one line isn’t working, you’ve got options.”
Michigan is in the backyard of all the American automobile manufacturers. Does that make this race a little more important?
“Every race is important but this one is especially important. All the executives from the manufactures come out to the track so this becomes a race where you really want to do well. We’re going to go out there and do the best we can for Chevrolet to try and get a win in their backyard. It’s very similar, from that standpoint, to Daytona or Anaheim in the motocross world. Those are the races where all the manufacturers would be. There was always a lot of pride on the line.”
