Ricky Carmichael, No. 4 Monster Energy Chevy Silverado, Kentucky 225 Preview

Ricky Carmichael

No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado

Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date:       Kentucky 225 – October 1, 2011

Venue:             Kentucky Speedway – Sparta, Ky.

                                                                       Ricky Carmichael’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Performance History at Kentucky Speedway

• This Week’s Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado … Ricky Carmichael will pilot chassis TMS-013 from the Turner Motorsports (TMS) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) stable in Saturday night’s Kentucky 225 at Kentucky Speedway. This is the same truck Carmichael raced earlier this season at Pocono Raceway (St. 15, Fn. 20) and Dover International Raceway (St. 20, Fn. 29). Following Dover, the truck was outfitted with a new body, including front and rear clips after a hard crash sent him to the garage area prior to the conclusion of the event. This truck also saw action in April at Nashville Superspeedway where Carmichael started 23rd and finished 14th. Built new in 2010, this Chevrolet Silverado was the workhorse of the Monster Energy Team’s fleet last fall. Carmichael drove the same Monster Energy Chevy last year at Chicagoland Speedway (St. 13, Fn. 28), Kentucky Speedway (St. 5, Fn. 9), Las Vegas Motor Speedway (St. 8, Fn. 9) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (St. 22, Fn. 21).
• A Look at Loudon … Carmichael and the Monster Energy Team battled handling issues throughout last Saturday’s F.W. Webb 175 but still managed to come away with a top-20 finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Despite chasing a temperamental-handling machine all afternoon, the 15-time AMA National Champion hung tough during the less-than-ideal day. While the end result fell short of expectations, Carmichael still held on to 18th in the division’s driver point standings.
• Kentucky Count … Carmichael has a trio of NCWTS starts to his credit at Kentucky Speedway and calls a fifth-place finish a career-best at the 14-degree banked, mile-and-a-half tri-oval. The Tallahassee, Fla., resident has logged an 11.7 starting average coupled with a solid 8.3 finishing average. He has completed all but one of the laps run over those three races and earned just over $52,000 in purse money.
• In a Nutshell … The 2011 season marks Carmichael’s second year competing on a full-time basis and third  overall in the NCWTS. Since making his series debut 62 races ago, he has gone on to earn one pole, three top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. Over those same 62 races, the motocross legend has logged a 15.0 average start, a 17.2 average finish, led 39 laps, completed 91.4 percent of the laps run and earned just over of $790,000 in purse money.
• Turner Truck Totals … In 19 NCWTS races in 2011, TMS entries have amassed three poles, 10 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes. James Buescher leads the way with 16 top 10s this season and is currently second in points. With the exception of Martinsville and Chicagoland, Buescher has finished inside the top 10 in every race in which he has competed in the division this season. Carmichael has logged four top 10s, including a season-best sixth-place showing at Texas Motor Speedway and is 18th in the standings. Blake Feese finished fourth and Ryan Newman was fifth in Atlanta, three races ago. 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, logging top 10s at Charlotte and Kansas.
• Blake’s Back In … For the fifth time this season, Feese will climb aboard the No. 32 AccuDoc Solutions machine for Saturday night’s race in Kentucky. Feese will fill out the remainder of the 2011 schedule in the seat of the third truck in the TMS stable.
• Get to the Point(s) … Carmichael maintained 18th in the NCWTS driver point standings after finishing 19th last weekend. Still, he’s just 16 points outside the top 15 and 22 behind 14th-place Miguel Paludo. Buescher slipped to second in points following New Hampshire but trails leader Austin Dillon by a mere two points. While Feese has made just four starts in 2011, the No. 32 machine is assured a spot on the starting grid by virtue of being 16th in the NCWTS owner point standings.
• Welcome Aboard … ValuMarket and Thorntons will be featured on the lower-rear quarter panels of the No. 4 Monster Energy Silverado this weekend in Kentucky. ValuMarket has been serving the Louisville, Ky., area grocery needs since 1978 with locations in Hurstbourne Plaza, Outer Loop Plaza, Mid City Mall, Iroquois Manor and Mt. Washington, Ky. Thorntons Inc. is a leading, independent gasoline/convenience-chain retailer, marketing throughout the Midwest under the brand name Thorntons. Thorntons Inc. ranks No. 250 among Forbes magazine’s 500 largest privately held companies. Headquartered in Louisville, Ky., Thorntons operates over 160 gasoline and convenience stores including one travel plaza, eight car washes and ranks as one of Kentucky’s largest privately held companies with over $1.4 billion in annual revenue.
• Nationwide Notes … In 28 NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2011, TMS-fielded teams have notched three wins, 20 top-five and 54 top-10 finishes. Reed Sorenson, driver of the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet, maintained third in points after finishing 10th two weekends ago in Chicago. Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 31 Brandt Chevrolet, was 14th in the final rundown and held on to fifth in the standings. Jason Leffler was credited with 12th at Chicagoland Speedway and held on to sixth in points. The drivers and teams of the NASCAR Nationwide Series head to Dover, Del., this weekend for the second stop on the 2011 schedule at the “Monster Mile.” ESPN2’s live coverage of the One Main Financial 200 from Dover International Speedway will be televised on Saturday, Oct. 1 beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will also be broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Qualifying for Round 29 of the 2011 Nationwide Series Championship will be televised live on SPEED the same day beginning at noon EDT.
• See the Monster Energy Silverado … The Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado show truck will make a pair of stops this weekend in Louisville, Ky. On Saturday, the No. 4 machine will visit Thorntons Store No. 31 located at 12412 La Grange Road from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Later that afternoon, Carmichael’s race truck will make a final pit stop from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. at Valu Market in the Outer Loop Plaza located at 7519 Outer Loop.
• Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Kentucky 225 from Kentucky Speedway will take the green flag Saturday, Oct. 1 beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT. The race will be televised live on SPEED and broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  Qualifying for the 20th of 25 races on the 2011 NCWTS schedule will be televised the same day on SPEED at 6 p.m. EDT.

RICKY CARMICHAEL QUOTES

Talk about your thoughts heading into Kentucky this weekend.

“I’m really excited about going to Kentucky Speedway this weekend. Our mile-and-a-half program has turned the corner over the last month or so I’m very optimistic about this weekend. I’ve had great results at the track so it’s definitely a place where I look forward to racing. We didn’t have the results we were looking for in July but we’ve made huge strides with our intermediate program since then. I think we’ve got a great shot at racing inside the top five and certainly the top 10. I like the track a lot so it should be a fun night of racing.”

Is there anything that stands out that makes Kentucky different than the other mile-and-a-halves where the Truck Series races?

“Compared to some of the other mile-and-a-halves, Kentucky is pretty rough. It’s tough to keep from spinning your tires on the restarts because the track is so rough. It’s really bumpy between (turns) One and Two so you really need to get your truck handling well in the corners.”

Is Kentucky a one groove race track or do a couple of lanes open up?

“There’s a lot of room coming off of (turn) Four so you can run the middle or the bottom lane. It’s a multi-groove race track.”

This weekend is a companion event with the IZOD IndyCar Series. Do the tires that the Indy cars run affect the race track and will that reflect how your truck handles?

“It’s never been an issue for me. I don’t feel like the tires that the Indy cars run affect how our truck handles.”