Ricky Carmichael – No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet Race Recap
Venue: Martinsville Speedway (.526 Mile Oval)
Circuit: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
RACE: Kroger 250 (Race 3 of 25)
Date: March 27, 2010 (250 Laps, 131.5 Miles)
Start: 12th – Finish: 10th
Points: 7th

RACE RECAP:

• Rain showers moved over Martinsville Speedway just as the second practice was beginning Friday afternoon. The drizzling rain never ceased and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) qualifying was canceled. The field for the Kroger 250 was set by the 2009 NCWTS Owner Points Standings according to the NASCAR rule book. The Monster Energy Chevrolet started in the 12th position.
• By lap five Carmichael had moved into the 11th position and radioed in to his crew “I need to turn a little better in the center, but the truck is really good.”
• The first of 11 cautions came on lap 28 for a spin in turn three while Carmichael was battling for 13th position. “Keep after it,” said Crew Chief Mike Fritts under caution. “We will make adjustments during our next pit stop.”
• Over the next 45 laps Carmichael drove the Monster Energy Chevrolet into the top-10. The second caution came out on lap 75 for a spin in turn one. During the caution Carmichael hit pit road for service. The Monster Energy Racing Team changed all four tires and added fuel before sending him on his way. He restarted in ninth on lap 79.
• “Truck is really good,” said Carmichael on lap 93 during the fourth caution. “I am just trying to be patient.” He restarted in the eighth position. Several laps later Carmichael ran his fastest lap of the race.
• A caution for debris on lap 135 brought out the sixth caution. Carmichael hit pit road for service from the Monster Energy Racing Team. They changed all four tires, added two cans of fuel and made an air pressure adjustment before sending Carmichael back out. He restarted in 12th position after several competitors chose not to pit under the caution.
• On lap 146 Carmichael, who was running the high line, was battling for position with rookie Austin Dillon when Dillion hit the inside curb in turn three sending his truck into the side of Carmichael. The No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet was sent spinning between turns three and four collecting damage on the front and rear of the truck before coming to a stop.
• Carmichael drove the damaged Monster Energy Chevrolet down pit road to the attention of his crew. They jumped into action repairing the damage on the left front and left rear of the truck with baseball bats, sawzalls and bare bond in hand. Carmichael returned to the track in 21st position, one lap down to the leader.
• Luckily, the next caution waved two laps later for a wreck on the back stretch awarding Carmichael with the lucky dog award. He returned to the lead lap on lap 156 still in the 21st position.
• Over the next 20 laps Carmichael beat and banged his way back to the 11th position. “I know it is not as good as it was before the wreck, but I have seen you race bikes with bent handlebars before,” encouraged Crew Chief Fritts. “You can get this truck back into the top-10.” Carmichael agreed while running under the ninth caution and restarted in the 11th position.
• During the final 50 laps Carmichael fell all the way back to the 15th position after being hung on the outside during a restart, but never gave up. On the final lap of the race he made the pass to secure the 10th place finishing position.
• It was the team’s second top-10 finish of the season and moved Carmichael up five spots to seventh in the Truck Series point standings.

Kevin Harvick won the Kroger 250. Ron Hornaday Jr., Brian Ickler, Timothy Peters and Johnny Benson rounded out the top five finishers.

FAST FACTS:

• Carmichael’s 10th place finish in the Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway was second top-10 finish of the season. It was his fourth Top-10 finish of his young Truck Series career.
• The caution flag flew 11 times for 66 laps during the 250 lap event.
• Next up for the No. 4 Monster Energy team is the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Nashville Superspeedway Friday, April 2nd.

RICKY CARMICHAEL: “That was a hard fought 10th place finish, but I am happy to just finish in Martinsville. I am so proud of this team for fixing the damage on the Monster Energy Chevrolet so quick after the wreck. It could have been a lot worse than it was, but they never missed a beat. We got lucky for the caution to come out as quickly as it did after that restart and get the lucky dog. It is not every day you can say you were lucky at a race track especially this one. I keep thinking what a difference a year makes. I came here last year and had a rough introduction to Martinsville. Today was a great finish and great points day for my Turner Motorsports crew.”
-TMS-

Media Contact:
Amanda Jones Ellis
Media Relations Account Manager
No. 4 Monster Energy /Ricky Carmichael
Cell: 731.697.0396
Amanda.ellis@turnermotorsportsllc.com

Ricky Carmichael – No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet Race Recap
Venue: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.5 Mile tri-oval)
Circuit: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
RACE: E-Z-GO 200 (Race 2 of 25)
Date: March 6, 2010 (130 Laps, 200 Miles)
Start: 12th – Finish: 6th

RACE RECAP:

• Sunny skies and chilly temperatures blanketed Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) Saturday morning as Carmichael qualified the No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet in the 12th position.
• Just following the drop of the green flag Carmichael radioed into his crew, “the truck is awesome” as he made his way into the top-10.
• Carmichael wasted no time making up for lost ground on pit road. By lap 40 he had worked his way into the 13th spot. “I need it to be freed up on the next stop” radioed in Carmichael to his crew on lap 47. The next pit stop would come sooner than expected when the second caution waved for debris on lap 54.
• Carmichael made his way down pit road to the attention of the Monster Energy Racing Team. They changed all four tires, added fuel and made a wedge adjustment before sending the No. 4 Monster Energy Chevy on its way. He restarted in 15th position with 73 to go in the race.
• Over the next 50 laps Carmichael used both the high line and low line to work his way up to eighth position. “It is a little free, but we nailed turns one and two,” he radioed into the crew.
• As the race winded down Carmichael, running in the seventh position, was one lap from being forced to stop under green for fuel when the final caution waved for debris on lap 113. “That caution could not have come at a better time,” said Crew Chief Mike Fritts.
• Carmichael drove the Monster Energy Chevrolet down pit road for the last time. The Monster Energy Racing Team jumped into action changed all four tires, added fuel and made an air pressure adjustment before sending him out in sixth place.
• During the final 14 laps Carmichael proved he was here to race with the big boys and scored a sixth place finish. It was Carmichael’s career best finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Kevin Harvick won the E-Z-GO 200. Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola, Steve Wallace and Todd Bodine rounded out the top five finishers.

FAST FACTS:

• Carmichael’s sixth place finish in the Truck Series race at AMS was his career best.
• The caution flag flew six times for 27 laps during the 130 lap event.
• Following the race at Atlanta Carmichael flew to Daytona to commentate the Supercross event that evening. Sunday he hosted the first ever Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross Championship at the famed track and on Monday he will preside over the inaugural Ricky Carmichael University riding school.
• Next up for the No. 4 Monster Energy team is the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway Saturday, March 27.

RICKY CARMICHAEL: “That finish was huge for this team. After Daytona I knew we needed to finish this race and not take home a wrecked truck. But we didn’t just want to finish we wanted to show them we are here to stay this season. I think we did a good job of doing that. All weekend this team worked hard in practice to make this truck better. We didn’t qualify as good as I hoped we would, but I knew it would be good in the race. To be able to overcome the adversity on pit road and finish as strong as we did makes for a good day. I hate we have two weeks off now, but we will be ready come Martinsville.”
-TMS-

Media Contact:
Amanda Jones Ellis
Media Relations Account Manager
No. 4 Monster Energy /Ricky Carmichael
Cell: 731.697.0396
Amanda.ellis@turnermotorsportsllc.com

The last few days I feel like I’ve been going in circles. No, I haven’t lost my mind and I do remember that I still drive a race truck. It started back the weekend before last. I flew to North Carolina to meet with the team and have my seats refitted. The next day I drove to Atlanta with my crew chief for the AMA Monster Energy Supercross event at the Georgia Dome.

Being there was just like old times. I commentated the main events for SPEED that evening, but during the day I had a little fun. The Atlanta race has always been considered my home race because it is only a few hours from Tallahassee (Fla.) and I try to ride opening ceremonies to thank the fans for their support when I can. I think I shocked everyone when I rode the first practice earlier that afternoon.

It was great to hear the fans erupt into a roar when I walked out of the pits in my gear and ready to ride. I think a lot of fans thought I was making a comeback! After the SX event, I drove home and spent the afternoon with my kids before filming Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain later that night. I am a big fan of Wind Tunnel because it covers all forms of racing and Dave’s always been real cool to me when we have done interviews in the past.

The next two days I spent riding at my farm for a Fox Racing photo shoot and putting the finishing touches on the Supercross track I designed for the Daytona race that weekend. I headed to Daytona on Thursday to walk the track and make any last-minute changes before flying back to Atlanta for the Truck race.

It was a great race for my Monster Energy Racing Team. We unloaded pretty quick and remained in the top 10 during both practice sessions. We qualified 12th and I’ll admit that I was disappointed with that. I thought we would be a little faster, but it didn’t hold us back. I love racing at Atlanta because you can run the high lane or the low lane. If your truck is not handling the way you would like you can move around the track to find another line. A lot of tracks you can’t do that.

It proved to be my best track so far. I scored my career-best Truck finish with sixth place. It was great motivation for me and this team heading into Martinsville in a couple of weeks. It really shows how hard our new team is working and I can’t say enough about the guys back at the shop making it happen.

After the Atlanta race I hopped on a plane with Kevin Harvick and flew to Daytona for the Supercross event. Ken Schrader and Trevor Bayne were also there. It’s always fun for me having new people at the races. I really enjoy showing our sport to new people. Once again I commentated the race for SPEED. It was a great ending to a busy day.

I had to be back at Daytona early the next morning for opening ceremonies for the inaugural Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross event. It was the first time Daytona had an amateur Supercross race in 22 years. It was a huge honor and I had a great day watching lots of upcoming talent. I guess you can say I have come full circle having an event named after me.

I have to give a big thanks to MX Sports and Daytona International Speedway for helping to make it happen. This was an idea we had talked about for a while and now that it was finally coming true I still found it hard to believe. The turnout was awesome, almost 800 riders! I was really happy to see how the track turned out and hearing from all the riders and families how much fun they were having. It is really gratifying to see something you and so many people work so hard on finally come together. But the trip wasn’t over yet.

Monday was a huge day for me. I hosted the first Ricky Carmichael University riding school at Daytona. It was the first time I ever put on a riding school and to have it at Daytona made it even more special. We had 100 riders attend including two special students, SPEED’s Rutledge Wood and Kyle Petty. Once again I couldn’t have pulled it off without a lot of help, especially my guest instructors — Jeff Stanton, Jeff Emig, Clark Stiles, and my mom. We all had a great time working with the riders from our youngest 50cc riders to some of our 50-plus-year-old vets who attended. We also had classroom instructors for the families on bike setup, nutrition, safety equipment and getting a good education.

As for Kyle and Rut, I was really surprised how well they did. They didn’t just come for Speed TV they came to learn and for never being on a Supercross track before they did a great job! Look for the report on the setup before the Martinsville race.

The goal of the entire weekend was for everyone to have fun. I stressed that in our riders’ meetings and from the smiles on everyone’s faces at the end of each day I think we accomplished our goal and along the way, I think we helped make our riders better while giving back to the sport that gave me so much!

See you at the races!

“Riding with Ricky” is a weekly feature posted at Nascar.com. If you are interested in keeping up with Ricky between the blogs, you can follow him through the social media world at Twitter and Facebook.

Has it really been two weeks since Daytona?

The race in Daytona was not what we were hoping for. The Monster Energy Chevrolet was bad fast, though.

I think I have spent more time analyzing that wreck than I have any other in my career. I was getting pushed from behind and we had an incredible run going in the outside lane. I had my foot on the brake trying to slow the truck down, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. The next thing I know I was tapping the back end of Ron Hornaday’s truck and turning him into the wall. After that we had nowhere to go. It was disappointing for our team and for the [Kevin Harvick Inc.] crew, as well.

The next day my wife and I drove to Orlando [Fla.]. We decided to spend Valentine’s Day at Walt Disney World. With my travel schedule and the twins we don’t get to spend a lot of time just her and I, so I jumped at the opportunity. My favorite attractions are Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom and the Aerosmith [Rock 'n' Roller Coaster] at Hollywood Studios. What is your favorite ride at Disney World?

I spent the beginning of the week working out and taking the kids to school. Did everyone see on my Twitter page the masterpiece they painted? I have to admit for 2-year olds, they have talent!

It was then back to the Supercross on Friday for the Indianapolis round of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross series. I got to call the race again along with Ralph Sheene and Jeff Emig. It was an awesome race. It seems I get lucky just about every time I do those races that it is a good one. Ryan Villopoto had a great race coming from behind to win. That series is definitely healthy with a good group of riders that have the chance to win every week.

The Truck Series is off again this weekend. It is always so hard … to get the season started and then have to wait for three weeks before we hit the track again. I am so ready to get the season rolling. Thank goodness for Atlanta next weekend. That is still the hardest part for me — not racing every week; especially after my Daytona race I want to get back in the truck and redeem myself!

Speaking of Atlanta, I am about to leave the race shop and head there. This weekend is the largest Supercross race of the season at the Georgia Dome. I will call the shots from the SPEED booth again Saturday night. I know the boys will put on a good show. You can check it out live on SPEED.

Next week will be a busy one. I will start the week out in Daytona on Wednesday to check out the Supercross track at the speedway. I have designed the track for the Daytona race for the last three years. Then I will fly to Atlanta for the Truck Series practice and qualifying. Then after the race on Saturday I will fly back to Daytona to commentate from the booth for SPEED.

Then on Sunday is the inaugural Ricky Carmichael Amateur Race at the track. I am super-excited to be a part of the event and honored for it to be named after me. It is important to remember we all started out as amateurs. I really want to see the entry list pick up over the next few days! If you need more info on the race or to sign up you can go to www.mxsports.com

On Monday morning we are hosting the first ever Ricky Carmichael University riding school. One hundred riders will be on hand to learn from not only myself, but some of the best people in our sport. Be sure to check out my Web site, www.rickycarmichael.com, for more information on the events next week.

See you at the races!

“Riding with Ricky” is a weekly feature posted at Nascar.com. If you are interested in keeping up with Ricky between the blogs, you can follow him through the social media world at Twitter and Facebook.