Ricky Carmichael / NO. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet Race Recap
March 8, 2010, 9:27am
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.
· The first of six cautions waved at lap 24 for an accident in turn four. “The truck is really good, but we are off in turns one and two,” said Carmichael as he made his way down pit road to the attention of the Monster Energy Racing Team. They jumped into action changed all four tires, added fuel and made an air pressure adjustment before sending him on his way.
· “My right rear is flat,” yelled Carmichael as he returned to the track after the pit stop. Once again he made the trip down pit road and the Monster Energy Racing Team changed all four tires. The flat tire was due to the valve stem being knocked out while exiting the pits. Fast thinking by Carmichael saved the No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet from wrecking on the restart. He restarted in the 20th position on lap 28.
· 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.”
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.
· The first of six cautions waved at lap 24 for an accident in turn four. “The truck is really good, but we are off in turns one and two,” said Carmichael as he made his way down pit road to the attention of the Monster Energy Racing Team. They jumped into action changed all four tires, added fuel and made an air pressure adjustment before sending him on his way.
· “My right rear is flat,” yelled Carmichael as he returned to the track after the pit stop. Once again he made the trip down pit road and the Monster Energy Racing Team changed all four tires. The flat tire was due to the valve stem being knocked out while exiting the pits. Fast thinking by Carmichael saved the No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet from wrecking on the restart. He restarted in the 20th position on lap 28.
· 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.”
