Ricky Carmichael returned to one of his favorite NASCAR tracks, Texas Motor Speedway, with a fast truck and strong desire to take home the checkered flag in Friday night’s WinStar World Casino 400k, but luck wasn’t on the side of the 15-time AMA Champion.
After good runs during the two practice sessions and a strong qualifying effort that placed the No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado in fifth position to start the race, Carmichael was poised to take on the field in the 167-lap race.
Carmichael first hit pit road when the first caution flag of the night flew on lap 18. After reporting that his Chevrolet was a “little bit free,” crew chief Mike Fritts called for four tires and fuel for the No. 4.
By lap 49, Carmichael passed pole-sitter Austin Dillon for the third position – a spot that he held for 23 laps until he was called to pit road for a green flag pit stop.
Unfortunately, the caution flag was displayed only one lap after Carmichael returned to the track, causing him to be scored one lap down. He re-gained his position with the leaders just a few laps later when the caution flag flew once more on lap 85.
After reporting to his crew on lap 107 that he was fighting “tight” conditions and felt that he had “no grip” in his tires, the Monster Energy team planned to bring the No. 4 to pit road for four fresh tires and a full tank of fuel on lap 131. However, lady luck turned on Carmichael when an undetermined issue with the right front of his truck caused him to suffer a hard hit with the safer barriers of Texas Motor Speedway on lap 128, sending him to the infield care center and ending his night of competition with a 20th-place finish and a loss of three positions in the points standings.
FAST FACTS:
· Before returning to competition in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Carmichael will be joining champions from a variety of sports in the Gillette Fusion ProGlide Prelude to the Dream, hosted by two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart. Carmichael will be teaming with Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Ken Schrader, Aric Almirola, Tony Kanaan and Ray Evernham to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
RICKY CARMICHAEL: “I was really looking forward to coming to Texas – it’s one of my favorite tracks on the NASCAR circuit. I felt like it was going to be a breakthrough night for us – we were running strong, I had an awesome truck and we were about to put our best set of tires on to finish out the race, but we just ran into some bad luck. I’m really bummed for myself and the entire Monster Energy Chevy team, but I’m encouraged by the fact that we were contending for the lead all night.”
On racing in the Prelude to the Dream: “I’m so excited that Tony (Stewart) invited me to run in the Prelude. This will be my first time competing in a dirt late model and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m very fortunate to have two healthy children of my own, so I’m glad I can do something to raise money for a worthy cause like St. Jude Children’s Hospital.”
The Monster Energy Chevrolet will return to the NASCAR circuit on Saturday, June 12 at Michigan International Speedway for the VFW 200. The race can be seen on SPEED TV, or heard on MRN Radio beginning at 1:30 pm Eastern time.
