CARMICHAEL AT IOWA: Ricky Carmichael made one start at Iowa Speedway in 2009 where, despite having a 26th-place qualifying effort, he finished the race in the 13th position.
CARMICHAEL ON TRUCKS: Carmichael was last on-track in his Monster Energy Chevrolet nearly one month ago at Michigan International Speedway where he scored a 15th-place finish. So far this season, Carmichael has scored one top-five (Dover) and two top-10 finishes (Atlanta and Martinsville) in the first nine races of the 2010 season.
CARMICHAEL ON COMPETING AT IOWA: “I’m really excited about going to Iowa. The racetrack is really neat…it’s a great facility and there’s great racing there. I did pretty well there last year in a back up and I’m really looking forward to getting back. The fans are great – they get a huge turnout and the fans have always been great to me there. There are a lot of motocross fans in that part of the country as well who come out to watch the NASCAR race. I’m just really excited to get back racing. It’s been nice to have the three weeks off, but I’m ready to get back to racing and Iowa’s a great place to start back. I’m looking forward to this 9 week stretch to get some great finishes.”
BEHIND THE WHEEL: Crew chief Mike Fritts has chosen Turner Motorsports chassis No.008 for Carmichael to pilot at Iowa. Carmichael last wheeled this chassis to a 10th-place finish at Martinsville. Chassis No. 3 will serve as the team’s back-up truck – it has not seen on-track activity in 2010.
CREW CHIEF’S KEYS TO SUCCESS: “The corners at Iowa are really tight, so getting the truck to a point where Ricky is comfortable and he can easily rotate in the center is important. Since this is a short track, brakes are a big issue, so you have to make sure you have a good brake package. What’s the best thing is that Ricky’s raced at Iowa before and he was good there, so we’ve got an advantage over the last few tracks.”
BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW: In his time away from the NASCAR circuit, Carmichael went back to his motocross roots and got back on the bike to ride with fellow Suzuki teammate Ryan Dungey. Dungey is the current AMA Motocross point’s leader this season. Nowadays Carmichael rides when he can and enjoys working with the younger riders. Dungey rides out of RC's shop in Georgia.
HIT THE POLLS: It’s time for NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver fan vote! Carmichael won the award last season and is hoping his fans will help him win a repeat. Go to NASCAR.com to cast your votes today.
MONSTER MANIA: Fans can log onto www.monsterenergy.com for a chance to win race tickets, garage passes and a meet & greet with Ricky Carmichael during the 2010 season. The promotion will run throughout the remainder of the season and a winner will be awarded at each venue the Truck Series visits.
STAY UP TO SPEED: The Lucas Oil 200 will take the green flag this Sunday, July 11th at 2:00 PM Eastern. Viewers can watch the race live on SPEED. In addition, Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Channel 128) will have the live radio broadcast.
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