CARMICHAEL AT GATEWAY: Ricky Carmichael made one start at Gateway International Raceway in 2009 where a crash caused him to end his day nearly 60 laps early and score a 22nd-place finish.
CARMICHAEL ON TRUCKS: Carmichael’s last on-track appearance came at Iowa after a three week break from NCWTS competition. The Monster Energy driver qualified his truck in the 21st-position, but finished the 200 lap race in ninth-place. So far this season, Carmichael has scored one top-five (Dover) and three top-10 finishes (Atlanta, Martinsville and Iowa) in the first 10 races of the 2010 season.
CARMICHAEL ON COMPETING AT GATEWAY: “I’m excited about going back to Gateway. With last year being my first time there, I definitely didn’t have the finish that I wanted, so I’m ready to take what I learned from that experience and apply it this year and bring home another good finish. I think this is going to be a good stretch of races for me because I’m going back to several tracks where I’ve been before. Seat time at a track is so valuable – nothing helps you build your confidence and get strong finishes like that.”
BEHIND THE WHEEL: Crew chief Mike Fritts has chosen Turner Motorsports chassis No.7 for Carmichael to pilot at Gateway. This Monster Energy Chevrolet was last on track at Dover where it was wrecked during qualifying.
CREW CHIEF’S KEYS TO SUCCESS: “The track at Gateway is bumpy through turns one and two and the truck needs to be working really good there for him to be comfortable. We’ve definitely got the horsepower we need, it’s just a matter of unloading good and getting him comfortable quickly. Ricky has raced at Gateway before and we’re seeing more and more how important that previous seat time is for him with the finishing results he’s getting. Ricky is really smart – he learns a lot and figures things out really quickly. The main thing is we’ve got to make sure that we’re there at the end.”
BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW: Carmichael traveled to New Hampshire in his off-time this week to get some seat time in a rally car. Carmichael was invited to the event by noted rally racer Ken Block, head of longtime sponsor, DC Shoes. This training session marks the first time that the 15-time AMA Champion was behind the wheel in this category of driving.
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 (http://www.nascar.com/news/features/2010.truck.mpd/index.html) 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 CampingWorld.com 200 will take the green flag this Friday, July 16th at 8:30 PM Eastern. Viewers can watch the race live on SPEED. Additionally, Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Channel 128) will have the live radio broadcast. Fans can always stay up to speed with the latest information on Ricky and the No. 4 team by visiting www.rickycarmichael.com.
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