Catchfence

No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado (Ricky Carmichael) - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

Event / Date: Lucas Deep Clean 200 – July 22, 2011

Venue: Nashville Superspeedway – Lebanon, Tenn.

· This Week’s Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado … Ricky Carmichael will pilot chassis TMS-021 from the Turner Motorsports (TMS) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) stable in Friday night’s Lucas Deep Clean 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Built new for 2011, this is the same Monster Energy Chevy Carmichael raced to a 13th-place finish two races ago at Kentucky Speedway. Prior to Kentucky, this truck saw action in June at Texas Motor Speedway (St. 9, Fn. 6) and in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway (St. 17, Fn. 12).

· Nashville Numbers … Carmichael has three NCWTS starts at Nashville Superspeedway and calls a 14th-place finish a career-best at the 1.33-mile D-shaped oval. The 15-time AMA National Champion has logged an 18.7 starting average, a 14.7 average finish and completed all but two of the 450 total laps (99.5 percent) run over those three events.

· Iowa Info … Carmichael had a tough outing last weekend at Iowa Speedway where he was involved in a pair of incidents that ultimately led to a 27th-place finish. The 31-year-old driver started the 200-lap event from the 22nd position and snagged a handsome seven spots in the opening 15 laps before being collected in an early-race incident exiting Turn 4. He spent the next 80-plus laps working his way back onto the lead lap before a blown right-front tire, ultimately sent him to the garage area for good prior to the checkered flag.

· In a Nutshell … The 2011 season marks Carmichael’s second year competing on a full-time basis and third year overall in the NCWTS. Since making his series debut 54 races ago, the father of twins has gone on to earn three top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. Over those same 54 races, the motocross legend has logged a 15.2 average start, a 17.0 average finish, led 38 laps and completed 90.7 percent of the laps run, earning just over of $700,000 in purse money.

· Turner Truck Totals … In 11 NCTWS races in 2011, TMS-prepared entries have earned four top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. James Buescher leads the way with four top fives and nine top 10s and currently sits fourth in points. Carmichael has logged three top 10s, including a season-best sixth-place showing last month at Texas Motor Speedway, and is 16th in the standings. Brad Sweet wheeled the No. 32 machine for the first eight races of the year and logged a pair of top-10 finishes.

· There’s a New Kid on Town … For the first time this season, Blake Feese will climb aboard the No. 32 Chevy for this weekend’s race at Nashville Superspeedway where AccuDoc Solutions will be the primary sponsor. Feese will pilot the No. 32 entry 10 times in 2011. With the exception of Indianapolis and Chicagoland Speedway where Steve Arpin will handle the driving chores and Michigan and Pocono where Mark Martin will be behind the wheel, Feese will fill out the reminder of the season in the seat of the No. 32 machine.

· et to the Point(s) … Carmichael slipped to 16th in the NCWTS driver point standings following last weekend’s race in Iowa. Still, he is just 13 points outside the top 12 and 28 back from the top 10. Buescher maintained fourth in points following his seventh-place finish last weekend. While Feese is making his first start of the 2011 season, the No. 32 entry is safely locked in to the starting field in Nashville by virtue of being 21st in the NCWTS owner’s point standings.

· Welcome Aboard … Sudden Service will be featured on the lower-rear quarter panels of the No. 4 Monster Energy Silverado this weekend in Nashville. Sudden Service is a family-owned chain of convenience stores based in Springfield, Tenn., with 48 stores located in middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky.

· Ricky Carmichael Live … Carmichael, along with several other popular NCWTS and NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers, including Buescher and Feese, will sign autographs for race fans from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. on Friday, July 22 in the Expo area of the race track, located outside Gate 3. A limited number of wristbands will be issued in advance of the session, beginning at 11 a.m., to those that present a ticket to either the Lucas Deep Clean 200 or the Federated Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

· See the Monster Energy Silverado … The Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado show truck will make three stops in the Nashville market this week. On Wednesday, July 20, Carmichael’s No. 4 machine will visit Union Street Market located at 801 Union Street in Shelbyville from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. On Thursday, July 21, the Monster Energy Chevy will make a pit stop at Sudden Service store No. 15 – 500 Hickory Hills Blvd. (at Exit 40 off I-24) – in Whites Creek. The show truck will make its final stop of the week on Friday, July 22, from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. at Sudden Service store No. 32 located at 2654 Wilma Rudolph Blvd., in Clarksville.

· Nationwide Notes … In 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2011, TMS-fielded teams have notched three wins, 17 top-five and 39 top-10 finishes. Reed Sorenson, driver of the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet, maintained his stronghold on second in the standings following his 15th-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last weekend and trails current points-leader Elliott Sadler by just seven points. Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 31 Brandt Chevrolet, finished 10th in New Hampshire to remain fourth in points, while Jason Leffler slipped to sixth after he was collected in a mid-race incident last Saturday and credited with 30th in the final rundown. This weekend, the drivers and teams of the NASCAR Nationwide Series head to Nashville where the division will be the second act in a Truck Series/Nationwide Series companion event. The Federated Auto Parts 300 will take the green flag Saturday, July 23 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be televised live on ESPN and broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

· Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Lucas Deep Clean 200 from Nashville Superspeedway will take the green flag Friday, July 22 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be televised live on SPEED and broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Qualifying for Round 12 of the 2011 Camping World Truck Series Championship will be televised on SPEED the same day at 5 p.m. EDT.

Ricky Carmichael - Photo Credit: John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR

Nashville is fairly unique. It’s bigger than a mile and not quite a mile-and-a-half. Does that present a different type of challenge from the driver’s seat?

“Nashville is a mile-and-a-third and it’s concrete not asphalt, so the racing is a little different. You can feel like you have a ton of grip and then the truck can very easily get out from underneath you and spin out. For me, there’s a very fine line. The race track will be really green during the first practice so you need to pay close attention to what your truck is doing during the second session to know where you’re going to be for the race. The track changes a lot from the first to second practice and especially after the Nationwide teams lay some rubber down on the track.”

What’s the key to getting around Nashville?

“Qualifying well and maintaining track position goes a long way at Nashville. You can’t be tight in the center of the corners. You really have to keep the truck turning. If you get tight in the corners, you lose so much speed that you can’t keep up on the straightaways. If the truck is handling the way you need it to, you can really keep it wound up in the corner and get a good run off the exit. It’s a bottom-feeder type of race track. You won’t see many people on the high side. The bottom lane is going to be the preferred groove so you have to concentrate on getting a good run off the corner to be able to get your nose underneath someone to make a pass.”

- Turner Motorsports Press Release