Catchfence

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

Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event / Date: Atlanta 200 – September 2, 2011

Venue: Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, Ga.

· 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’s Atlanta 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Built new for 2011, this is the same Monster Energy Chevy Carmichael raced earlier this season at Kentucky Speedway (St. 14, Fn. 16), Texas Motor Speedway (St. 9, Fn. 6), Charlotte Motor Speedway (St. 17, Fn. 12) and most recently at Michigan International Speedway (St. 7, Fn. 12).

· RC in the ATL … Carmichael has a pair of starts at AMS and calls a sixth-place finish a career-best at the ultra-fast, 1.54-mile quad-oval. Over those same two starts, the 31-year-old driver has logged a 13.5 average start, a 13.5 average finish, completed 256 of the 260 total laps run (98 percent) and earned just over $23,000 in purse money.

· More on the ATL … While Carmichael has limited experience in four-wheel competition in Atlanta, he is a seasoned veteran on two wheels in The Big Peach. The 15-time AMA National Champion has earned seven overall victories at the Atlanta Supercross including five in the Supercross Class (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006) and two in the Supercross Lites Class (1997, 1998).

· A Look Back at Bristol … Carmichael and the Monster Energy Team were collected in a pair of incidents and ultimately saddled with a 29th-place finish in last Wednesday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. After spending 32 laps behind the wall while his team made repairs, the Tallahassee, Fla., resident was back on the track. But, to add insult to injury, Carmichael was collected in a second incident a short time later.

· 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 59 races ago, the father of twins has gone on to earn three top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. Over those same 59 races, the motocross legend has logged a 15.3 average start, a 17.2 average finish, led 39 laps, completed 91 percent of the laps run and earned just over of $754,000 in purse money.

· Honoring Beau … Ryan Newman will pilot a fourth TMS NCWTS entry this weekend in Atlanta. Newman’s No. 08 machine will feature a special camouflaged paint scheme honoring the life of former TMS employee and ARCA racer Beau Slocumb. Slocumb made four ARCA starts in 2009, logging an impressive 7.0 starting average combined with a solid 11.2 average finish. The 26-year-old driver logged a pair of top 10s over those four starts including a career-best fifth-place finish at Kansas Speedway. Slocumb began his career racing Legends cars and climbed the professional ladder through the late model ranks, earning 131 feature wins in Legends and late model competition, eventually making his mark in the ARCA series. He is survived by his wife Jessica, parents Burke “Buster” and Jeanne, brothers Seth and Daniel and sister Maggie. Realtree and Brandt will serve as co-primary sponsors on Newman’s No. 08 Chevy. Newman has three career NCWTS starts, including a win in the E-Z-Go 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in October 2008.

· Turner Truck Totals … In 16 NCWTS races in 2011, TMS entries have earned eight top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. James Buescher leads the way with eight top fives, including a fourth-place finish last weekend in Bristol where he maintained his stronghold on second in points following his fourth consecutive top-five finish. With the exception of Martinsville, Buescher has finished inside the top 10 in every race in which he has competed in the division this season. Carmichael has logged three top 10s, including a season-best sixth-place showing at Texas Motor Speedway and is 18th in the standings. Mark Martin finished seventh in the No. 32 machine three races ago at Pocono while Brad Sweet drove the same truck for the first eight races of the year and logged a pair of top 10s.

· Blake’s Back In … For the third time this season, Blake Feese will climb aboard the No. 32 AccuDoc Solutions machine for Friday night’s race in Atlanta. With the exception of next month’s event at Chicagoland Speedway, where Steve Arpin will handle the driving chores, Feese will fill out the remainder of the 2011 schedule in the No. 32 Chevrolet Silverado.

· Get to the Point(s) … Carmichael slipped to 18th in the NCWTS driver point standings following last weekend’s race in Bristol. He’s now 18 points outside the top 15 and 46 behind 12th-place Nelson Piquet Jr. Buescher held on to second in the standings after his fourth-place showing in Bristol and is just 17 points behind leader Johnny Sauter. While Feese has made just two starts in 2011, the No. 32 machine is assured a spot on the starting grid by virtue of being 17th in the NCWTS owner point standings.

· Welcome Aboard … Turner Motorsports and Monster Energy are pleased to feature Kroger and ampm on the lower-rear quarter panels of the No. 4 Monster Energy Silverado Friday night in Atlanta. The Kroger Co., (NYSE:KR) headquartered in Cincinnati, is one of the nation’s largest grocery retailers, with fiscal 2010 sales of $82.2 billion. The Kroger Co. spans many states with store formats that include grocery and multi-department stores, convenience stores and mall jewelry stores. Kroger operates under nearly two dozen banners, all of which share the same belief in building strong local ties and brand loyalty with our customers. The very first ampm store opened its doors in Southern California, as a value-add-on to select ARCO gas stations. From packaged beverages, grab-n-go sandwiches, treats or fountain drinks – the recipe at ampm has always been simple: provide a great value & variety to conquer the snack & thirst cravings of our customers. Thirty-plus years later, ampm has grown to over 1,100 locations covering CA, OR, WA, NV, AZ, OH, IL, PA, GA & FL as part of select ARCO & bp fueling stations.

· Nationwide Notes … In 25 NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2011, TMS-fielded teams have notched three wins, 19 top-five and 48 top-10 finishes. Reed Sorenson, driver of the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet, maintained third in points after finishing 12th last weekend in Bristol. Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 31 Brandt Chevrolet, was 15th in the final rundown last weekend and held on to fifth in the standings. Jason Leffler finished seventh at Bristol and held on to sixth in points. The drivers and teams of the NASCAR Nationwide Series also head to Atlanta this weekend for 300 miles of Saturday night, under-the-lights, action. The Great Clips 300 will take the green flag Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT and broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Qualifying for Round 26 of the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship will be televised live on SPEED the same day beginning at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

· RC Live … Carmichael will visit with race fans at the Chevrolet display on Friday, Sept. 2 from 4 – 4:15 p.m. The Chevy display is located outside the front straightaway, in the speedway’s display and merchandise vendor area.

· See the Monster Energy Silverado … The Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado show truck will make three stops in the Atlanta market this week. On Wednesday, Aug. 31, from 3 p.m. – 7p.m., the No. 4 machine will visit Kroger Store No. 422 – 1101 Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree City. The following day, the Monster Energy machine will make a pit stop at Kroger Store No. 413, located at 10375 Tara Boulevard in Jonesboro, for an 8 a.m. – noon visit. Carmichael’s race truck will finish out the trip to Atlanta on Friday, Sept. 2 with a stop at ampm in Forest Park – 4950 Old Dixie Highway – from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

· Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Atlanta 200 from Atlanta Motor Speedway will take the green flag Friday, Sept. 2 beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT. The race will be televised live on SPEED and broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Qualifying for the 17th of 25 races on the 2011 schedule will be televised live on SPEED the same day at 5 p.m. EDT.

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

You’ve finished sixth and 21st at Atlanta and talked a lot about how much you enjoy racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“I know we finished 21st in 2009 but that finish really doesn’t reflect how well we ran. I got spun out heading into Turn 1 and the rest is history. We were really fast. I ran inside the top 10 all night before I got spun out so that was obviously disappointing. Last year, we were really good, too. We actually had some bad luck and drove back to the front. We came in for a pit stop and pulled off pit road and had a flat left-rear tire. Somehow, the valve stem got knocked off the wheel. We had to pit again, lost all that track position and had to start from the back. We worked our way back up to the top 10 and ended up sixth. I don’t know what it is about Atlanta, I just really like it. I like everything about it. That was my home Supercross track so I always get a really good feeling when I go to Atlanta to race.”

The Atlanta Supercross race has been pretty good to you as well.

“The fan base in Atlanta has always been great for me. I’ve got a lot of cross-over fans who come to the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, too. I’ve got great fans all over the place but Atlanta has always been extra special for me because of the success I’ve had downtown at the Atlanta Supercross.”

Bristol didn’t turn out too well so does that become sort of a throw-away for you and the team?

“I’m looking forward to building on where we left off in Michigan. We went back to the same type of set up we ran last year and that worked really well for us. I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t pick up right where we left off at Michigan and do better than that. We’re bringing the same truck we ran at Michigan so I’m excited about that, as well. Bristol can go either way and obviously, it didn’t go the way we wanted it to. I’m focusing on building on the momentum we had coming out of Michigan.”

What’s the key to a fast lap around Atlanta?

“Atlanta is high-banked and really fast. It’s a multi-groove race track. You have to be able to get through the bumps in Turns 1 and 2. If you can get through there, on the bottom of the track without the bumps upsetting the handling on the truck, you’re setting yourself up for a good lap. Another thing is being able to run wide open as long as possible without building up too much heat in the right-front tire.”

- Turner Motorsports Press Release