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Carmichael 23rd at Kansas.  Matches Career-Best Start of Third

04/28/09

Ricky Carmichael and the No. 4 Monster Energy / KHI All-Stars team finished 23rd in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway. Mike Skinner scored the victory Monday in the rain-delayed and then rain-shortened race, followed by Johnny Benson, Brian Scott and KHI teammate Ron Hornaday in the fourth position. Carmichael remains in the 20th points position after five races in the 2009 season.

Ricky Carmichael Post-Race Quote: “It’s frustrating to see how hard the guys work and then we have a couple of spins and end up with a bad finish. I see my teammate (Hornaday) out there leading the race, so I know I have great equipment under me.”

About the lap three spin on the initial start Saturday: “Man, it was so loose I felt like I was doing donuts in every corner. I had a truck outside of me and it just snapped around. The truck wasn’t hurt, and we were able to continue but it was tough running in heavy traffic. It was so loose I just couldn’t race hard like I wanted to.”

About the incident on lap 71: “I don’t know what happened there. I was trying to give him (TJ Bell) room in turn three and I just touched the apron of the track and it snapped around again. The guys worked really hard to fix the truck and were able to go back out and gain a position at the finish.”

Race Highlights: Carmichael, the most successful motocross racer in American history, qualified in the third position, which tied his best career start. However, the promising start took a detour on lap three when Carmichael spun between turns one and two. Carmichael was able to save the truck from damage, and a quick pit stop was made to change four tires. Carmichael stayed on the lead lap, and survived another near-spin on lap 23. Carmichael was still on the lead lap in 21st position when rain began to fall and stopped the race on lap 52. The race was postponed until Monday.

When the race resumed with the green on lap 61, Carmichael was furiously racing with a pack of trucks until lap 71 when he spun and made contact with the truck of TJ Bell. The damage was severe and the No. 4 crew became The Little Team That Could as they sawed, hammered, bent and welded the Monster Energy truck back into commission, returning to the track as the leaders were on lap 126. A steady rain began to fall and the race was red-flagged, then called an official event on lap 132, 35 laps shy of the scheduled distance. Carmichael ended the day 77 laps behind in the 23rd position.

MOVIE STAR: Motocross champion. Truck racer. And now, movie star. Ricky Carmichael is one of the featured athletes in the ESPN/Disney film, X Games in 3D.  Carmichael is a two-time gold medal winner in the X Games, and will be featured alongside other extreme athletes Shaun White, Travis Pastrana, Danny Way and Bob Burnquist. The full-length film is the first sports-themed 3D movie.

ESPN E:60: Carmichael will appear on ESPN’s E:60 program Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET. Carmichael was interviewed for a feature on motocross star James Stewart. 

What’s Next: Carmichael is scheduled to race the Monster Energy / KHI All-Star Silverado again Friday, June 5 at Texas Motor Speedway.


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