Former motocross star Ricky Carmichael had been scheduled to race fourteen Camping World Truck Series races this season for Kevin Harrick, Inc. with Monster Energy as the primary sponsor of the #4 truck. It now appears that Carmichael will race more than the 14 races originally schedule.

According to sources close to Carmichael, team owner Kevin Harvick will pick up the tab for next weekend’s truck series race at Atlanta, a race Carmichael was not scheduled to run. Carmichael is coming off a career best finish of 8th at California where he ran up front with the leaders for much of the race.

Harvick feels the former motocrosser has made enough progress to warrant funding him out of his own pocket for the American Commercial Lines 200 on March 7th.

The only catch? Monster Energy will get a free ride. Sources confirmed that Carmichael’s contract does not allow him to race without Monster Energy on the truck. Therefore, Monster Energy will enjoy free exposure on Carmichael’s truck while Harvick picks up the tab. No word on whether Harvick will fund future races, but you can expect to see Carmichael at Atlanta in the black #4 Chevy. – John ‘Captain Thunder’ Nevins’ for www.CaptainThunderRacing.com