Dodge/RCH Racing SX Race Advance - Monster Energy Cup - Las Vegas

October 14, 2013 , LAS VEGAS -  DODGE/RCH RACING NEWS
·   Broc Tickle (No. 20 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/RCH Racing/Bel-Ray/Suzuki RM-Z450) is the lone RCH Racing rider competing in the 2013 Monster Energy Cup. Tickle earned his Monster Energy Cup berth by finishing 10th in the 2013 450SX rider point standings. He is making his second Monster Energy Cup start. In 2011 he qualified fifth and rode to a ninth-place overall finish riding a Kawasaki.

FAST FACT: LAS VEGAS
·   Monster Energy Cup will air live Saturday on FOX Sports 2 at 9 p.m. (EDT) from Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium. FOX Sports 1 will re-air the entire race Sunday at 1 p.m. (EDT).

DID YOU KNOW
·   Broc Tickle finished 10th in this year’s Monster Energy Supercross Series season finale at Las Vegas (Round 17).
·   Broc Tickle’s 2013 SX season statistics include nine top- 10 finishes in 17 450SX class starts. He scored a SX season-best finish of seventh at Seattle (Round 15).
·   Chris Blose was the first-ever Dodge rider to compete in the Monster Energy Cup. Blose rode the No. 38 Dodge to finishes of 10-16-15 in 2011.
·   The Monster Energy Cup afternoon qualifying sessions will be streamed live on Saturday 4-7:30 p.m. (EDT) athttp://www.MonsterEnergyCup.com/SupercrossLive.
·   Monster Energy Cup will consist of three 10-lap Main Events with 22-rider fields. A rider winning all three Main’s will collect $1 million. The overall 450SX winner will earn $100k.

THE DODGE BOYS
·   Dodge is seeking its first 450SX race win with RCH (Ricky Carmichael / Cary Hart) Racing.
·   Broc Tickle’s career-best finish of second came at the 2006 SX event at Toronto.
·   Five-time Monster Energy Supercross Champion and RCH Racing owner Ricky Carmichael is the track designer for this year’s Monster Energy Cup race at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.
·   Dodge/RCH Racing did not have an entry in last year’s Monster Energy Cup event.

BROC TICKLE                                                                        
No. 20 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/RCH Racing/Bel-Ray/Suzuki RM-Z450
Birthdate: 11/21/1989                                 
Hometown: Holly, Mich.                             Mechanic: Tony Berluti
                                                                         
Highlights
·   First season riding the No. 20 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/RCH Racing/Bel-Ray/Suzuki RM-Z450.
·   Finished 10th in the 2013 450SX rider standings with nine top-10 finishes in 17 starts. 
·   2011 AMA Supercross Series Lites West champion.

DODGE/RCH RACING QUOTES
BROC TICKLE (No. 20 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/RCH Racing/Bel-Ray/Suzuki Z450)
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT RACING IN YOUR SECOND CAREER MONSTER ENERGY CUP RACE? “I’m excited to get back and race Monster Cup. A lot of guys (top riders) are racing and I think it will be a good gauge to see where I’m at on the bike. I feel really good on the track. I feel better than I did this time last year and we’ve made great improvements to our Suzuki. We’re excited.
 
“I took some time off the bike but have been training for the last four weeks. Ricky (Carmichael) came out to California to help test the bike and work with our engine program. The bike is really fast. I’m really happy with the progress that we’ve made since the outdoor season. I’ve had some really good training. I feel great.
 
“Racing in Vegas is always cool. The crowd really supports the Monster Energy Cup. It’s a great atmosphere. We’re racing for $1 million, so there’s a lot on the line. The track layout looks really gnarly, so it’s should be a great show.”
 
RICKY (CARMICHAEL) LOOKS TO HAVE REALLY DESIGNED A GNARLY TRACK LAYOUT FOR THE MONSTER CUP: “For sure. Ricky always comes up with something cool and unique for the Monster Energy Cup race. This year’s event will have the split start, Joker Lane and wide-sweeping banks. Ricky builds some gnarly stuff that’s great to race on.”
 
TALK ABOUT THE SPLIT START: “This will be my first race with a split start, so it’s going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out. I think the split start is cool because it breaks up the race start and you don’t have every rider trying to pound it into Turn 1. Race starts are so critical in Supercross and a split start just gives you a chance to avoid all the contact that you would normally have with a standard start. We’ve made some nice improvements with our engine, which should carry over to my race start. Things are looking good. I’m pumped with how the bike feels when the gate drops.”
 
A JOKER LANE WAS ADDED TO THE TRACK AGAIN THIS YEAR. WILL TRACK POSITION DECIDE WHEN TO USE THE JOKER?  “We’ll have to see how it shakes out. There will definitely be strategy involved when you decide to take Joker Lane. The cool thing about it (riders must take the Joker turn once during the 10-lap race) is that you really don’t know which riders have or haven’t taken the Joker. The race becomes more of a timed event because all the riders are on different strategies.  It’s cool. You could be racing a guy in front of you and next thing you know he’s off into the Joker and gone. It makes for exciting racing.”
 
YOU’RE RACING FOR $1 MILLION AT THE MONSTER ENERGY CUP. DOES THAT KIND OF INCENTIVE MAKE YOU PUSH THE ENVELOP EVEN MORE? “For sure. You have to race hard and get consistent finishes to put yourself in position to win it. Racing for $1 million is a life changer for a rider. You have to ride consistent for three races (three 10-lap Main Events) and not make any mistakes. It’s a stacked field with (Ryan) Villopoto, (Justin) Barcia and others. You can’t focus too much on the money, just ride hard and try to put yourself in a position to challenge for the $1 million in the third race.”
 
RICKY CARMICHAEL (Owner, RCH Racing)
YOU DESIGNED A PRETTY UNIQUE CIRCUIT FOR SATURDAY’S MONSTER ENERGY CUP RACE. WHAT WAS THE THOUGHT BEHIND THE DESIGN? “It’s a cool design. I’m really happy with the track. It’s going to be hard to beat last year’s design, but very similar. We turned the track around in a different direction from last year’s footprint. We kept the Joker Lane, which was a huge success. There’s going to be some great racing. Almost everybody (top riders) will be there shooting for the $1 million payday. I’m a fan of the racing and the track design should make Saturday a lot of fun to watch.”
 
THE JOKER TURN SEEMS TO CHANGE THE RIDER STRATEGY BECAUSE YOU REALLY DON’T KNOW WHERE THE GUYS YOU’RE RACING ARE ON THE TRACK. WAS THAT THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE JOKE LANE? “Pretty much. It was cool to put the Joke Lane in as a one-off race and see how the riders approached the course. It’s cool to see the different strategies, when each rider is going to take the Joker. Will they take the Joker at the beginning, middle or end of the race? It’s cool to watch the race play out and see how strategy plays into the race. It was a nail bitter last year and it worked out for Eli (Tomac) in the last segment. He took the Joker early and ended up winning (Justin Barcia led the first half of the race but lost the lead when he took the required Joker detour at the end). For that particular race, Monster Energy Cup, it was about thinking outside the box, putting fun stuff into the race and it worked out.”
 
WHAT’S UP WITH THE SPLIT START? “At the end of the day, there’s two 10-man gates and each (starting) spot is precious. The split start allows 10 guys to battle for real estate versus all 20 pounding it into Turn 1. Same concept, just not as many guys and everyone funnels into the standard-width track. It’s cool.”
 
BROC SHOWED TOP 10 IN BOTH THE INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SERIES THIS YEAR? WHAT GETS HIM A PODIUM THIS WEEKEND? “It should be a good weekend for RCH. I don’t think Broc has all the riding in that he’d like heading into the weekend. This is the time of the year that you would like to do some testing, not at full-blown level. I think Broc will be fine. We want to use the weekend as a benchmark for where we are with some of the changes that we’ve made to the bike. It’s almost a test race for us. I’m expecting Broc to ride hard and do well. This is a tuning race to see where we’re at and see where we can improve. Don’t get me wrong, you want to win and go for the $1 million payday, but you’re also using the race to gauge where you are heading into January.”


 
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