Ricky Carmichael

Motocross/supercross career

After a dominant amateur career, Carmichael made his pro debut for the (Splitfire Pro Circuit) Kawasaki team in 1997. He was fast but erratic in Supercross; winning several main events. Crashes and inconsistency cost him the title to Suzuki's Tim Ferry. Outdoors, Carmichael was much more in his element, and he beat defending champion Steve Lamson for the win at the first round. Carmichael was very dominant and won the overall title in his rookie year.

He more than made amends for his rookie-season loss in Supercross by winning all 8 main events of the 1998 125cc East Region. He won the East/West shootout as well. Outdoors, he defended his title easily despite early challenges from Lamson, John Dowd, and Mike Brown.

Carmichael jumped to the 250 class for Supercross in 1999 with the Factory Kawasaki team. It started off reasonably well with some top 5 finishes, but had a violent crash in the early rounds and was forced to take time off. The rest of the year was filled with crashes and disappointing results and Carmichael failed to finish in the top 10 overall. He raced 125 outdoors once again with Pro Circuit, and again dominated that series for his third title in a row.

In 2000, Carmichael jumped to the 250 class full-time. He was much more consistent this year with regular top 5 finishes, including his first win at Daytona. He finished 5th overall behind eventual champion Jeremy McGrath; the latter's final title. Outdoors, Carmichael had no such trouble adapting the bigger bike and was the class of the field. He had some close battles with Sebastien Tortelli, but ended up winning the 250 National Championship in his first try.

By 2001, Carmichael had showed a new commitment to his fitness and preparation. After some early series battles with McGrath, Carmichael took a chokehold of the points lead and won 13 out of 15 Supercross races as well as the championship. After another battle with Tortelli and Kevin Windham outdoors, Carmichael won that title again as well.

Carmichael switched to Honda for 2002. He suffered a horrendous endo at round one of Supercross; earning no points. He mounted a furious comeback by winning 11 races from 16 and the title over David Vuillemin.

Carmichael accomplished something that year previously thought impossible. He won all 24 motos of the 2002 National season.

2003–2007

In 2003, Carmichael won both Supercross and National titles again; winning 7 races indoors where he faced a stiff challenge from Chad Reed. He won the National title again with a 9 race wins over Windham.

In 2004, Carmichael was injured for the Supercross season, he had a knee injury (torn ligaments/meniscus) but came back for the Motocross season to record his second perfect season; winning 24 of the 24 motos he raced and all 12 overalls on his Honda CRF 450; his first effort on a 4-stroke bike.

Carmichael entered the 2005 season as the underdog, due to missing the prior season with the knee injury, now as a Suzuki factory rider. In what was projected as "the perfect storm", James "Bubba" Stewart made his debut in the premier 250cc class, along with perennial contenders Chad Reed and Kevin Windham, Carmichael triumphantly regained his Supercross title, with seven victories to Reed's five, Stewart's three, and Windham's one. Later that summer, Carmichael won all 12 events in the 250cc Outdoor National Championship again; winning 22 of 24 motos on an RMZ450. Carmichael also scored the US Open of Supercross title and led Team USA to a convincing victory at the Motocross des Nations.

Carmichael campaigned the 2006 Supercross season aboard an RMZ450; his first attempt at indoor competition on a four-stroke. It was the most exciting series battle in recent memory. There were multiple points lead changes and race winners, and Carmichael, Reed, and Stewart all entered the Las Vegas finale within 5 points of each other. With Carmichael and Reed tied for the lead, and Stewart only 1 point behind them, it was a close race. Carmichael rode to a safe second-place finish behind Stewart and ended the series with 6 victories and his fifth Supercross championship. He indicated that 2006 would be his last full-time season and planned to retire the following year.

In the 2006 Outdoor National Championship season, Carmichael once again dominated all comers, including James Stewart, in winning 9 races and placing second twice. However, at the season finale at Glen Helen Raceway, Carmichael suffered a terrible crash while challenging James Stewart for the win and was unable to finish the race. Fortunately though, Carmichael had already clinched the overall championship at the prior round. In the crash, he sustained a shoulder injury and was unable to compete in the Motocross of Nations race in England. Ivan Tedesco replaced him on Team USA and helped lead the American team to victory.

As planned, Carmichael raced only a partial schedule in 2007. He would only race select events for Team Makita Suzuki while pursuing his new stock car career. Carmichael finished with three Supercross wins and six Outdoor National Championship wins, winning every race he entered. Carmichael capped his career with a winning performance at the X-Games and a victory with Team USA at the Motocross of Nations in Budds Creek, Maryland.

Stock car transition

In 2007, Carmichael signed a driver development contract with Ginn Racing, which would later be merged with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Under the tutelage of veteran Mark Martin, Carmichael started his transition to stock cars by racing late models throughout the country. With backing from Monster Energy, Carmichael later transitioned to Ken Schrader Racing, and ran a few races in the Camping World East Series, including the prestigious Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, California. In 2009, Carmichael was tabbed by Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick to drive the No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado in 18 races for Harvick's team, Kevin Harvick, Inc. Though the transition wasn't easy, Carmichael finished 22nd in Truck Series points that year. In 2010, Carmichael and Monster left KHI and went to Turner Motorsports, where he would gain 9 top tens en route to finishing 13th in the points. Carmichael also made his Nationwide Series debut at Kansas Speedway, starting 12th and finishing 18th. Carmichael returned to Turner for 2011, and split the No. 30 Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series with teammates James Buescher, Reed Sorenson, Jason Leffler and Mark Martin.

On September 2, 2011, Carmichael achieved his first career pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series. However, Truck success was hard to come by, and sponsor Monster Energy left him to join Kyle Busch Motorsports' Nationwide Series team. Carmichael was eventually released from Turner at the end of 2011.

Other activities

In 2009, for the BBC show Top Gear, Ken Block took James May out for Gymkhana-style driving at Block's stunt course at Inyokern Airport; an operational California airport. Carmichael appeared in a supporting role, to which Block described Carmichael as 'a good friend'.

He currently works on AMA Monster Energy Supercross Broadcasts on FS1

Awards

He was voted 2009 Camping World Truck Series Most Popular Driver.

In 2015, he was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

AMA Motocross / Supercross

Other motocross / supercross

X Games

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)