Carmichael: Jump to stock cars not easy (cont'd)

"I'm fixin' to start all over with some Late Model racing down in Florida. I've got to pay my dues," Carmichael said. "One thing that I've tried to tell everybody is that I'm just thankful for the opportunity. I've got some great people behind me, a great team behind me. I'm not claiming anything. I just want to make the best of it.

"I know I have the attitude to do what it takes. I just need to be taught. I'm here with open arms. I have the utmost respect for all of these drivers, and I want them to know that. I'm not claiming anything."

After racing in the 15 Late Model events this year, Carmichael is under contract to run 25 races for Ginn in 2008, "whether it's ARCA, or Busch and Truck (series). In '09 we're going to do 35 races and obviously we want to be competing in a series -- hopefully the Busch Series. Obviously that's an accelerated plan. But if I can stick to that, great. If I can do that in three years, that will be good."

Along the way, Carmichael said he intends to take full advantage of his new team members by picking the brains of Cup veterans Mark Martin and Joe Nemechek, who also are employed by Ginn Racing. Furthermore, Nemechek is another former dirt biker who can -- and already has -- offered valuable advice about making the transition from two wheels to four.

"I know what he's doing. That's what I grew up doing," Nemechek said. "Before your knees and all your stuff quit working, you're like, 'Man, I need to switch over to something I can sit down in.' That's kind of how I made my transition. I was good, too, racing against the best there was out there at the time. But he's just got it to a whole new level.

"Carmichael has a lot of respect for how I was able to make the transition and have some success, and I'm going to do everything I can to help him. The one thing I do know is that he adapts quick. And if you tell him something, he listens to what you tell him -- and then he's able to focus and try to incorporate that into what he's doing. That's a big factor. I think the odds are real good that he's going to make it."

Having raced in motorcycles against Carmichael and knowing how competitive Carmichael is, Bowyer grinned at the thought of his pal having to go to the smaller tracks and work his way up.

"He's such a big name that no one really expected him to take the time to go to a local track and do the things that he needs to do to learn," Bowyer said. "The fundamentals that all of us had to learn, it took years. Because of his name and because of his reputation, he's got to do it right off the bat.

"That's a tremendous amount of pressure on him, plus he's won, won, won. I told him, 'Hey, you're going to have to get used to losing.' That's probably going to be the hardest part for him. That boy, he's cocky. He's got a lot of confidence. And he should be cocky -- there's nobody better in the sport he's competing in. But there are going to be people better in this one."