Carmichael: Jump to stock cars not easy

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- He has been called the Dale Earnhardt of Motocross. He also has been called "the Angry Little Elf" by fellow competitors who have witnessed his temper on the rare occasions when things didn't go his way.

The question now is, can Ricky Carmichael make a successful transition from the world of dirt-bike racing to stock-car racing? Team owner Bobby Ginn of Ginn Racing, formerly MB2 Motorsports, is gambling that he can. Ginn signed Carmichael to a multi-year contract last October, after Carmichael first had flirted with Evernham Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing.

Carmichael said the choice was made because the Ginn folks made him feel most at home.

"It's really a family feeling, and I like that. Where I'm at in my career right now, I need that personal service. I don't need to be just another guy," Carmichael said. "Everybody is putting a lot of effort into this program, and that's what I felt like I needed. So that's why I chose them."

Carmichael stands just 5-foot-5 and weighs maybe 150 pounds. But he remains a heavyweight in motorcycle racing, having won more races than any other rider to participate in American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Supercross and motocross events.

He had won a total of 144 by the time Ginn signed him. Despite now embarking on a part-time motorcycle schedule as he begins to focus on his new stock-car career with 15 races in the Late Model division this year, Carmichael has kept on winning motocross events -- doing so again last Saturday in San Francisco.

A 15-time AMA national champion, twice Carmichael went an entire 24-race season without losing a single event -- first in 2002 and then again in 2004. His good buddy Clint Bowyer, who made the successful transition from motorcycles to cars and now drives at the Nextel Cup level for Richard Childress Racing, simply shakes his head in amazement at the mention of Carmichael's name.

"What a career he's had in motorcycles," Bowyer said. "It's just unbelievable, what he's been able to accomplish. Everybody knows obviously how successful Dale Earnhardt was in Cup racing. But he would be like Dale going out and winning every race and every championship -- having a perfect season by winning every race. That's the success he's had. If he can bring just a small percentage of that to car racing, I think he'll be very good."

Carmichael, 27, said he plans to take his time and work his way to the top in stock cars. Well, not really. But for him, taking three years to reach the Busch Series level of driving seems like taking his time after so many years of always running fast and up front in Supercross and motocross. (Continued)