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.

"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."