Ricky Carmichael

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Ricky Carmichael (born November 27, 1979 in Clearwater, Florida) is a former professional motocross and supercross racer, now transitioning to a stock car career. While racing pro motocross and supercross, his nickname was G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time). He currently drives the #4 Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Incorporated in the Camping World Truck Series.

Career

After a dominant amateur career, Carmichael made his pro debut for the 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 125 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 RC 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 his 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. He had truly arrived.

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

Ricky accomplished something that year previously thought impossible. He won all 24 motos of the 2002 National season. There were a few close races, but Carmichael handily struck down every challenge.

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 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 CRF450, in 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). 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 super x title, with 7 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 5 points 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, RC 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, RC 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. Again, Carmichael continued to amaze and looked faster than ever, with three Supercross wins and six Outdoor National Championship wins (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, MD (which was held in the USA for the first time since 1987).

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ricky Carmichael

• Ricky Carmichael at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Schrader Racing website
• Ricky Carmichael Motocross.com Profile