Ricky Carmichael admits that even he is stunned by his success.
“When I sit back and look at it,” the 26-year-old rider said recently, “to never lose an outdoor title ... it's pretty amazing.”
He's right.
Sunday afternoon at Glen Helen Park in San Bernardino, Carmichael closes out his seventh straight AMA Toyota Nationals Motocross championship.
Sadly, he could also be closing perhaps the greatest chapter in American Supercross/motocross history.
Earlier this season, Carmichael announced he will no longer campaign in either two-wheel discipline after the close of this season.
CHECKERED FLAGS
Kasey Kahne: Dodge driver sweeps both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series races at California Speedway, keeps his Chase for the Championship hopes alive.
Mat Mladin: Leads two straight 1-2-3 Suzuki sweeps in the Superbike race at Atlanta to give him 50 career wins in the series. Ben Spies second in both races
RED FLAGS
John Force: Red lights at the first round of the U.S. Nationals to hand Funny Car points lead back over to Carlsbad's Ron Capps.
Dario Franchitti: Will miss Sunday's Indy Racing League season finale after suffering concussion while qualifying for a vintage race in England. He missed most of 2003 IRL season after suffering back injury in motorcycle accident in Scotland.
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Beginning in January, he plans to ride in selected Supercrosses and motocrosses while pursuing other racing opportunities – most notably, NASCAR.
But no more two-wheel campaigns, he says.
“The way I look at it,” says Carmichael, “if I keep racing, I'm going to get beat. You have to know when your time is. I'm happy with what I've accomplished in my career.
“I'm glad to go out on top.”
No rider has ever been on top more than the 5-foot-8, 150-pound athlete from Havana, Fla.
Last Sunday in Delmont, Pa., Carmichael scored his ninth win in 11 starts this season, giving him a record 70 race wins in his seven-year run as the undisputed king of motocross. No. 2 on the all-time list is Bob Hannah with 27 wins.
Outdoors, add three 125cc nationals motocross titles to his list – that's 10 straight championships starting at age 17 in a physically pounding sport.
And that's only part of the story.
Carmichael won five AMA Supercross championships and 48 events.
For those without a calculator handy, that's 15 AMA championships and 144 event wins, both records. No. 2 on the all-time victory list is Supercross king Jeremy McGrath with 89 overall wins, including a record 72 in Supercross.
It's not hard to argue that Carmichael is the best-ever across obstacles on two wheels. Much was made of Travis Pastrana's run during the X Games. but on the track, Pastrana was no match for Carmichael. No one was ... or is.
How has Carmichael stayed on top for so long?
“I'm just a self-motivated person,” he says. “It's always been easy for me to try to win. There are always new challenges. The bikes have changed so much. And there's always someone new to race each year.”
Carmichael reached the pinnacle by knocking off McGrath. And he stayed there by beating back the challenges of talented riders such as James Stewart and Chad Reed.
The only thing that stopped Carmichael was the knee injury that sidelined him for the entire 2004 Supercross season. He rebounded from that injury by winning every heat of the 2004 motocross season – for the second time in his career.
Carmichael's future interests are on four wheels. Specifically, NASCAR. He tested in July and has had discussions with Joe Gibbs Racing about getting a start in the ARCA series.
But he promises never to turn his back on Supercross/motocross.
“This sport has been very good to me over the years,” he says. “I know that, which is why I plan to always ride some events. I don't want to rush into anything. I want to go at my own pace.”
And who knows, if the four-wheel gig doesn't work out ...
“I have the option to race a full Supercross or motocross season next year if I want to,” he said. “Right now, the plan is to race half of both seasons for Suzuki. I want to do races that are my favorites.”
Unfortunately, that could be bad news for San Diego fans. Carmichael won only once at Qualcomm Stadium and he has never been in love with the hard, fast surface.
Hopefully, Carmichael will have a change of heart and campaign again in 2007.
Bill Center: (619)