Fifteen-time AMA motocross champion Ricky Carmichael.(Photo: LAT Photographic)

But he wasn’t always the sport’s kingpin.

“Actually, my brother beat him in one of the nationals when they were amateurs,” says Sprint Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer. Bowyer cut his racing teeth on a motorcycle, too, and the Bowyer and Carmichael families often parked side by side when their children were competing.

“I remember seeing this little red-headed turd,” Bowyer says, laughing. “I mean, he was just always wide open, 20 mph faster than anybody wherever it was. You just knew there was something about that kid, his talent and ability that was just so far above anyone I’d ever seen.”

Their families grew close – Carmichael’s father, Rick, known as “Big Rick” and Bowyer’s father, Chris, remain the best of friends.

“Probably the funniest thing that happened back then was the battle between Ricky’s dad and my dad and our dog,” Bowyer says. “We always parked together at one of the nationals, and our dog would always go to the bathroom on the welcome mat right in front of their motorhome.

“One time we got in our motorhome, Dad pulled the curtains back in the front and one of those ‘droppings’ was on the steering wheel.

“But I’m just really proud of Ricky. Everything that they’ve done, the sacrifices that they, as a family, made to get where they are is pretty incredible. There aren’t a lot of people that have that much integrity and the willpower to do what they did.”

The motocross pipeline snakes through NASCAR. Four-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson also got his start on bikes. The Hendrick Motorsports driver knows how difficult the transition from two wheels to four can be.

“For me, luckily, I had an intermediate step where I was in off-road trucks,” Johnson says. “But still, going from that off-road mentality of racing on dirt to asphalt, is tough. And the toughest part, especially for a motocross rider [is] you don’t adjust the vehicle [in motocross]. You go to the gym, you work harder and you change your techniques.

“With a car, you can affect the setup, you can affect the line; but the bulk of it is based on the car and it’s just a different way of thinking to actually complain about the car and what’s wrong with it. On a bike, there is no complaining, you just look at yourself in the mirror. That’s a big thing to get used to, and to understand how to communicate the subtle things that you need the car to do.”

So can Carmichael, as talented as he may have been on two wheels, make the transition to four?

“Absolutely,” Johnson says. “[It’s all about] having a sponsor that’s patient, having a team that’s patient and getting the seat time. He really went from two to four [wheels] and right to the asphalt – where I had a handful of years racing big vehicles and getting used to it.

“He has the ability, he has the talent, and coming off the bikes, he has no fear. There’s nothing that is going to scare him in one of these cars. It’s just going to take awhile to develop the skills that are needed for this type of racing.”

Despite his success, Carmichael says he worried when he made the jump from amateur to pro that “if I didn’t do good, they could get me out of my contract.”

Ricky Carmichael circles the WinStar World Casino 400 trophy while competing in a motorcycle skills challenge against members of the Fort Worth Police Department Motorcycle Unit at TMS. (Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)

“From 1997 until 2001, I always felt like I had to fight and get good results,” he says. “I was just never sure. It wasn’t until after 2001 that I finally was able to quit worrying about it.”

It’s a similar feeling, he says, now that he’s trying to make his mark in NASCAR’s Truck Series.

“Oh, yeah,” Carmichael says. “There are two elements to that deal. I want to do good because I want to stick around, and I want to do good because I have to be appealing to the sponsors and generate revenue to keep funding my program.

“We really have a great bunch of guys working, and that’s what you need. In some way, shape or form, you’re only as good as the men you have working for you. And I think we’ve got a great team behind us.”

This story originally appeared in the July issue of NASCAR Illustrated.

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