Interview With Ricky Carmichael

Makita Suzuki

Mar 21, 2007

Q. Ricky, you seem to be having a lot going out here. You have a debut of your own coming up Saturday night in Lake City. But you’re also a proud father of a couple of twins?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: Yes, it’s been an amazing week for me, no doubt about it. And you know everything worked out and I had a, you know, an addition, a boy and a girl. And we got that done and I was able to finish up my last supercross race and that went very, very good and just really, really excited about this weekend.

But I’m nervous. But it’s a good nervous. It’s a great feeling that I haven’t had in a long time. And all the talking is about to stop now, because it’s time to start here.

Q. Ricky, I was surprised you didn’t name them “Super” and “Moto”.

RICKY CARMICHAEL: Come on. (Chuckling).

Q. Are you going to do any motocross, any two-wheel competition planned in the next couple of years?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: Going to do six outdoors and then the Motocross of Nations is in America this year. And I’m going to do that. That’s September. And then the rest is history for me. I’ve had all the fun I can stand and just really looking forward to driving. To be honest with you, that’s where my head’s been the last, I would say, four, 5 weeks.

And it’s been hard to stay motivated and focused on the two-wheel side of things. I’ve just been looking forward to that.

Q. Are you getting ready to bull does your supercross track in the backyard and have Mark come down and help you build a little short track?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: I already built a little dirt track and got some carts and stuff on it. It’s a pretty nice deal there. But I keep my supercross track there. I got a guy that rides with me, a young buck coming up.

And that’s my roots. And I enjoy to watch the young kids coming up.

Q. The last motorcross-related question, with you out there, is there really anybody that’s going to touch James?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: I don’t think anyone is in his level right now. But you know it’s not going to be like he’s just going to go out and dominate since I’m gone. You know, obviously, when he races me, we definitely run off from the pack.

But racing in any form of racing, you only do what you have to do to win. If one of those guys, Mark or Regan went to a local race, I’m sure it would be all they could do to beat some of the local guys.

But you throw those local guys in a Cup car and they wouldn’t even qualify. So that’s just the nature of the sport. And that’s just a natural thing that occurs is he’s only going to do what he has to do to win.

But no one is really in his league, though. There really is no one in his league.

Q. Ricky, I watched you stay night at the Citrus Bowl 42,000 fans screaming your name and now everything is going to be a little different this Saturday night. I mean mentally, do you have to readjust your thought plan because basically you’re just starting out another new career here?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: Absolutely. It’s a whole new thought plan. And for me it’s my first race. So I can drive the car; it’s just now being in a racing situation, I think it’s a really great time for me to learn some more. Every time I get behind the car it seems like I learn and learn.

And now being out there with some other drivers, it’s going to be tough. To be honest with you, I don’t know what to expect. I just want to do my best and be in there. And I’ll have a better guideline of what I think my potential is as a racer after this weekend.

Q. Have you ever even seen Columbia Motorsports Park?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: Just from what I’ve seen on the Internet. Just from that. But, no, I’ve never been there. As long as I’ve lived in Florida, I haven’t been there.

Q. You worked with Jeff Bendick when you first came up there with Kawasaki. Now you have a guy like Mark. How lucky are you to have two veteran guys like that to help you out and are there any similarities between the two?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: Absolutely. Jeff was really good at looking beyond and not just looking lap for lap and looking at the big picture. And he was very, very good mentally. It always seemed like he said the right things.

And I don’t really like for people to sugar coat things. If you’re having a bad day and you’re not cutting the mustard you need to be told that you’re no good. But at the same time there’s a certain way of going about it and just from the times that I’ve been able to work with Mark, he gives me that confidence that I really need at this stage.

If he’s blowing smoke or not it makes me feel really good. But he’s been incredible for me. He’s ridden a motorcycle in his day. And there are a lot of things that relate.

And it’s been a pleasure and I have a lot of trust in him and I listen to every word he says and it’s just an honor. That’s what I told everybody. When I did my deal again and I heard that he was coming, I could not believe it. And it’s simply been a pleasure. And I’m blessed to have him in my corner. There’s no doubt about it.

Q. Ricky, how much have you actually done in a stock car to get ready for this?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: I have a little bit of time, obviously, now under my belt. Enough to where I don’t have to count no more. But obviously I still lack many, many, many hours. But that’s part of the process. And I’m looking forward to getting much more seat time and just super excited that it’s starting this weekend.

Q. I remember you watching Jeremy off the track I think in your first race. How tough is it going to be for you to just take things easy and not go for the front, even though you know that --

RICKY CARMICHAEL: I think I’ve learned a lot through my motocross career and supercross career to have them patience. And I know it’s going to take a while to get where we want to be and to get to our goal. And we have to do what we have to do. And as far as me doing anything, I don’t think that I’m going to be the guy that’s doing anything. I think that I’m going to have a bullet on my back or the car, there’s no doubt about it. But it seems that it’s been that way for my whole career in motorcycle racing. So I’ll be used to it.

It won’t bother me. It’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s when it’s going to happen. I’m not out there to ruffle any feathers. I’m more interested on taking care what I have to do and progressing and trying to make this whole deal happen and look at the long-term goal, where Regan and Mark are.

Q. Thank you. Ricky, we’ve got the supercross series coming here this weekend. Obviously a lot of people in this town wishing you hung around for one more week. But I was just wondering, when you came into that series, you were kind of replacing a legend with Jeremy McGrath, and now James Stewart is kind of facing that same situation, becoming the face of the sport in place of you. I wanted to ask you about some of the pressures maybe that he’ll be feeling in being the man now?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: It’s a tough role. And for me it was the physical part of it was the easy thing. It can mentally wear on you, like Mark was saying. It’s so mentally tough on you.

And for me, the 10 years, I was always winning a championship and you were always under the gun to defend it. He’s going to be under the same thing now. And you know it’s his job as the champion and being the guy of the sport to take it to that next level as I tried to do after Jeremy left. Now he’s the next guy to do that.

And it’s a lot going on and it’s a lot happening. So you definitely find out what people are made of in times like these. And for him, I think him being an African American, I think it’s going to be tough for him to stay in that position for too long, because he has so many opportunities.

But it’s going to be tough. But if he can surround himself with good people that have his best interests at heart and in mind, I think he can do it. But I’d be surprised if he makes it as long as I did or Jeremy did, just because of the opportunities that will come to him.

Q. How important, Ricky, is the series itself to have a marquee star to kind of have that one guy that people come out to watch?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: It’s really important, because you know obviously supercross wants to be where NASCAR is, but unfortunately there’s not enough parity. So we need that key guy. There was Jeremy, there was me now there’s James.

Unless they can do something to make the racing better where 10 guys have a chance to win rather than one guy all the time, he’s going to—it’s super important to have that one marquee guy.

And that’s what I’m trying to do for the motorcycle racing is get it more like NASCAR, where you can come to a race and your guy has a chance to win, not just the same old guy all the time. So it’s important right now that he’s in there.

Q. For Ricky, Damian touched a little bit about this. But I want you to explain to us who have never driven anything competitively what the transition has been like coming off two wheels and going to four. I mean you know can you give us specifics about track time and just preparing yourself physically for the transition?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: You know the biggest thing for me has been just I’m learning something every time that I get in the car as opposed to a motorcycle. I’ve done it for so long, 22 years, that it was like putting on my shoes. For me it takes a lot more mental concentration in the car than a motorcycle. But the thing that is easier for me in a car is the physical aspect of it.

It’s much easier. I’m not out of breath. And you know strength-wise, it’s much easier for me. And so that’s one good thing that I can turn over. And another thing you’re always racing that’s going to be the same no matter whether it’s a motorcycle or a car. It’s just learning what the car does and what the motorcycle does. And so the racing is always the same no matter what form of racing.

The biggest thing for me has been the amount of focus you have to have in a car as opposed to a motorcycle. I have to stay much more focused.

Q. Where have you been making laps? What tracks have you been working on just to try to get used to the sensation?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: I started out at Hickory North Carolina a few times. New Samerna and Lakeland those two tracks I’ve been to a few times. I’ve only been to Lakeland once but the others I’ve been to quite a few times. Not enough but that’s fixing to pick up and we’ll put in our time.

Q. For Ricky, what do supercross skills will transfer best to the stock car track?

RICKY CARMICHAEL: I think the racing mentality, the racing instincts and supercross, you have to be much more on your game. Everything is coming up to you so fast that there is a bit more focus in supercross than you need in the outdoor motocross. So I think that’s what will transfer. I think that will help me when there’s more cars on the track with me I think that I could carry some of that over. But it’s hard for me to really tell you what, because I haven’t raced and I will be able to answer that more precisely next week for you.