WHAT THE MASS MEDIA IS SAYING ABOUT RC’S NASCAR PLANS

Motocrossers always complain that they don’t get enough attention of the outside media. Well, Ricky Carmichael changed all that when he made his announcement last week that he was signing a three-year deal with MB2/Ginn Racing. Ricky made all the major papers and the MXA gang gather up a sample of press reports from everything from Sport’s Illustrated to USA Today.

On the whole they are positive about Ricky and motocross, but don’t be surprised to find a few clinkers in the news stories.


ST. PETERSBURG TIMES:

TALENT HUNT MAY BE GETTING DESPERATE

BY BRANT JAMES

MB2 Motorsports’ signing of motocross superstar Ricky Carmichael to a developmental deal last week doesn’t just validate stock car racing as North America’s preeminent avenue for racers to get rich, famous and satisfied competitively. It validates Kyle Petty’s long-held assertion that the field of talent is ever-fallow.

“When the owners out here as a whole have to keep Mark Martin hanging on, have to go back and get Ricky Rudd, have to bring Terry Labonte and Bill Elliott back, that’s a sign, dude,” he said. “There’s nobody in the pipeline.”

Yes, there is hope as long as Formula One drivers such as Juan Pablo Montoya and Indy Racing League champions such as Sam Hornish Jr. want to give NASCAR a try. But what if they’re no good at it?

Teams may have to be even less conventional in looking for talent. If Carmichael is worth a shot, certainly Jeremy McGrath and James “Bubba” Stewart are also. What about Moto GP’s Nicky Hayden? He’s from Owensboro, Ky., like the Waltrips and the Greens, so he should know a little about a stock car.

How far afield could they go? Hey, Shaun White has experience on four wheels when he’s doing the skateboard thing. And the half pipe looks sort of like Turn 3 at Talledega.

How about jockey Edgar Prado? He’s more used to horsepower, though just one at a time.


CHARLOTTE OBSERVER:

MOTOCROSS STAR SIGNS WITH MX2
CARMICHAEL TO DRIVE IN LATE MODEL

BY DAVID POOLE

MB2 Motorsports has signed 15-time American Motorcyclist Association motocross national champion Ricky Carmichael to a driver development contract that will begin with the 2007 season.

Carmichael, 26, has a record 144 AMA Supercross and motocross wins.

“Ricky is, in our opinion, the Michael Jordan of motocross, one of the most determined riders ever,” said Jay Frye, general manager of MX2 Motorsports. “He’s a winner. He’s going to be a huge, huge part of MB2’s future going forward.”

Frye said Carmichael will run an abbreviated schedule of around 16 AMA races next year and then about 15 late model stock car races, most likely at tracks near his Florida home. He also could test or race in Automobile Racing Club of America or NASCAR Truck Series events before his schedule is “accelerated” in 2008.

Carmichael’s signing is the second major move in two weeks for the team. Mark Martin announced last weekend at Talledega, Ala., that he will drive a partial schedule for the team next year, sharing a car with Regan Smith.


YAHOO SPORTS:

A QUICK HISTORY LESSON

BY BOB MARGOLIS

You’ve got to hand it to NASCAR’s newest millionaire team owner Bobby Ginn. He’s definitely making an impression. But it’s not clear exactly what kind of impression he’s making.

Signing Mark Martin (reportedly for big money) to drive the U.S. Army car next season is all about putting that team’s program back on track and the 01 car into the winner’s circle not to mention benefiting from the attention and prominence one of the sport’s most popular drivers brings.

It’s not much of a stretch to assume that it’s also to keep the Army happy. After all, finishing around 30th every other week can’t be putting a big smile on the face of the guy in the Pentagon who’s writing the big check for the program.

The U.S. Army-sponsored Top Fuel dragster in NHRA competition has won two titles in a row and is poised to win its third this season all on a budget far less than what is being spent in NASCAR.

But I’m puzzled by the announcement of motorcycle megastar Ricky Carmichael signing a (reportedly) long-term deal as a development driver with MX2/Ginn. Carmichael has never driven a stock car and is coming to NASCAR because it’s been a dream of his.

His name had being linked to both Evernham Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing in the past, but now, for no apparent reason other than big dollars (which Carmichael insists isn’t a factor yeah, right!), he signs with MB2, which has no driver development program, but seemingly tons of dollars to spend.

The only driver in NASCAR who doesn’t need the money is Paul Menard, who, to his credit, doesn’t act that way.

MB2/Ginn apparently has chosen to ignore all of the drivers that took part in the recent GM Driver Evaluation Program several of which could easily jump into a Busch program next season and instead tapped someone with absolutely no experience in a four-wheel race vehicle.

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with giving arguably the best motorcycle racer in America a shot in NASCAR. However, Carmichael is years away from coming to any of NASCAR’s premier leagues.

So what, then, is the purpose of signing Carmichael now, other than for a P.T. Barnum-like spectacle?

It’s a slap in the face to the dozens of more experienced and better-qualified weekend warriors in America who race their hearts out in their late model stock cars, winning races and yearning for the opportunity for someone to pay attention and maybe give them a shot at stardom.

Besides, if MB2/Ginn was looking for a talented cyclist with four-wheel experience, why not tap Travis Pastrana instead? Pastrana, known for his freestyle motocross abilities, has competed in a rally car for Subaru.

History tells us that the successful team owners in NASCAR (Hendrick, Roush and Gibbs among them) built their organizations from the ground up and spent many years and millions of dollars to reach the level of success they currently enjoy.

Ginn says he’s in NASCAR because owning a race team has always been a dream of his. With absolutely no knowledge of the NASCAR business and with team CEO Jay Frye as his guide, Ginn is spending millions of dollars on his dream.

Several seasoned veterans in the NASCAR garage tell me that the Ginn saga reminds them of J.D. Stacy, a free-spending team owner from the early 1980s.

Stacy was a coal-mining millionaire who came to NASCAR with pockets full of cash. In 1982, he had seven cars entered in the Daytona 500.

Stacy quickly spent his money and then left a trail of lawsuits.

Dale Earnhardt actually drove a few races for Stacy early in his career as did, ironically, soon-to-be MX2/Ginn driver Mark Martin.


U.S.A. TODAY:

MOTOCROSS LEGEND CARMICHAEL TAPPED TO JOIN NASCAR TEAM

BY A.J. PEREZ

Ricky Carmichael’s evolution from two to four wheels will take the most successful motocross racer in history to MB2 Motorsports, the second high-profile signing in a week for the midlevel NASCAR Nextel Cup team.

And the 15-time motocross and supercross champ whom MB2 Motorsports general manager Jay Frye called “the Michael Jordan of motocross” didn’t even need to try out.

“We heard he did really well,” Frye said. “We think the kid will be good and he has the opportunity to be great.”

Carmichael’s only experience in stock cars came in late-model tests with Evernham Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing the last two years. “It’s going to be a tremendous challenge,” Carmichael said.

Carmichael, 26, will split his first year of the three-year deal between supercross/motocross and stock cars. His 2007 slate will include 15 races behind the wheel of a late-model stock car at a yet-to-be-determined East Coast track and about 16 supercross/motocross events before he retires from the sport he’s dominated for nearly a decade.

Frye said Carmichael also could race in the Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA, a series a notch below trucks, near the end of the 2007 season.

“The schedule is going to be the most difficult part,” Carmichael said. “This could be my toughest year of racing with both going wide open. It won’t be as physically challenging as psychologically challenging.”

Carmichael is the first in-house developmental driver at MB2, which signed veteran ÿMark Martin to run part time in Cup next season. The team which was purchased by developer Bobby Ginn in July and will be known as Ginn Racing next season had been in discussions with Carmichael for several weeks.


SPORTS ILLUSTRATED:

MOTOCROSS CHAMP CARMICHAEL EYES MOVE TO NASCAR

BY TIM TUTTLE

Ricky Carmichael is arguably the greatest motocross racer of all time. But he may trade in his two-wheel ride for NASCAR’s four-wheel variety,ÿperhaps as soon as 2008.

He has a friend, mentor and supporter in Kasey Kahne, whoÿspent last Saturday –ÿon a rare weekend off from Nextel Cup — hanging out with Carmichael at the AMA Supercross at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Kahne and Carmichaelÿare the same age (26) and share the same passion for racing, having met at the Daytona 500 in 2004 and immediately becoming friends.

That friendship has helped increase Carmichael’s interest in four-wheel racing. Kahne offered to set up a taste of driving a stock car last summer and Carmichael accepted. They went to the one-third mile, semi-banked Hickory Speedway in North Carolina, a classic short track where many NASCAR drivers have run before they hit the big time. Ray Evernham, Kahne’s Cup team owner, provided a late model and went along to oversee the preparation. Kahne drove to set it up.

“We wanted to see what feel he had for the car,” Kahne said. “When a driver doesn’t have any laps, Hickory is a great place to go.”

Carmichael not only didn’t hit the wall, but alsoÿput in some good laps for a guy driving a stock car for the first time. “Ricky did a great job,” Kahne said. “He did it right. We had a lot of fun.”

The experience convinced Carmichael that driving in NASCAR is something he intends to pursue.

“It’s a dream of mine, for sure,”ÿhe said.

For now, Carmichael is the biggest star in a sportÿin whichÿbodies wear out early. The motocross season runs year-round, from the stadiums of Supercross in the winter and spring to the outdoor nationals in summer and fall. The pounding on the bones and joints is relentless. Carmichael has fractured hands and wrists and missed the 2004 Supercross season after having knee surgery. “I’m 26 and I feel like I’m 36,” he said.

For a rider of Carmichael’s talent, there are rich rewards. He has won six 250cc outdoor national championships and four in Supercross. Suzuki, according to industry sources, pays him $4.75 million per year in salary and offers $1 million bonuses for championships. Including endorsements, Carmichael’s estimated income for last year was $8 million-$10 million.

“What he’s done and what he does, nobody else has,” said Kahne, who arrived atÿSaturday’s motocross eventÿat noon and was still there at 11 p.m., waiting for the victorious Carmichael to complete his interviews in the media conference. “He’s pretty awesome and amazing to watch.”

Carmichael has one more year on his contract and hinted Saturday that it might be his last. “I love motocross, but I’m not going to be around here that much longer,” he said.

Heÿwouldn’t be the first to transition successfully from bikes to cars. John Surtees was world champion in motorcycle road racing and Formula 1. Jeff Ward was the 1980s version of Carmichael, winning seven national motocross and Supercross championships. In 1997, heÿwon an IRL IndyCar race and at the Indy 500 that year, he took third. Two years later, he finished second at Indy. Eddie Lawson was a world road racing champion, won a race in CART’s primary development series of Indy Lights and spent a season in Champ Cars.

Kahne doesn’t see any reason Carmichael and others on two wheels can’t make it in cars if they’re willing to invest the time.

“Those guys are very talented,” Kahne said. “You can watch them and see how talented they are. Anybody that talented and likes going fast and doesn’t have a problem racing close and jumping on top of each other just about, wouldn’t have a problem with any other type of racing.

“They just have to do it enough and get the experience you need,” he added. “Someone like Ricky Carmichael, withÿhis desire and focus, he could probably do anything he wants. If he wanted to race NASCAR and he putÿin the time and effort, I don’t see why he couldn’t.”