All it took was a trip to the Daytona 500 for Carmichael to realize where his next test should be -- on four wheels instead of two. Yep, the man who won more motocross races than anyone threw down the kickstand and jumped behind the wheel of a truck.
"I was pretty much done with what I wanted to do in motocross and supercross racing," Carmichael said. "The opportunity came, I tried it and liked it, and one thing led to another."
Kevin Harvick gave him the chance.
The NASCAR driver had met Carmichael during Daytona Speedweeks in 2005 and knew of his impressive dirt-bike reputation. The two crossed paths last spring at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Harvick saw Carmichael race for the first time in a regional trucks race.
Impressed by what he saw, Harvick talked it over with his wife and business partner, DeLana, and called Carmichael a week later to see if he'd be interested in racing for Kevin Harvick Incorporated. It didn't take long to get an answer.
"He called me up out of the blue and asked me what my plans were, told me what his plans were and we ended up forming a little program," Carmichael said. "It was so cool to just get a call from him out of the blue and we made it work."
Signing Carmichael certainly made sense from a marketing standpoint. Carmichael already had a recognizable name and his popularity in motocross offered an opportunity to lure a new demographic of fans to the truck series.
As for competition, the 30-year-old motocross star already had an advantage: he knew how to race. Maybe not on four wheels, but clearly he had a knack for reaching the finish line, winning 15 American Motorcyclist Association championships and 150 races, including two perfect seasons.
"Obviously, everyone knows how successful Ricky has been on two wheels, including myself," Harvick said. "The best thing about Ricky is you only need to teach him the aspects of driving a truck. Everything else comes natural to him from his days in motocross."
Carmichael became interested in four-wheel racing when he was nursing a knee injury in 2000 and attended the Daytona 500. He raced a few times in late-model cars after that, then spent a developmental year learning to drive trucks after retiring from motocross in 2007.
Carmichael is 20th in the points with one top-10 finish after racing in all five events so far this season in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Yeah, it's a work in progress. Carmichael is still trying to learn the nuances of driving trucks and the various tracks. He's getting the hang of it, but needs more time behind the wheel to progress toward his goal of landing a Sprint Cup ride.
"The biggest thing Ricky still needs is seat time at the tracks where the truck series races," Harvick said.
The move to the truck series has required Carmichael to make adjustments in other areas as well.
Once the undisputed king of his sport, a rider recognized around the world, he has become just another driver in NASCAR's minor leagues. Funny part is, he loves every minute of it, almost as if he's taken a trip through time.
"It brings me back to where I was in motocross in the amateur days," he said. "I was a pretty good amateur and won a lot of races, but still had to work my way up to the top level. I'm probably a little more behind in this than I was being an amateur racer, but I feel confident in my abilities that I can make this happen."
No matter what happens with this career, Carmichael will also stay close to motorcycle riding.
He still rides all the time, doing tests for Suzuki, keeping in shape in his backyard playground. Carmichael recently shot some footage for an upcoming 3D Disney movie on the X Games and spends time mentoring younger riders.
After 25 years of riding -- since he was 5 -- there's no way he was going to just give it up completely.
"I'll always be involved in that sport. I love it," Carmichael said. "It gave me the opportunity to do this, just by the name that it gave me, so I'll be a part of that forever."
