Supercross takes over Sam Boyd

Ricky Carmichael will have a monster Saturday.

After the 15-time Supercross and Motocross champion drives his No. 4 Chevrolet in the Smith's 350 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he will race across town for the inaugural Monster Energy Cup at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"I'm just glad the speedway is going to let me use a shower after my race," he said.

Carmichael's interest in the new Supercross event is beyond being a fan and commentator for the night's live Speed telecast.

Carmichael and fellow two-wheel legend Jeremy McGrath helped design the unique course that combines elements of Supercross and Motocross. Inside the stadium is a traditional Supercross track that includes a tight turn that runs up the closed end of the venue, and a long Motocross portion has been built outside the grandstand.

"It's a hybrid track that will produce really good racing and be fun for the racers and good for TV," Carmichael said.

The overall winner will be the rider with the best combined finishes from three 10-lap feature races and will earn $100,000.

If one rider wins all three segments, he will pocket $1 million.

But not even the potential big payday and unique circuit could lure Carmichael back to two-wheel racing.

"It would be fun just to ride the track, but my motorcycle racing days are over," the 31-year-old Floridian said.

Carmichael is happy racing his second full season in the truck series and plans to return to the Turner Motorsports team in 2012. He is 16th in points, with five top-10 finishes through 20 races.­­­­

"This year hasn't gone as good as it should have," said Carmichael, who will try for his second truck pole of the year when qualifying begins at 4:30 p.m. today. "We need to run up front more consistently like we have the last few weeks."

Jeff Wolf is a freelance reporter. He can be reached at (702) 406-8165 or nitrorodeo@gmail.com.