RC content with four wheels but not snakes
If Floridian Ricky Carmichael could pick a second home it likely would be Las Vegas.
He started to race here before I arrived in 1999. It was rewarding to get to know him as he began to dominate Supercross. He is one of the nicest guys I've gotten to know in racing.
I always look forward to the truck races, but this year has added appeal because I’ll get to watch Carmichael race for the first time in something with four wheels. (A story more specific to Carmichael’s budding NASCAR career will be in Thursday’s Las Vegas Review-Journal and at lvrj.com.)
The Supercross legend arrived in town early for a Thursday news conference at the Hard Rock Cafe where he’ll talk about his first time four-wheel racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday night in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
And he loves being in Las Vegas.
"When I get there I just think about all the good times I’ve had. There’s been a lot of good times," he said in a telephone interview Tuesday from his home in Havana, Fla.
Carmichael is having a good year as a rookie in the truck series. He has two top-10s despite competing in only 13 of the 19 races. He drives for NASCAR star Kevin Harvick.
He said racing plans for next year are to run the full truck schedule and possibly a few NASCAR Nationwide Series races for Harvick, with continued sponsorship from Monster energy drink.
While he does not plan on racing again on a dirt bike Carmichael wouldn’t rule out returning to next year’s X Games on ESPN to defend the gold medal he shared with Ronnie Renner of Tampa, Fla., in July for tying for first in Step Up, which is like a pole vault competition with horsepower.
They each cleared 34 feet — vertically — but Carmichael crashed hard on his third and final try at 35 feet.
“I enjoy it, but they need some improvements,” Carmichael said of providing softer landings. “Falling 35 feet to the ground isn’t fun. I don’t want to get injured at this point in my life.
“Step Up is insane. I stalled my bike on one run and as I was coming down I thought, ‘What am I doing.’
“(Harvick) called me after he saw it on TV and said we need to find the funding to keep me in NASCAR and keep me off the bikes.”
Carmichael sounds fearless — and he is on racetracks — but on Tuesday afternoon, after playing in the pool with his 2-year-old twins, he presented a different side, and one I can relate to. It was his reaction after spotting a black snake in his yard.
“I hate snakes,” he said on his cell phone as he crept up on the reptile. “The only good snake is a dead snake.”
I asked if he was going to kill it.
“Not me. I'll have to have my wife come out and take care of it.”
It’s one of the few challenges Carmichael has backed down from.
Truckers to the lanes
Saturday’s truck race festivities kick off at 10 p.m. Thursday at the South Point Bowling Center with the “Burn-Out, Bowl-Off” charity tournament for truck racers, crew members and NASCAR officials.
The tournament benefits the Las Vegas chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities. Admission is free, and a $10 donation will get you one free general admission ticket to Saturday’s race.
Among the drivers who committed early to participate are Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday Jr., Jason White, Timothy Peters, Matt Crafton and T.J. Bell.
Drivers at Stratosphere
The Stratosphere will host a free autograph session from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday with several top truck drivers expected to attend.
Topping the list is Bodine, Crafton and David Starr. Others are White, Peters, Bell, Stacy Compton, Johnny Sauter, Terry Cook, Brian Scott, Jason White, Chad McCumbee, Tayler Malsam and Brian Ickler.
Ickler will compete for Billy Ballew Motorsports in his first truck race at LVMS. The 23-year-old from San Diego and former desert racer is a protege of Las Vegas native Kyle Busch, who won the last truck race but won’t be competing at LVMS.
But Busch’s father, Tom, will be spotting for Ickler. Ickler is 23rd in points with one pole and two top-five finishes in 10 trucks races.
Go to lvms.com for more information on the race.
