All posts tagged Ricky Carmichael

8 Posts

November 7, 2011 · NASCAR

tony stewart steps on carl edwards’ toes during the texas two-step

Congratulations to the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 team for their victory at Texas. Tony Stewart and crew are definitely making things anxious for Carl Edwards. But because I’m greedy, I really wish that Matt Kenseth & Kevin Harvick could get in the mix somehow and stir things up so that everything will be nice and crazy for Homestead. That would be fun, no?

Of course, there was that whole Kyle Busch situation that was covered AT LENGTH over the weekend, so I’m not going to go into it very much only to say that I hated it when they would recount what happened on Friday with Kyle and Ron Hornaday. They made it seem like it wasn’t OBVIOUS that Hornaday got into Kyle on accident, he got loose and it was plain as day. I’m probably nitpicking about this but saying “they tried going 3-wide and it didn’t work” doesn’t quite explain the situation accurately enough for me. Oh and one more thing, did you think it was interesting that in KyBu’s apology letter he didn’t name Kevin Harvick Inc. by name? I thought that was interesting. Douchey and interesting.

Ricky Carmichael signs an autograph for a fan during Keystone Light Pole Qualifying on Thursday at Texas Motor Speedway. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Austin Dillon poses with the #3 Advocare Chevrolet for the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Danica Patrick unveils her No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for the 2012 season with team owner Tony Stewart following practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

David Ragan, driver of the #6 UPS My Choice Ford, climbs from his car after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Ken Butler, president of Aaron Sales and Lease poses with driver Mark Martin and team owner Michael Waltrip after announcing Martin's move to the No. 00 Aaron's Toyota prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #2 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet, poses in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino 350k at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Kenny Wallace, driver of the #09 G-Oil Toyota, is congratulated on stage by Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage on his 520th NASCAR Nationwide Series race in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 5, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Team owner Jack Roush (right) congratulates Trevor Bayne, driver of the #16 RickyVsTrevor.com Ford, in Victory Lane after his win at the NASCAR Nationwide Series O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 5, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

NASCAR TV commentator and former driver Kyle Petty rides a bull during a bull riding exhibition at the “No Limits” Garage Party presented by WinStar World Casino at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 6, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage (left) poses with Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, in Victory Lane after Stewart won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 6, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

June 12, 2011 · IndyCar

firestone twin 275s please and displease

Dario Franchitti Some things I learned while watching the IndyCar Firestone Twin 275s at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday:

1.) Race car drivers are not entertainers. What I mean by that is when you interview them on TV they’re not going to understand that they only have seconds to explain themselves or tell a story and be extremely funny or charming while doing so. So it’s not helpful to interview them about nothing while they need to pick a tire and sign it. Just let them pick the damn tire and sign it. Keep it moving! There is nothing they can say that will enhance the enjoyment of them picking their starting position.

2.) Dario Franchitti is not a fan of randomly selecting his starting position when points are on the line. While I understand his perspective and his frustration, I think that the way the staring lineup for the second race was created wasn’t that big of deal. Racing is a crapshoot, even if you qualify 1st or last. Either one isn’t a guarantee of anything, so if you picked the number out of hat or ran laps for it, to me at least for one race, it’s not that big of a deal. But then again, I’m not trying to win a Championship, but then again I STILL feel like it’s all a big game of chance anyway, so whatever.

Ricky Carmichael poses with Mario Andretti. Ricky got to take a ride in the two-seater IndyCar with Mario.

Marco Andretti

Alex Tagliani celebrates winning the pole for the first of the two Firestone Twin 275s

Will Power and Helio Castroneves pose for photos with a young fan at a autograph signing event in Texas

James Hinchcliffe checks an iPad for help with practice

JR Hildebrand jumps in his car? Or is that out of his car? I can't tell

Will Power is just kinda happy about winning his first oval race

February 11, 2011 · Books, NASCAR

shortcuts: espn the magazine focuses on speed

How excited are you that tomorrow is the Budweiser Shootout? I, for one, am thrilled. The season is starting again and for this website, and me personally, a lot more stories to share with you guys. I’m planning on road tripping it to Phoenix and Las Vegas later on this month. I’m really looking forward to getting back to the one place in the world that I know ALWAYS makes me happy, NASCAR races of course.

I’m also super excited to crown the first ever Hottest Driver Tournament winner on Sunday. It’s between Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth. Be sure to cast your vote now because voting ends Saturday night (at midnight).

In other news…

ESPN The Magazine - Speed issue 2011 – The latest issue of ESPN The Magazine, on newsstands today, focuses on speed. Not Scott Speed, but just speed in general. It features articles on how to survive a crash, Hendrick Motorsports pit crew combine and spotlights Ricky Carmichael and Kevin Harvick.

– Jimmie Johnson will be the subject of a segment on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. The show airs Tuesday, Februay 15th. I’m looking forward to this as Real Sports is one of my FAVE shows.

– Rock band Good Charlotte is set to perform live before the start of the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 27th. I’m totally looking forward to the performance and hopefully the band’s lead singer Joel Madden will bring his wife, Nicole Richie, along for support. Auto Club Speedway has special ticket packages available for starting at just $55. For an additional $25 you can have access to an all-you-can-eat buffet. Check out ‘Fabulous’ News for more news like this.

– Michael Waltrip has been doing a lot of media interviews in support of his new book, “In the Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona, and the Day that Changed Everything.”

While talking with the New York Times Michael revealed that he had never watched the 2001 Daytona 500, the race that he won and took the life of his team owner at the time, Dale Earnhardt. That is until this past July. Michael’s sister Connie tapes all of his races, and he came across the DVD — decorated with hearts and stars and the words “2001 Daytona 500 Winner!” that she’d written on it before Dale’s death had been announced — and watched it for the very first time, commercials and all.

Michael hadn’t been able to talk about the 2001 Daytona 500 for many years but in watching the entire race and then writing a book about that day in Daytona he was able to deal with his feels and find peace with everything that happened.

Andrew Giangola has a review of Michael’s book here, and I was told that Mikey’s book will debut at No. 11 on the New York Times’ Bestseller list when it makes it’s debut on February 20th, the same day as the 2011 Daytona 500.

– Yesterday was NASCAR Media Day down at Daytona International Speedway. The whole thing reminds me of a combination of the first day at school and picture day all wrapped up into one. The drivers spend what looks to me like all day walking around in their new firesuits answering all sorts of questions from the media from all over the place, taking new photos and shooting video spots. I really need to experience that whole thing for myself one day. Anyway, here are photos:

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano speaks to ESPN’s Nicole Briscoe during media day Thursday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Juan Pablo Montoya answers questions from the local media Thursday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. during media day.

2010 Daytona 500 Champion Jamie McMurray poses during media day Thursday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson poses for photos Thursday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. during media day. (Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne reads liners for MRN during media day Thursday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.(Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Greg Biffle talks with Pete Pistone and Mike Bagley from The Morning Drive on Sirius during media day Thursday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

May 19, 2010 · NASCAR

dude, I’m going to charlotte!

I know I should talk about Dover and the Autism Speaks 400 presented by Hershey’s Milk & Milkshakes but I’m way too excited about a new development!

I’m going to attend the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race this weekend and the Coca-Cola 600 the following weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This means I’ll be spending 10 days in Charlotte, NC and I get to attend the first ever NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony!

Feel free to join me in a quick dance of joy. *dance*

I’m sure I’ll have a ton of stories to share and I’m planning on writing while I’m there so there will be no delay, at least not a long one anyway.

And since photos are always a good thing here are some from last weekend’s races at Dover. Super huge congratulations to Aric Almirola who won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Dover 200! It was his first win in the truck series.

Aric Almirola celebrates his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win in Victory Lane at Dover International Speedway. He called the win “a dream come true.” (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)

November 24, 2009 · NASCAR

you must respect the jimmie

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, scored his fourth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup championship after finishing fifth on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Courtesy Hendrick Motorsports) Jimmie Johnson’s new nickname is “Superman” which is totally fitting because he reminds me of Clark Kent. Jimmie’s got the whole mild-mannered thing down pat.

Congrats to Jimmie and the No. 48 Lowe’s team. They did an amazing job in picking up their 4th straight Sprint Cup Championship.

I kept going back and forth over whether or not I would write about the whole “you should respect Jimmie” and “the garage respects him, now the fans need to” lines people have been repeating lately.

November 10, 2009 · NASCAR, NASCAR WAGs

texas: i’ll take drama any way i can get it

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates by firing two Beretta's into the air on Victory Lane after winning Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. This is Busch's 20th win in 326 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR) Before the start of the Dickies 500 on Sunday I was thinking about what had to happen in order for Jimmie Johnson to lose some momentum in The Chase. Of course, I didn’t think any of it would happen. So when Jimmie’s accident occurred I was, uhm, sort of pleasantly surprised.

We needed that to make things a little more interesting. The guy still has a ton of points on Mark Martin but at least it gives hope a chance to shine. And, if I’m being honest, it was pretty cool getting to see the 48 team pull together and get that car back into shape to run in the race again. I’m never against seeing Ron Malec in action. (hehe) I have to give it Chad Knaus though, that guy is one cool customer. He was pissed of course that they ran into trouble, but his voice is always even. He doesn’t freak out, and you can’t afford to freak out in a situation like that, which is why Jimmie and the Lowe’s team are 3-time Sprint Cup Champions.

Watching Kurt Busch do his victory lap around Texas Motor Speedway in reverse with his tongue sticking out made me realize who he reminds me of, and no, it’s not Michael Jordan. No, I was thinking more along the lines of the character Pete Campbell from the awesome TV show Mad Men. Pete, played by Vincent Kartheiser, is kind of a punk. He whines when he doesn’t get his way and always thinks he should be treated better than he perceives he’s being treated. It’s funny. Watch Mad Men, it’s awesome. The latest season is over, but that’s what Netflix is for.

That being said it was cool to see Kurt so excited about winning and all that.

Uhm… There’s this one driver, I think his name is Dale Earnhardt Jr. or something, who doesn’t seem to be able to catch a break this season. I’m at the point, well I’ve been here for some time now, where I want to just say to him “Dale, (yes, in this scenario I know him and we’re BFFs) I think you should just park it and call it a season, this is lame. I know you’re doing your best but you need to tell whatever gods are in charge of luck to kiss your butt.”

He was running really well and then of course something happens and finishes crappy. And his finish has nothing to do with his overall performance. They were kicking butt and then it falls off. Ugh.

And now ladies and gentlemen, a photo bonanza!

April 10, 2007 · NASCAR

ricky martin … mikey fell asleep

This just in: Michael Waltrip “allegedly” fell asleep at the wheel while driving home and wrecked his car. Waltrips behavior after the crash (crawling out of his car, walking home, and not reporting the accident) has people wondering if there isn’t more to this story. And I think I might have to agree with them, after all, he’s got something to cry in his cocoa about — his new racing team isn’t doing very well this year.

In other less accident prone news Mark Martin spoke with the media today and had some nice things to say about NASCAR racing newcomer Ricky Carmichael, his realistic expectations for the new Toyota teams and his admiration for his sponsor the U.S. Army.

Q. Are you happy with the progress Ricky Carmichael has made so far? What are some of the problems or issues you see being a rookie?

MARK MARTIN: We’ve just done one race and I was thrilled with what he did. He has an awful lot to learn and he learned quite a bit the first time out. Real excited about working with Ricky. I love him as a person. He is a fierce competitor and incredibly talented. I’m sure, as sure as I’m breathing, that he’s going to do this.

Q. There’s still some concerns I guess at Texas Speedway, some drivers have brought up the fact there’s still a bump in the road, bump in the track, there’s some problems there. Are you satisfied with the changes they’ve made?

MARK MARTIN: Yeah, I’m not aware of any problems at the racetrack. I love it and I think the drivers love it. I think the fans love it. It’s a fabulous facility.

Q. Is it to be expected that teams have struggled so far this year? Is that to be expected?

MARK MARTIN: Let me give you my take on this. I know you haven’t noticed this, but this is the truth from a guy who knows. I know what I’m talking about. Dave Blaney and Bill Davis’ car was a top five car in all four of the first four races, they just didn’t finish there. They exceeded my expectations. I mean, serious top five car. Didn’t get the finish they had coming.

And then Vickers ran great in the Bud Shootout at Daytona and ran great in California, but didn’t make most of the rest of the races. He could have ran great like 10th. I think that’s great.

So, yeah, they’ve had a disaster. You know, I mean, Michael Waltrip Racing hasn’t met expectations, but whose expectations. My expectations for them were for them to struggle desperately because it’s such a hard — what he tried to do is huge: start a new three-car team. Wasn’t expanding a two-car team to a three-car team, whatever. Starting from scratch, Michael got good people, but he just didn’t get them mixed together just right just yet.

Michael Waltrip Racing is struggling, and Red Bull is struggling, not necessarily Toyota is struggling. I’d say Bill Davis is exceeding expectations with the 22 car.

MODERATOR: Mark, out here in Phoenix, we have a program called Salute to Military Families Program. Last year it was able to provide over 4,000 tickets to military servicemen and their families in the state of Arizona. We’ve continued this program this year. As you know, much of NASCAR is devoted to military support. You driving the U.S. Army car, you never hesitate to speak of that, your appreciation of the military while racing. Can you elaborate a little bit more on that and what it means to you to represent the U.S. Army this season.

MARK MARTIN: Well, you know, the U.S. Army represents so many things that are important to me and to the fabric of our country, like loyalty, honesty, duty, discipline, respect, a lot of things that are huge not only to me but to our country. What we don’t get the message across enough is how proud we are of our soldiers and what they’re doing for us, what it means to us and to our country. That’s something that I think is really important for all of us to try to keep in mind.

February 1, 2007 · NASCAR

new kids on the block

I have to let you in on something that severely hurts my heart every time I think about it. Maybe by writing about it it won’t hurt as much.

I could have gone to the NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this week, but for reasons I won’t go into here I wasn’t able to attend.

This makes me severely depressed. I mean, what could be better than spending three days in Vegas with Dale Earnhardt Jr.?, I mean, with all those NASCAR drivers and their teams? Right, yeah, that’s what I meant.

But I’m moving on and I’m looking forward to the season ahead. There are a bunch of new faces to watch this year, for example, Ricky Carmichael and A.J. Allmendinger.

Ricky comes from the world of motocross and A. J. is from Champ Car. Carmichael is only 27 but yet his name is synonymous with motocross (and local Morgan Hill company Fox Racing). He won’t be in the Nextel Cup series anytime soon though, he’ll work his way up from the bottom, starting with super-late-model and Arca races. Which I think is the totally right way to go. I don’t like the idea of people being able to just jump into Nextel Cup races straight outta the gate.

That’s like a famous pro football player switching to baseball and being the starting picture for a major league team. Ridiculous. They should go down to some minor league team, learn and prove themselves.

But apparently Allmendinger is good enough to roll right on into Cup racing. He’ll be apart of Team Red Bull in a Toyota Camry ride.

In other news…

Oh how I wish I had DirecTV right now. DirecTV is launching a new premium service called HotPass that will allow you to watch ONLY your favorite driver during a NASCAR race.

Each channel has its own announcers dedicated to that driver, real-time stats and six different cameras. At any given time, two of those angles are shown — along with the network feed — on a triple-split screen.

NASCAR’s entire 37-race season costs $99 for DirecTV subscribers. And starting in 2008, everything will be available in high definition.

”It’s the home-team channel for your driver,” said Chris Long, the executive producer for HotPass. ”You’re going to hear driver audio. You’ll have the ability to listen (to the team), or you can listen to the announcers.”

The access is amazing, but I wonder how much longer it’ll be before we’re watching our fave drivers 24/7, while their showering or eating dinner. Read more about this by clicking here.

Jimmie Johnson poses with two young fans on Jimmie Johnson Day in San Diego on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 at the San Diego Hall of Champions. (Photo Credit: Kent Horner/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Kyle Busch, left, talks with Dale Earnhardt Jr., right, during NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing. (Photo Credit: Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images for NASCAR)

AJ Allmendinger takes a break during NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Dale Jarrett talks with the media during NASCAR Preseason Thunder at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Go Colts!

Load More 20/8

Search