In the world of celebrities, there are people from various fields. Athletes, singers, actors are all equally interesting and their biographies are something that people enjoy reading a lot. No matter how famous they are and which celebrity status they have, reading about their past, present is always entertaining.
In today’s text, we are going to learn more about a famous American motocross racer, Ricky Carmichael. We will talk about his career path, his personal life, net worth and all the other interesting things you would like to know about.
Early Years
Ricky Carmichael was born on November 27, 1979 in Clearwater, Florida. Carmichael is considered by many to be the best motocross rider of all time.
Carmichael began driving at age 3 and during his childhood he participated in motocross circuits for beginners. Carmichael’s parents are Jeannie and father was called Big Rick. From the moment he got his first Yamaha 50 Tri-Zinger that he received from his parents as a Valentine’s gift.
Since he wasn’t a part of the “cool” group of kids at school, he spent most of his time with his bike. It was this time he invested with his bike and endless practicing that allowed him to become one of the best, if not the best motocross driver in USA.
There aren’t many information about his early years and personal life, so we assume that Ricky likes to keep his personal life very private.
What we can assume also, is that his love for motocross and racing dates back to his childhood and it is something he enjoyed from early on. In the next part of the text, we are going to lookback at his career path and see how Ricky came to be one of the best motocross racers of all time.
Career Path
After a career marked by records in the amateur rankings he made his professional debut in the last race of the 1996 season. He finished in eighth place in the 125cc category, which was enough to earn the honors as the rookie of the year.
From 1997 to 1999 Ricky won the National Motocross Championship in 125 cc, in addition he reached the East Super cross 125 title of 1998, winning each of the races.
His rookie coo season in the 250cc super cross category in 1999 was a bit clouded by several crashes and an injury at the start of the season. Ricky took his first 250cc super cross victory in 2000 at the Daytona International Motorcycle Circuit.
In 2001 Ricky managed to defeat Jeremy McGrath and snatch the throne as Super cross Champion. McGrath won 2 of the first 3 races of the season for Carmichael, but then Ricky managed to win 13 races consecutively. So he won 14 of the 16 races and the championship. Ricky also won the 250cc National Competition during the summer, winning 7 of the 12 races.
For the 2002 season Carmichael went from the Kawasaki team to the Honda. This change did not make his followers very happy, who thought that the exchange had been only for reasons of money. To this Ricky alleged that the exchange was caused by his interest in Honda technology.
In 2002 Carmichael had a hard start in the season after hurting a hand, but then returned with his winning streak and won 11 races and took the championship from David Vuillemin. Ricky won each of the 2002 National Championship races in the 250cc category and thus obtained the record for the perfect season for the first time in the history of the sport.
Carmichael won his third 250cc class super cross championship in 2003, although by a smaller margin than in the last two occasions. He won it with 7 races and the title with only 7 points above Chad Reed, who had 8 wins. Ricky decided to stay out of the super cross series during the 2004 season to have surgery on one of his knees after having suffered an injury the previous year. Carmichael and Honda failed to reach an agreement on an extension of their contract and in 2005 sailed towards Suzuki.
Carmichael entered the 2005 season without having participated in a single race for almost two years. Later that summer, Carmichael was close to marking a perfect season again in the 250cc National Outdoor, winning each general event and 22 of the 24 engines. Carmichael also achieved the title of the United States Super cross Open and led the United States team to a resounding victory in the Motocross Des Nations.
Carmichael ran some races in 2007 as he had planned and continues to show off on the circuits winning every race in which he competes (three super cross victories and 6 Nationals). Ricky Carmichael is unquestionably the most dominant driver of his generation.
The year 200t brought something new to this talented driver. He decided to venture into a stock car racing. He signed a contract with Ginn Racing that lter merged with the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. he first drove later models of the cars across the country.
He drove several races there and transitioned to the Ken Schrader Racing. There, he raced in few races in the Camping World East Series. In 2010, Ricky transitioned to the Turner Motorsports, and there he finished 13th based on the points.
In 2011, Ricky raced at the Atlanta motor Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series. Besides driving, Ricky has also made numerous appearances on TV. He was a guest on the BBC show Top Gear and he is currently working at the AMA Monster Energy Super cross Broadcast for NBC and NBCSN. He is running the show together with Will Christine, Daniel Blair and Ralph Sheheen.
In 2009, Ricky was named Camping World Truck Series Most Popular Driver and was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2015. From all of his jobs and public appearances, it is no wonder that Ricky made quite a substantial amount of money during his career.
His estimated net worth is around 25$ million. Most of the money comes from the championships he won, races he drove and other public appearances. As far as we know, Ricky doesn’t own any businesses and is now living from the money he made during his glorious career.
Ricky is pretty active on his social media accounts, and often publishes photos from his personal life and also posts about his business projects. He hasn’t announced anything new in the following period, so we will have to wait and see what he has in store for us.
Personal life
Carmichael currently lives in Florida in Havana. He owns 98 acres of land and has built three courses where he can practice driving. He is able to live pretty comfortably since he earns around 5$ million per year from his endorsements and other engagements.
As we already mentioned in the previous section, Ricky’s love for motocross dates back to his early days when his parents bought him his first Yamaha. Since he wasn’t too into school and hanging out with his friends, he spent all that time driving his Yamaha and practicing. This allowed him to have an outstanding amateur record.
Ricky is the highest paid motocross driver thus far, and he continues to be a legend with an army of fans following his every step. Even though is not as active as before, he continues to attract attention and is a gladly seen person in the news. This is greatly because of his amazing follower’s base.
Besides driving, Ricky has also made numerous appearances on TV. He was a guest on the BBC show Top Gear and he is currently working at the AMA Monster Energy Super cross Broadcast for NBC and NBCSN. He is running the show together with Will Christien, Daniel Blair and Ralph Sheheen.
How famous he is, we can conclude based on his social media accounts that are packed with followers and subscribers who are there for their favorite driver. He is currently living a family life, secluded from the fame and glitz of the celebrity world.
But he will forever remain to be a motocross legend, even for the generations to come. And for that, he can certainly be proud of himself and all of his career achievements.
Quick summary
Full name: Ricky Carmichael
Date of birth: November 27th 1979
Birthplace: Clearwater, Florida
Age: 40
Profession: Former motor cross driver
Height: 1.73 m
Weight: 80 kg
Net Worth: 25$ million