Carmichael Leads by Leaps and Bounds

Ricky Carmichael has turned the AMA national motocross championship into his personal playground, but the diminutive rider from Havana, Fla., still thrills spectators with what amounts to a clinic in motocross riding every time he wheels his Team Makita Suzuki onto the track.

Carmichael will close out another remarkable season Sunday in a pair of motos at Glen Helen Raceway, north of San Bernardino. It is the final event of the outdoor schedule and Carmichael has won all of the previous 11 -- to go with his sweep of all 12 a year ago.

Of equal interest to many motocross followers will be the final ride of John Dowd, the ageless privateer from Massachusetts who has endeared himself to racers everywhere by holding his own against factory-supported riders. Dowd turned 40 on Aug. 10, yet stands sixth in national points against riders half his age.

The Junk Yard Dog, as Dowd is affectionately known, has raced all the MX greats, from Bob Hannah to Jeremy McGrath to Carmichael and all the champions in between, in a career that did not start until he was 20.

“I’ve always been the ‘old guy,’ right from the day I started racing,” Dowd said from his home in Ludlow, Mass., before flying out for the Glen Helen race. “Who knew I would race for 20 years? I never thought I would. When I turned 30, I told my wife that maybe I had another year or two left. Now, here I am, 40 and still going. I just love the racing and the travel.”

To put the proper perspective on the generation gap, Dowd chuckled and said, “My wife’s close friends with Ricky’s mother.”

On June 12, at the Southwick track near his home, Dowd became the oldest racer ever to stand on the podium with a third-place finish -- behind Carmichael, of course, and Chad Reed, the 2004 supercross champion when Carmichael was out with injuries.

“Everywhere I’ve been, it seems I’m setting records for the oldest this and the oldest that,” Dowd said. “It’s kind of my own little niche in racing. I’ve met and raced against a lot of great riders, but Ricky is the best of all time. Hannah was about to retire when I raced him and, of course, I raced for years against McGrath, who was the greatest before Ricky.

“My hero, though, was Ricky Johnson. I loved to watch him ride. He was so smooth. And Doug Henry was a hero of mine too. He kept coming back against all odds. It’s been a lot of fun just to know them.”

Dowd came by his nickname, Junk Yard Dog, honestly. His father ran a junkyard and Dowd’s first bike was “made up from parts and pieces I found in the junk pile. Later, the name stuck because of the way I rode. I was never smooth or stylish. I had to work harder than the other guys. I slopped around on the bike and they said I looked kind of junky.”

Dowd’s best year was 1998, when he won the 125cc western regional championship and raced Carmichael in an East-West Shootout in Las Vegas.

“Ricky won, but he knew he was in a tough race,” Dowd said. “I was second, right on his heels. We had a lot of great races together. We were teammates one year with Team Kawasaki.”

Dowd won his first national motocross in 1991 at Hangtown, near Sacramento, in a mud bowl, riding a 250cc Honda as a privateer. Later he rode with the Yamaha team for six years. Without factory support, Dowd is sponsored this week by CW Construction of Rancho Cucamonga.

“I’m not retiring completely,” he said. “I’ll still ride a few races for fun, but Glen Helen will be my last one in a series. I raced in Canada last year but decided to come back and have a farewell tour with the nationals. I’m still somewhat competitive, so I thought it would be a cool thing to do.

“Glen Helen is a nice place to finish. It is one of my favorites on the circuit. It gets rough and it’s sandy in some sections, the way I like it.”

The Junk Yard Dog will be on the No. 16 Suzuki when they line up for the final moto and he’s likely to get as loud a reception as the No. 1 Suzuki with Carmichael aboard.

Chasing the Chase

The final four places in NASCAR’s “Chase for the Nextel Cup Championship” will be determined Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400. That does not include 2004 champion Kurt Busch, who will join Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin in the Chase by merely starting the race.

Jeremy Mayfield needs only to finish 38th or better, and Carl Edwards 19th or better to make the elite 10, no matter what happens to anyone else.

That leaves Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray scrambling to hold their ninth-and 10th-place positions, with Ryan Newman only one point behind McMurray. Then come Jeff Gordon and Elliott Sadler with outside chances to battle their way in. Still technically in the running, but way too far back to be taken seriously are Dale Jarrett, Kevin Harvick and Joe Nemechek.

“Our work is definitely cut out for us,” said Gordon, who started the year looking for a fifth championship by winning the Daytona 500. “We need to have a great car, great pit stops, great pit strategy and great communication throughout the weekend. Basically, everything needs to go right for us to have a chance.

“We saw Jeremy Mayfield do it last year. He did what he needed to do, he won the race and got into the Chase, so we know it can be done.”

Mayfield was 55 points behind 10th place going to Richmond and wound up ninth. Gordon is 30 points and Sadler 52 behind McMurray for the final spot.

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Television ratings for last Sunday night’s Nextel Cup race at California Speedway were up 47% in the Los Angeles market, compared to last year, according to NBC. Earlier this year, the Auto Club 500 had the highest rating ever for a non-Daytona 500 NASCAR event.

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Kyle Busch became NASCAR’s youngest winner in the same season in which older brother Kurt was the Cup champion. The previous such record belonged to Donald Thomas, whose older brother Herb was Cup champion in 1951 when Donald won his race.

Southland Scene

Damion Gardner finally caught Rip Williams in the USAC/CRA sprint car championship race by winning last week at Perris, but his lead is only eight points, going into Saturday night’s 30-lap feature on the tiny fifth-mile Ventura Raceway oval. Gardner, who won at Ventura in May, has won 11 features this season and has been fastest qualifier 17 times.

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With only two races remaining in the super late model division at Irwindale Speedway, five drivers are in contention for the championship in NASCAR’S Dodge weekly series going into Saturday night’s main event.

Andrew Phipps of Canyon Country leads with 634, followed by Todd Southwell, San Marcos, 604; Russell White, Corona, 600; Rod Johnson, Canyon Country, 594; and Mike Price, Harbor City, 570.

Also on the program will be Grand American modifieds, super stocks, pure stocks and Figure 8s.

Last Laps

Bill Miller, who resigned as president of California Speedway in March, has been named president of Pewal Industries Inc. of Rancho Cucamonga.... The Indy Racing League will hold its awards ceremony Oct. 17 at Paramount Pictures Studio in Hollywood.

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Steve Johnson of Granada Hills has been awarded the victory in the pro motorcycle class of the U.S. Nationals drag races last Monday in Indianapolis, overturning the announced win by Matt Smith. After NHRA officials had declared Smith the winner, video replays showed that Johnson had reached the finish line first.

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The 10th annual SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300, Round 5 of the six-race off-road race desert series, will be run Saturday in Primm, Nev., with more than 200 entries expected. Alan Pflueger of Honolulu will defend his Trophy-Truck title in a Chevy Silverado.