Carmichael and Stewart Continue Duel at Anaheim

No matter who strikes pay dirt Saturday night at the third and final supercross race at Angel Stadium this year, the riders will be glad to see dry dirt again.

A steady rain turned the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series’ stop in San Francisco last weekend into a treacherous mud bowl, with riders struggling to merely stay on their bikes at SBC Park.

Chad Reed, after three consecutive second-place finishes, was among those who got stuck in the gunk. After tumbling off his Yamaha, Reed climbed back on board and then had to scramble to finish fifth.

But the soggy track did nothing to slow the see-saw points battle between defending series champion Ricky Carmichael and James “Bubba” Stewart.

With the race shortened to 12 laps from the normal 20 because of the conditions, the pair swapped the lead twice before Stewart took the victory on his four-stroke Kawasaki.

After crossing the finish line, the riders abruptly stopped their bikes, shoved open their mud-splattered visors and patted each other on the back.

“When it gets like that, it becomes survival,” Carmichael said. “My goal was just to not fall down.”

With all the mud, he said, every part of his bike except the frame was tossed out and replaced for this weekend’s race.

Stewart out-dueled Carmichael to win the series opener Jan. 7 at Angel Stadium. Carmichael won the next week in Phoenix.

When they returned to Anaheim on Jan. 21 to another sold-out crowd of 45,050, they were again nose to tail, Carmichael grabbing the win for Team Makita Suzuki Racing after a late-race spill by Stewart.

Despite losing at SBC Park, Carmichael kept a slim lead in the standings with 92 points, followed by Stewart with 90 and Reed with 82.

If Carmichael wins Saturday’s race, he’ll tie Jeremy McGrath for the most wins at Anaheim with eight.

But Carmichael said his primary goal was simply to leave California “in the hunt for the championship, and so far I’m ahead of schedule.”

Wanted: Two More Wheels

Carmichael, having dominated both stadium supercross and outdoor motocross, and still only 26 years old, says he might one day like to race stock cars.

When reporters asked him this week about plans beyond motorcycles, Carmichael replied, “The only thing I would love to do would be NASCAR.”

He called the idea “farfetched” at one point, but then said of a possible second career, “I don’t think I’ll be too old to hop in a car, that’s for sure.”

He’s not alone. Valentino Rossi, the five-time MotoGP motorcycling champion who is the same age as Carmichael, also is thinking of making the switch to four wheels.

The Italian drove a Formula One Ferrari this week during test sessions near Valencia, Spain. His contract with Yamaha’s MotoGP team expires after this year.

McQueen Recovering

Actor and race car driver Chad McQueen, who inherited his love of both endeavors from his late father, Steve McQueen, was seriously injured last month during testing for the Rolex 24-hour endurance race at Daytona International Speedway.

McQueen, 45, suffered a broken left leg, two fractured vertebrae and multiple rib fractures when his Tafel Racing Porsche GT3 crashed into a course barrier Jan. 7, according to the Grand American Road Racing Assn.

McQueen, who has homes in Malibu and the Palm Springs area, remains in a Daytona-area hospital but hopes to return to California within the next couple of weeks, said team owner Jim Tafel.

McQueen told The Times last March that he had quit acting to focus on racing, and that one of his goals was to drive in the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race that his father glorified in the 1971 movie “Le Mans.”

The younger McQueen had lined up a Le Mans ride in 2003 but missed the event after breaking his left leg at a motocross race in Palmdale -- the same leg he injured again last month.

Last Laps

* Most of NASCAR’s Nextel Cup races will be broadcast live this year on KZLA 93.9 in Southern California under a pact announced by the country-music station, the Motor Racing Network and California Speedway.

The station will carry MRN’s coverage of 25 of the 36 Nextel Cup events, including the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 19 and the NASCAR races at California Speedway on Feb. 26 and Sept. 3.

For the last three years, MRN had been carried on the all-sports station KMPC-AM 1540, but racing broadcasts were periodically pre-empted for other sports, said Cheryl Knight, MRN’s director of affiliates.

* Perris Auto Speedway opens its 11th season Saturday with sprint car racing on the half-mile clay oval. The entrants include defending USAC national sprint car champion Levi Jones of Olney, Ill.; defending USAC/CRA titleholder Damion Gardner of Concord, Calif., and Cory Kruseman of Ventura.

* The Super Bowl’s early line? NHRA funny car drivers Gary Scelzi and Ron Capps squared off last week in Las Vegas for -- well, for fun -- to see who could give their favorite team an added psychological boost. Scelzi, representing the Pittsburgh Steelers, took the best-two-out-of-three race from Seattle Seahawk booster Capps.