Not Over the Hill

By Jim Peltz

Sept. 8, 2006 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

“My goal was to always go out on top,” said Ricky Carmichael.

And so he will.

After years of dominating supercross and motocross, the two major off-road motorcycle racing series, Carmichael is scheduled to end his last full season this weekend at Glen Helen Raceway in Devore in San Bernardino County.

It’s a free ride as far as the series title is concerned. The 26-year-old Floridian clinched the AMA Toyota Motocross championship -- his seventh straight in the 250cc class -- two weeks ago in Binghamton, N.Y.

Earlier this year, Carmichael, who rides for Team Makita Suzuki Racing, also won the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross championship for the fifth time.

(Supercross racing, done mostly on dirt tracks in stadiums, has its season early in the year. The motocross season follows with races on larger circuits at outdoor venues such as Glen Helen.)

But resting on his laurels isn’t in Carmichael’s makeup, and the diminutive redhead has every intention of defending his 2005 victory in the Giant RV Glen Helen National, the last event in the 12-race motocross season.

“I’m just a self-motivated person, so it’s always been easy for me to come back and try to win,” Carmichael said this week. “There also are new challenges. There’s always someone new to race every year, and the bike changes so much.

“It’s also been super easy to stay motivated, knowing it’s the last full season,” he said.

Or at least it’s supposed to be. Carmichael announced earlier this year that 2006 would be his final full season, but there has been speculation that he will change his mind. At the least, he plans to ride in selected races next year, including the season-opening supercross races at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

“I have the option in my Suzuki contract to race [another] full season, whether it’s supercross or motocross, but as of right now, my plans are to do at least half in both series,” he said. “So I’ll still be racing quite a bit.”

Overall, Carmichael has won 15 AMA championships: five in supercross, seven in 250cc motocross and three in 125cc motocross. He also went undefeated in the 2002, 2004 and 2005 motocross seasons.

When he won last Sunday at Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pa., it was Carmichael’s 70th victory. He also has had his share of injuries, including a broken hand in 2002 and torn knee ligaments in 2003.

Despite having already won this year’s title, Carmichael says he’s looking forward to Glen Helen, which features some of the steepest hills in the series.

“It caters to my strengths,” he said. “It’s normally very hot there, which is nice. It’s a very demanding track and it gets very rough, both to my liking. I’m in very good shape and it’s a little bit easier for me.”

After the season ends, Carmichael -- whose birthday is Nov. 27 -- is thinking of pursuing a career in NASCAR stock car racing.

In July, he met with members of Joe Gibbs Racing -- whose Nextel Cup operation has reigning Cup champion Tony Stewart -- and test drove a lower-level “late-model” stock car.

“It would be a great challenge, and something I would love to try,” Carmichael said. “If I could succeed in it, great, but if not, at least I gave it a shot. If I have a chance to drive, I’m not going to turn it down.”

Carmichael also said that, despite being atop his sport, he would be willing to start in NASCAR’s lower ranks. “I don’t want to rush,” he said. “I want to do it right, if I’m able to do it.”

Regardless of whether he ends up on four wheels instead of two, Carmichael said he was ready to leave full-time motorcycle racing behind.

“There are going to be moments I miss it, and moments I won’t miss it,” he said. “But I’m happy with my decision.”

james.peltz@latimes.com

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

This week

All times Pacific

NASCAR NEXTEL CUP

Chevy Rock & Roll 400

* When: Today, qualifying (TNT, 3 p.m.); Saturday, race (TNT, 4:30 p.m.).

* Where: Richmond International Raceway (tri-oval, 0.75 miles, 14 degrees banking in turns), Richmond, Va.

* Race distance: 300 miles, 400 laps.

* 2005 winner: Kurt Busch.