Champions are not made overnight in a laboratory. It takes years and years of grinding and beating on one’s craft to reach the top. The world of American motorsports has had its fair share of champions, from 7x Cup champs like Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson to versatile ones like Tony Stewart.

Recently, Dirty Mo Media’s venture, “Next Level” hosted a certified legend from the world of Motocross, who also happens to be a former NASCAR driver. From being a kid who hated wearing goggles, long sleeve jerseys, and the basic amenities on the dirt track to becoming the sport’s most dominant champion, he revealed what it takes to be a champion in one of the most grueling sports on the planet, the X-Games.

AMA’s biggest superstar gets candid about his glorious career on Dale Earnhardt Jr’s series

For ardent Motorcross fans, Ricky Carmichael needs no introduction. Often lauded as the GOAT, the man went on a blistering pace to dominate Motocross, competing in AMA Motocross championships from 1997 to 2007. While his unparalleled reign in the dirt world is nothing short of spectacular, racking up wins across Motocross and Supercross, his NASCAR career never took off despite his champion status.

He picked up 15 AMA Motorcross championships, the only one to have that many, and 10 in Motocross. The man’s unfathomable record speaks for itself as he went on an unrivaled streak acing it on outdoor as well as indoor tracks. Speaking to Andrew Kurland on Dale Earnhardt Jr’s venture Next Level,  the champ revealed what it takes for one to be the best in their field.

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The 43-year-old was asked, “Do you have to be an asshole to make it to the top?” To which the 43-year-old gave a simple yet profound answer. He said, “I dont think you got to be an a**hole to win championships but I can tell you what you do need to do is you have to be selfish.”

Though the former Kawasaki rider was once hated for his super aggressive and competitive spirit, he shared how he looks back at his career on four wheels. He said, “I was super happy, won championships in my career, I’m ecstatic about my career but I was expected to win. Man, I wanted to make it so bad and four wheels just for the fact that it was never expected of me.” 

“He’s the greatest of all time”: 23XI Racing driver on Ricky Carmichael’s champion mindset

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Ricky Carmichael and Travis Pastrana have had their time on the track, testing each other. But it was Carmichael who emerged victorious, capitalizing and adapting to the track conditions. Speaking about the great one, let us look back at what the part-time 23XI Racing #67 driver had to say about his rival’s mindset.

Pastrana loved to show off his skills, freestyling, unlike his Ricky Carmichael who was more into Supercross, outdoor racing, and the big leagues. Reflecting on this Pastrana said, “Of course, I would have loved to have fulfilled a childhood dreams of you know being a Supercross champion and an outdoor champion, the big classes but at the end of the day I didn’t have a lot of friends when I raced, I would’ve knocked my grandma on the last turn to take the win, I was brought up with that mentality of win.” 

While the racer enjoyed his time in freestyle, the X Games gold medalist also attributed to the hunger being fundamental to being a champion, mentioning Carmichael. He said, “I think to be a racer you have to have that yep yeah I mean its Carmichael, he said, I get along with him really well now but like you would even let me test on the Suzuki test track like, he might learn something you know, he was kind of an a**hole but he’s the greatest of all time and that’s what you have to be the greatest.” 

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