Rick Carelli
| Rick Carelli | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Born |
November 6, 1954 Arvada, Colorado, United States | ||||||
| Achievements |
1993 NASCAR Winston West Series Champion 1991 NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour Champion | ||||||
| Awards | 2009 West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame inductee | ||||||
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career | |||||||
| 9 race(s) run over 3 year(s) | |||||||
| Best finish | 49th - 1994 | ||||||
| First race | 1992 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 (Sears Point) | ||||||
| Last race | 1994 Slick 50 300 (Phoenix) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Nationwide Series career | |||||||
| 2 race(s) run over 2 year(s) | |||||||
| Best finish | 119th - 2003 | ||||||
| First race | 1998 Lycos.com 250 (Pikes Peak) | ||||||
| Last race | 2003 TrimSpa Dream Body 250 (Pikes Peak) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career | |||||||
| 134 race(s) run over 8 year(s) | |||||||
| Best finish | 6th - 1995 | ||||||
| First race | 1995 Copper World Classic (Phoenix) | ||||||
| Last race | 2002 Florida Dodge Dealers 250 (Daytona) | ||||||
| First win | 1996 Coca-Cola 200 (Bristol) | ||||||
| Last win | 2000 Kroger 200 (Richmond) | ||||||
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Rick Carelli (born November 6, 1954) is an American race car driver from Arvada, Colorado.[1] He was nicknamed the "High Plains Drifter".[2] He won multiple times in the #6 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series truck.
Racing career
Carelli won the NASCAR Southwest Tour championship in 1991 and won 21 times in the series during his career.[2] He joined the NASCAR Winston West Series in 1992,[1] and he was named the series Rookie of the Year. He returned to the series in 1993, capturing the series championship and Most Popular Driver award.[1][2] He has won nine times in that series.[2]
He was one of the original drivers in the Craftsman Truck Series, starting at the series' first race at Phoenix in 1995. Carelli raced every series race until he suffered near-fatal injuries when his truck hit the wall during a race at Memphis Motorsports Park in 1999. He suffered a basal skull fracture, damaged his carotid artery and sinus.[3] He recovered and returned to race the entire 2000 season.[3] He won another race at Richmond International Raceway in 2000 with an underfunded team that he was the crew chief for. He also made 9 Winston Cup starts from 1992 to 1994. He stopped racing in 2004.[3]
After driver
After retiring from driving, he later became the team manager for Kevin Harvick Incorporated - a position that he held when Ron Hornaday won the 2007 championship.[2] He currently acts as spotter for Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch and Furniture Row Racing.[4]
Awards
Carelli was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2009 along with Wayne Spears, Doug George, and Chuck Bown.[5][6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Rick Carelli". Racing West. 1999. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame to induct 10 in July". NASCAR. April 8, 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wack, Craig (June 21, 2009). "Rick Carelli's seat safer than '99 Trucks Series ride". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ↑ "All-Star Week: Special Time for Smith, Furniture Row Racing". Catchfence.com. May 16, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
- ↑ "HOF Modern Era Inductees". Racing West. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ↑ "West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame". West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
External links
- Rick Carelli driver statistics at Racing Reference
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bill Sedgwick |
NASCAR Winston West Series champion 1993 |
Succeeded by Mike Chase |
| Preceded by Doug George |
NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour champion 1991 |
Succeeded by Ron Hornaday |