Rick Carelli

Rick Carelli
Birth date	November 9, 1954 (age 71)
Birth place	Arvada, Colorado, U.S.
Achievements	1993 NASCAR Winston West Series Champion 1991 NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour Champion
Awards	West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame (2009)
Total cup races	9
Years in cup	3
Best cup pos	49th (1994)
First cup race	1992 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 (Sears Point)
Last cup race	1994 Slick 50 300 (Phoenix)
Cup wins	0
Cup top tens	0
Cup poles	0
Total busch races	2
Years in busch	2
Best busch pos	119th (2003)
First busch race	1998 Lycos.com 250 (Pikes Peak)
Last busch race	2003 TrimSpa Dream Body 250 (Pikes Peak)
Busch wins	0
Busch top tens	0
Busch poles	0
Total truck races	134
Years in truck	8
Best truck pos	6th (1995)
First truck race	1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic (Phoenix)
Last truck race	2002 Florida Dodge Dealers 250 (Daytona)
First truck win	1996 Coca-Cola 200 (Bristol)
Last truck win	2000 Kroger 200 (Richmond)
Truck wins	4
Truck top tens	60
Truck poles	0
Birth name	Richard Dean Carelli
Total arca west races	38
Years in arca west	8
Best arca west pos	1st (1993)
First arca west race	1991 Motorcraft 500 (Evergreen)
Last arca west race	2001 Pontiac Widetrack Grand Prix 200 (Fontana)
First arca west win	1992 Vons 300 (Mesa Marin)
Last arca west win	1994 Talk N' Toss 200 (Portland)
Arca west wins	9
Arca west top tens	28
Arca west poles	5
Updated	May 21, 2025

Richard Dean Carelli (born November 9, 1954) is an American former race car driver from Arvada, Colorado.^[1] He was nicknamed the "High Plains Drifter".^[2] He won multiple times in the No. 6 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series truck. He is the spotter for Erik Jones in the NASCAR Cup Series.

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]

Carelli 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 basilar 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 nine Winston Cup starts from 1992 to 1994. He stopped driving in 2004 and moved into the administrative side of motorsport.^[3]

After retiring from driving, Carelli later became the team manager for Kevin Harvick Incorporated – a position that he held when Ron Hornaday won the 2007 championship.^[2] He later worked with NTS Motorsports as the team general manager.^[4] Carelli was also the spotter for the Stewart–Haas Racing No. 41, driven by Kurt Busch after first working with him at Furniture Row Racing;^[5] FRR's general manager Joe Garone was Carelli's crew chief from 1989 to 1994.^[6] He later became Erik Jones' spotter at FRR before following him to Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports.^[5]^[7]

Awards

Carelli was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2009 along with Wayne Spears, Doug George, and Chuck Bown.^[8]^[9]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1991	Chesrown Racing	37	Chevy	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO DNQ	ATL			NA	-	^[10]
1992		37		DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON 37	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO 42	ATL			74th	89	^[11]
1993		61		DAY	CAR	RCH DNQ	ATL DNQ	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL																				PHO 21	ATL 35		49th	258	^[12]
1993		37											SON 21	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR				49th	258	^[12]
1994		61		DAY DNQ	CAR DNQ	RCH DNQ	ATL DNQ	DAR DNQ	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON 41	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH DNQ	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	IND DNQ	GLN	MCH 27	BRI	DAR DNQ	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR 22	PHO 33	ATL DNQ	49th	283	^[13]

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	NBC	Pts	Ref
1990	Chesrown Racing	46	Pontiac	DAY	RCH	CAR	MAR	HCY	DAR	BRI	LAN	SBO	NZH	HCY	CLT	DOV DNQ	ROU	VOL	MYB	OXF	NHA	SBO	DUB	IRP	ROU	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	NHA	CAR	MAR				NA	-	^[14]
1998	Phoenix Racing	41	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	NSV	DAR	BRI	TEX	HCY	TAL	NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	RCH	PPR 42	GLN	MLW	MYB	CAL	SBO	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	GTY	CAR	ATL	HOM				126th	0	^[15]
2000	Ken Schrader Racing	86	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSV	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA	CLT	DOV	SBO	MYB	GLN	MLW	NZH	PPR	GTY	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	CAR	MEM	PHO DNQ	HOM			NA	-	^[16]
2003	Biagi Brothers Racing	4	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	DAR	BRI	TEX	TAL	NSH	CAL	RCH	GTY	NZH	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	NHA	PPR 19	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	ATL	PHO	CAR	HOM	119th	106	^[17]

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	NCTC	Pts	Ref
1995	Chesrown Racing	6	Chevy	PHO 24	TUS 3	SGS 9	MMR 12	POR 8	EVG 8	I70 6	LVL 5	BRI 23	MLW 4	CNS 7	HPT 11	IRP 3	FLM 2	RCH 12	MAR 29	NWS 12	SON 15	MMR 11	PHO 11								6th	2683	^[18]
1996				HOM 16	PHO 6	POR 6	EVG 13	TUS 23	CNS 19	HPT 24	BRI 1	NZH 16	MLW 11	LVL 7	I70 3	IRP 18	FLM 7	GLN 24	NSV 9	RCH 15	NHA 13	MAR 29	NWS 6	SON 9	MMR 34	PHO 16	LVS 14				10th	2953	^[19]
1997				WDW 5	TUS 30	HOM 8	PHO 10	POR 28	EVG 19	I70 7	NHA 3	TEX 22	BRI 4	NZH 6	MLW 5	LVL 19	CNS 7	HPT 9	IRP 8	FLM 5	NSV 10	GLN 10	RCH 11	MAR 15	SON 7	MMR 12	CAL 15	PHO 5	LVS 6		7th	3461	^[20]
1998				WDW 3	HOM 18	PHO 17	POR 3	EVG 7	I70 32	GLN 28	TEX 9	BRI 30	MLW 6	NZH 9	CAL 16	PPR 4	IRP 17	NHA 20	FLM 16	NSV 17	HPT 30	LVL 31	RCH 8	MEM 30	GTY 1*	MAR 11	SON 11	MMR 6	PHO 11	LVS 35	11th	3195	^[21]
1999				HOM 10	PHO 27	EVG 6	MMR 1	MAR 9	MEM 36	PPR	I70	BRI	TEX	PIR	GLN	MLW	NSV	NZH	MCH	NHA	IRP	GTY	HPT	RCH	LVS	LVL	TEX	CAL			33rd	739	^[22]
2000	Phelon Motorsports	66	Ford	DAY 7	HOM 34	PHO 26	MMR 20	MAR 33	PIR 17	GTY 29	MEM 34	PPR 20	EVG 7	TEX 31	KEN 7	GLN 32	MLW 13	NHA 11	NZH 8	MCH 31	IRP 24	NSV 23	CIC 5	RCH 1	DOV 8	TEX 9	CAL 21				15th	2606	^[23]
2001			Ford	DAY 13																											40th	675	^[24]
			Chevy		HOM 30	MMR 4	MAR 12	GTY	DAR	PPR	DOV	TEX	MEM	MLW	KAN	KEN	NHA	IRP	NSH	CIC	NZH
	Petty Brothers Racing	44	Dodge																			RCH 34	SBO	TEX	LVS
	Harvick Motorsports	6	Chevy																							PHO 11	CAL
2002	Harvick Motorsports	6	Chevy	DAY 5	DAR	MAR	GTY	PPR	DOV	TEX	MEM	MLW	KAN	KEN	NHA	MCH	IRP	NSH	RCH	TEX	SBO	LVS	CAL	PHO	HOM						72nd	160	^[25]

Winston West Series

NASCAR Winston West Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	NWWSC	Pts	Ref
1991	Chesrown Racing	37	Chevy	EVG	MMR	SON	SGS	POR	EVG 27	SSS	MMR 2	PHO DNQ							24th	391	^[26]
1992				MMR 1*	SGS 1*	SON 37	SHA 4*	POR 10	EVG 4	SSS 1	CAJ 14	TWS 6	MMR 2	PHO 42					3rd	1765	^[27]
1993				TWS 8	MMR 4	SGS 1*	SON 21	TUS 9	SHA 1*	EVG 1*	POR 2*	CBS 1*	SSS 4	CAJ 1	TCR 8				1st	2390	^[28]
1993		61														MMR 3	PHO 21		1st	2390	^[28]
1994				MMR	TUS	SON 41	SGS	YAK	MMR	POR 1	IND DNQ	CAJ	TCR	LVS	MMR 10	PHO 33	TUS		19th	804	^[29]
1995				TUS	MMR	SON	CNS 6	MMR	POR	SGS	TUS	AMP	MAD	POR	LVS	SON	MMR	PHO	46th	150	^[30]
1996				TUS 5	AMP	MMR	SON	MAD	POR	TUS	EVG	CNS 15	MAD	MMR	SON	MMR	PHO	LVS	34th	273	^[31]
1999	Chesrown Racing	57	Chevy	TUS 4	LVS 16	PHO	CAL 3	PPR	MMR	IRW	EVG	POR	IRW	RMR	LVS	MMR	MOT		32nd	445	^[32]
2001	Team Re/MAX Racing	05	Chevy	PHO	LVS	TUS	MMR	CAL 9	IRW	LAG	KAN	EVG	CNS	IRW	RMR	LVS	IRW		47th	143	^[33]

ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Re/Max Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	ARSC	Pts	Ref
1992	Chesrown Racing	37	Chevy	DAY	FIF	TWS	TAL	TOL	KIL	POC	MCH	FRS	KIL	NSH	DEL	POC	HPT	FRS	ISF	TOL	DSF	TWS 6	SLM	ATL					N/A	–	^[34]
1993	Chesrown Racing	37	Chevy	DAY	FIF	TWS 8	TAL	KIL	CMS	FRS	TOL	POC	MCH	FRS	POC	KIL	ISF	DSF	TOL	SLM	WIN	ATL							N/A	–	^[35]
2001	Team Re/MAX Racing	05	Chevy	DAY	NSH 4	WIN	SLM	GTY 5	KEN	CLT	KAN	MCH 8	POC	MEM 2	GLN	KEN	MCH 4	POC	NSH	ISF	CHI	DSF	SLM	TOL	BLN	CLT 40	TAL 3	ATL	31st	1285	^[36]
2002				DAY 2	ATL	NSH	SLM	KEN	CLT	KAN 38	POC 3	MCH 36	TOL	SBO	KEN	BLN	POC	NSH	ISF	WIN	DSF	CHI 2	SLM	TAL 4	CLT				30th	975	^[37]
2003				DAY 6	ATL	NSH 10	SLM	TOL	KEN	CLT	BLN	KAN 5	MCH 27	LER	POC	POC	NSH	ISF	WIN	DSF	CHI	SLM	TAL	CLT	SBO				39th	700	^[38]

24 Hours of Daytona

(key)

24 Hours of Daytona results
Year	Class	No	Team	Car	Co-drivers	Laps	Position	Class Pos.
2002	AGT	90	Flis Motorsports	Chevy Corvette	Kevin Harvick John Metcalf Davy Lee Liniger	123	69 ^DNF	8 ^DNF
2003	GTS	05	Team Re/MAX Racing	Chevy Corvette	Craig Conway John Metcalf Davy Lee Liniger	378	27 ^DNF	8 ^DNF

References

^ "Rick Carelli". Racing West. 1999. Archived from the original on 30 March 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
^ "West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame to induct 10 in July". NASCAR. April 8, 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
^ Wack, Craig (June 21, 2009). "Rick Carelli's seat safer than '99 Trucks Series ride". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
^ "No. 14 California Clean Power Chevrolet to Feature Throwback Paint Scheme From Inaugural Truck Series Race". NTS Motorsports. September 21, 2015. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
^ Carelli, Rick (July 19, 2018). "Eye in the Sky: Veteran Rick Carelli helps Erik Jones grab 1st Cup win". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
^ Valdez, Alexandria (July 11, 2014). "NASCAR's Furniture Row Racing team fueled by homegrown Joe Garone". The Denver Post. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
^ Pockrass, Bob (December 14, 2020). "2021 Brings Change". Foxsports.com. Fox Sports. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
^ "HOF Modern Era Inductees". Racing West. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
^ "West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame". West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1990 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1998 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 2000 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 2003 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1998 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1999 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 2001 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1991 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1992 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1993 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1994 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1995 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1996 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1999 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 2001 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1992 ARCA SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 1993 ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 2001 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 2002 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ "Rick Carelli – 2003 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.