# Rick Carelli

Richard Dean Carelli (born November 9, 1954) is an American former race car driver from Arvada, Colorado. He was nicknamed the "High Plains Drifter". 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. He joined the NASCAR Winston West Series in 1992, 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. He has won nine times in that series.
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 basilar skull fracture, damaged his carotid artery and sinus. He recovered and returned to race the entire 2000 season. 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 driving in 2004 and moved into the administrative side of motorsport.
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. He later worked with NTS Motorsports as the team general manager. 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; FRR's general manager Joe Garone was Carelli's crew chief from 1989 to 1994. He later became Erik Jones' spotter at FRR before following him to Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports.

## Awards

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

## 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 | - | |
| 1992 | Chesrown Racing | 37 | Chevy | 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 | |
| 1993 | Chesrown Racing | 61 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | RCH DNQ | ATL DNQ | DAR | BRI | NWS | MAR | TAL | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | PHO 21 | ATL 35 | | 49th | 258 | |
| 1993 | Chesrown Racing | 37 | Chevy | | | | | | | | | | SON 21 | CLT | DOV | POC | MCH | DAY | NHA | POC | TAL | GLN | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | CLT | CAR | | | | | | 49th | 258 |
| 1994 | Chesrown Racing | 61 | Chevy | 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 | |

#### 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 |
| 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 | - |
| 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 |
| 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 | - |
| 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 |

#### 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 | |
| 1996 | Chesrown Racing | 6 | Chevy | 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 | |
| 1997 | Chesrown Racing | 6 | Chevy | 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 | |
| 1998 | Chesrown Racing | 6 | Chevy | 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 | |
| 1999 | Chesrown Racing | 6 | Chevy | 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 2001 | Phelon Motorsports | 66 | Ford | DAY 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 40th | 675 | |
| 2001 | Phelon Motorsports | 66 | Chevy | | HOM 30 | MMR 4 | MAR 12 | GTY | DAR | PPR | DOV | TEX | MEM | MLW | KAN | KEN | NHA | IRP | NSH | CIC | NZH | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 40th | 675 |
| 2001 | Petty Brothers Racing | 44 | Dodge | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RCH 34 | SBO | TEX | LVS | | | | | | | | | | 40th | 675 |
| 2001 | Harvick Motorsports | 6 | Chevy | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | PHO 11 | CAL | | | | | | 40th | 675 | |
| 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 | |

#### 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 |
| 1991 | Chesrown Racing | 37 | Chevy | EVG | MMR | SON | SGS | POR | EVG 27 | SSS | MMR 2 | PHO DNQ | | | | | | | 24th | 391 |
| 1992 | Chesrown Racing | 37 | Chevy | MMR 1* | SGS 1* | SON 37 | SHA 4* | POR 10 | EVG 4 | SSS 1 | CAJ 14 | TWS 6 | MMR 2 | PHO 42 | | | | | 3rd | 1765 |
| 1993 | Chesrown Racing | 37 | Chevy | 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 |
| 1993 | Chesrown Racing | 61 | Chevy | | | | | | | | | | | | | MMR 3 | PHO 21 | | 1st | 2390 |
| 1994 | Chesrown Racing | 61 | Chevy | MMR | TUS | SON 41 | SGS | YAK | MMR | POR 1 | IND DNQ | CAJ | TCR | LVS | MMR 10 | PHO 33 | TUS | | 19th | 804 |
| 1995 | Chesrown Racing | 61 | Chevy | TUS | MMR | SON | CNS 6 | MMR | POR | SGS | TUS | AMP | MAD | POR | LVS | SON | MMR | PHO | 46th | 150 |
| 1996 | Chesrown Racing | 61 | Chevy | TUS 5 | AMP | MMR | SON | MAD | POR | TUS | EVG | CNS 15 | MAD | MMR | SON | MMR | PHO | LVS | 34th | 273 |
| 1999 | Chesrown Racing | 57 | Chevy | TUS 4 | LVS 16 | PHO | CAL 3 | PPR | MMR | IRW | EVG | POR | IRW | RMR | LVS | MMR | MOT | | 32nd | 445 |
| 2001 | Team Re/MAX Racing | 05 | Chevy | PHO | LVS | TUS | MMR | CAL 9 | IRW | LAG | KAN | EVG | CNS | IRW | RMR | LVS | IRW | | 47th | 143 |

### 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 |
| 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 | – |
| 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 | – |
| 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 |
| 2002 | Team Re/MAX Racing | 05 | Chevy | 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 |
| 2003 | Team Re/MAX Racing | 05 | Chevy | 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 |

### 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 $^{DNF}$ |