Rick Carelli is not about to call it quits in racing. But this will be his final year with Davy Lee Liniger and REMAX Racing. “We’re not going to contend for any series title because we are just picking and choosing our races this summer,” Carelli, 48, said Monday. “But Dave told us he would see us through this season. We’re going to run some ARCA, some Southwest Series events, race at Colorado National in Erie and down at (Pikes Peak International Raceway). Carelli has competed in three races this season. He finished fifth Sunday in an ARCA event at Kansas Speedway in Kansas. He ran up front most of the race, even leading for three laps late in the race. But failing tire pressure forced him to fall back. “We’re going to run for REMAX until Nov. 2, then I will be looking for a job,” said Carelli, who opened his season with a fifth-place finish at Daytona and has finished 10th at Nashville. “I’ve given a lot of my life to racing, and I still think I have a lot more to give.” Carelli said he would not mind getting back into NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series, which he competed in from the series’ inception in 1995 until a 1999 accident at Bristol. Carelli will race at Michigan International Speedway next week in an ARCA race that will serve as the support event for Winston Cup stop at the track. The real pressure, though, will come at PPIR on July 26, when he tries to win on the 40th birthday of his wife, Cathy. Even when Carelli calls it a career as a driver, he hopes to stay in the racing business, perhaps as a mentor to his son, Dominic, 12, or as an owner.(Rocky Mountain News)(6-3-2003)
