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Chris Carr - ready for '86,
rel s o f 1985, but in stead has been
training harder th an ever. Betw een
time spent o n th e phon e with prospective sponsors, Carr ha s been doing
a little bit of every th ing with hi s
o ff-season.
" I h ave ridden a co u p le o f rn otocrosses a t Sa nd H ill (in Brentwood,
Ca lifo rnia) an d I've been riding on
th e ca na l bank s in Stockt on ," h e
says . " I' ve a lso been liftin g wei ghts
a nd runn in g, so bel ween th at and
talkin g on the phone, I' ve been pretty
bu sy."
Wilh th e unpredi ctabl e H ouston
Short T rack co mi ng fir st th is year,
leaving Houston with a ny po ints
would be a rea l bonus. " I ca n dea l
with H ouston , but it 's not my favorite racetrack," Carr sa id. " Bu t it's the
same for every body . I' m feeling co n fid ent a nd I hope to do well th ere this
year. It' s like a crap shoo t; yo u have
10 ha ve a lot o f good luck th ere. First
to 60th in q ua lify ing is reall y clo se,
a nd o ne bob ble durin g qualifying
can put you o u t o f th e program. You
have to p u t togeth er a spot-o n night
10 do well , a n d hopefull y. I ca n h ave
o ne"of th ose ni ghts co me Febr ua ry
Interview: Camel Pro Series Rookie ofthe Year
Chris Carr
A rookie no more
By Paul Carruthers
Northern California's Chris Carr made an
immediate impact on the -AMA/Camel Pro
Series in 1985. The I8-year-o ld made a
highly successful transition from Junior
d ivision ra cin g in 1984 to th e
Ex pert ranks in 1985. H e finished seve nt h in th e Grand
Nat ional Championsh ip, ca me
16
veryclose to winn in g h is firs t Na tion a l.
a nd ca pped o ff the year by bein g
named Rook ie of the Year. All this
whil e maintaining hi s hon or stude n t
sta tus as a senior in high school,
H eadin g into th e o pe n ing round
o f th e 1986 season o n February I at
th e H ouston Ast rod om e, Ca rr ha s to
be a mong th e favorites to cha lle nge
Bubba Shobert for th e titl e. He proved
last year th a t h e is will in g to ban g
handl eb a rs with th e best d irt track
, raci ng ha s 10 o ffer - a nd t hings-ca n
only get better .
Last year the series started in th e
Astrodo me wi th th e TT, a nd Ca rr
made hi s de bu t with a n inth -pl ace
fin ish . T he fo llowing n ig ht in th e
short track , he was kn ock ed o ff in h is
heat race, but h is ca reer was o n its
way . In th e San jose short tr ack
Na tiona l o n Ma y 4, Ca rr ca me very
close to beating j ay Sp ringsteen, a nd
hi s seco nd p lace wa s th e best of hi s
yo ung ca reer. H e went o n to sco re
poi nts in 17 of th e 2 1 d irt track
Na tional s.
For 1986, Ca rr will be back o n th e
familiar Wood/Rot ax mach in es for
th e short tra ck s a nd TTs w hi le
switch i ng to H arley-Da vidso n 's for
th e half miles and mil es. At p ress
ti me, Carr was n egotiat in g w i th
H a rley-Dav idson for a su p port ride
this yea r under the Mert Lawwill/
El ecto West banner. H e is co n fide n t
o f gelli ng th e su pport.
" I don 't see a ny p robl em ge lli ng
th e H arleys for th e half miles a nd
m iles," sa id Carr. "And I ho pe 10
have everything figured ou t in th e
ne xt co up le of wee ks."
Ca rr is sa tis fied with hi s rookie
year a nd th e sop homore j inx th eo ry
doesn' t bo ther him. " I was real p leased
with my performance and a lso wi th
th e performa nce of th e bikes I rode,"
Carr sai d . " T he R&B H a rleys we nt
rea ll y we ll as d id th e equipment Ron
(Wood) put me o n . Th is year, teaming up wi th Law wi ll a nd wit h a lillie
m o re experience under m y belt, I
thi nk I ca n be more o f a factor in th e
G ra nd Nat ional Cham pi onship."
The man wh o ha s put Carr o n hi s
wi nn ing Rot ax- en g in ed dirt trackers
has eq ua l pra ise for h is you ng rid er.
" He's a good lilli e rid er and o ne of
th e best up-and-comers we've had in
a wh ile," Wo od said. " He's easy to
wo rk with , h e listens, a n d h e has his
race face o n every tim e h e goes o u t o n
th e track . H e gives u s good feedback
a nd if everythi ng works o ut, h e sho u ld
be number o ne so me time in th e n ear
future. " .
Ca rr ha sn 't been rest in g o n hi s la u-
l st,
Carr ende d 1985 with a n eig h th p lace fini sh in th e Superbiker s ra ce
h eld in Ca rl sbad , Ca lifornia. It wa s
hi s best show ing a t th e star-filled
event , but more importan tly, it landed
h im a new sponsor for th is year.
" I was approached by the vice_ presid ent of RS T ai chi - th e makers
of j apan ese leathers called Nix e - and
they a re tryin g 10 ge t th eir product
o ut to more of th e p ub lic ," h e sa id.
" Hopefu lly , we ca n grow togethe r."
Wh o wi ll be Carr's biggest co mpetit ion in 1986?
" Bu bba ha s to be th e guy 10 beat."
Ca rr sai d. " Bu t I th in k R icky (G ra ha m ) wi ll be real hung ry after losing
h is fac tory ride. And if Sp ri ngsteen is
health y, yo u kn ow what th ey say - if
he's health y, h e' s hell - a nd Parker
shou ld be righ t th ere 100."
With the possi ble bac king of H ar leyDavidson.M en Lawwitl/ Elecrro West
Racing, Ron Wo od Raci ng , Shoei
H elm ets a nd RS T ai ch i, Carr ap p ea rs
to be o n h is way to a good yea r. H e is
co n fide nt, but not o verco n fident of
hi s cha nces th is year.
" I wouldn 't pu t you r life savings
o n me," Ca rr sai d . " Bu t if I improve
o ver m y ro oki e year, th en I' ll be sa tisfied . I ca n ' t mak e a ny predictions
a bo u t a cha m pions h ip . If it happens,
g rea t. But if it doesn' t, there will
a lways be n ex t yea r an d th e year after
that -.- . ) '• ••• _•••• ,
•
