Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127291
wh en he's ou t here visiting than I do . the res t of th e year," Carr said. T o ea rn th e ri ght to tak e it " easy" du ring th e winter, race rs like Parker and Carr let it all hang o ut on the weeken ds during the seaso n, . Carr considerably more times th an Parker. The champion picks and chooses his races, a nd aside from occasional forays in (0 th e roa d racin g world (he a n no u nce d at th e Novem ber 3 AMA Pro Awards Banquet th a t he -in ten ds to take part in th e Daytona 200 in Mar ch , so me th i ng he said he had n o in terest in do in g in early 1990), tak in g pa rt i n the Dayto na 600 Nation al th e n igh t befor e th e Camel P ro Na tional this year a nd t he a fore men tio ned races in It a ly, he co nce nt r a te d excl us ive ly o n th e Grand Nati on al Ch am pionsh ip events in 1990. Carr, on th e o ther hand, liv es to ra ce. In addition to h is full Cam el Pro Series sched u le, Carr compe ted in a ll but on e round of the 600 (Left) Chris Carr, on the left, and Scott Pa rker tug at the plate. Parker has it, Carr wants it. (Below) For the past two years running, the pair have finished 1-2 in the final Camel Pro Series point standings. Concerning next year's title fight, defending champ Parker says, "I've got my money on myself ." Nationa l Series. " I'd go nu ts (if I didn 't race)," Carr said. Pa rker approaches the sport in a more businesslike manner , ci ting the risks involved and tha t h e doesn' t feel racing for lesser purses is wi se in ligh t of the large sum o f ยท m oney that rewards the win ne r of the Ca me l Pro Series. Because of th e every present elem en t of danger, Park er says h e probab ly wou ldn't race if th e finan cia l rewards were n' t as grea t as they are. " If my H a rl ey sa la ry an d th e Camel bon us money wen t away, I'd have to ge t an outside sponsor or I would n ' t race." Parker co llected $100,000 in bon us money fro m Ca mel a nd .$50,000 from H arley-Dav id son for wi n ning th e ti tle this year. Add to that h is H arley sa la ry - rep ortedl y $80,000, the sizeable amo u nt o f p u rse mon ey he co llec ted, alo ng with Cam el Ch al len g e mo ney a nd the $5000 p er Nat ional wi n bo n us from Harley, a nd yo u can see th at before a ny endo rseme nt income th e cham p is p ush ing th e h alf-m i ll ion do llar m ark in annual i ncome. " It's not eq ual to wh at th e road racers in Europe are ge tt ing, but . th ere's no way you' re going to go ou t and earn mon ey li ke th at in a regular job," Parker sai d. T he big chec k - the $ 100,000 on e th e Grand Na tio nal Champio n col-: lects from Camel - is the u lt imate mot iva tor. T he run ner-u p in th e Ca mel Pro Series receives $30,000. Pa rker bega n the season as a seaso ned veteran , a two- time Grand Nat ional Champio n. Even when he was beh in d in the poi nt sta n di ngs or when h e an d Ca rr were virtua lly deadl ocked , he never p ubl icl y showed any signs of pr essure. "Su re th ere's press ure, bu t I've p roven w h at I ca n d o . T here 's no th ing like the feel ing you get wh en you win the pl a te th e first time. You 've acco mplished wh a t every d irt tracker wants to do. And no bo dy ca n ever take th a t awa y fro m you . I' m relax ed a t races. I like to ta lk to peopl e, tal k to fans, tal k to th e pre ss." Car r is a lso cordial at races bu t he definitely puts on mor e of a race face. "Yea h, a nd I rea lly felt the pressu re at th e end of the season." Carr h id from the press and hi s fans fo r a half hour or so after th e Sa n J o se Mil e, in wh ich h e fi n is he d seco nd to Park er. H aving lost th e points l ead to Park er a t th e previou s ro und - while racing for th e lead a t th e Springfi eld Mil e, Carr was b lac k-flagged du e to a crac ked o il tank th at was spew in g oi l - an d obvio us ly di sappointed in "seei ng Park er pull even further a hea d wi th just two races rem aining, Carr also had so methi ng else to think ab ou t. Wh at he was pondering , woul d eventua lly tu rn i nto a posi tive th ing. The seaso n co ncl uded a t Sacrame nto