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/127537
eINTERVIEW e CAf Q') Q') ........ ~ ~ ..c: U .... ro ~ 28 Dirt tracker Chris Carr in the hunt, " said Carr, wh o' ha s now scored five Grand National win s at Peoria. " I led for 10 laps the year befor e, but I tired o ut and got passed. I was read y in '86; I kn ew that I had the skill as well as the conditio ning." The Peori a TT track has Carr's nam e written all over it. Hi s dominan ce o n the Illinoi s track has ear ned him the ni ckn am e " The Prince of Peor ia," and Carr loves it. "As I gre w up I got to race a lot of TTs, and I did well on th em at an early age," Carr sa id. "So, I kn ow th at I have an advantage over a lot of the o ther riders wh o didn 't get to do so." " T he thing I lik e best abou t Peori a is th at it pays to be aggress ive ," explained Carr. " On a lot of th e ovals, you have to go slow to be fast , but' at Peor ia , the harder you rid e, the lower your lap tim es go." Besides being th e man to beat at Peoria, Carr prides himself on being . a well -rounded racer; perhaps the mos t versati le in th e series. . " No t to be cocky about it, but I co nsider myself to be th e best allaro und din tracker. I can do well a t any type of race - I don 't specialize like som e guys do," Carr said. "It's a neat feeling to go to any track and know that yo u' ll be o ne of th e guys to beat. " And Carr's claims are valid. Besides having 17 Grand Nat ional wins under hi s belt, Carr a lso boasts fourconsecu tive 600cc Nat ion al titles. Carr spends almos t every weekend of the seaso n racing; wh ether it be at a Grand Nation al aboa rd hi s XR750, or at a 600cc Nati on al or local race aboa rd a 600cc sing le-cyli nder H arley. Man y attri bu te Carr's streng th at the Peoria TT and Dayton a Sho rt Track stops of the Grand Natio na l Champion sh ip Series, to the amo unt of tim e tha t he spe nds aboa rd a 600. " Chris probably spends more tim e aboard a 600 than all of us combined," sa id G rand Na ti drra . Champion a Parker. "I du st. mine o rr twice a year " ~ for Daytona and Peoria, but Carr races his through out the seaso n and reall y knows how to rid e it. " Carr finds little co nsolation in hi s four 600cc number one plates, though, as he has won each of them with rela tive ease. " T here's not a lo t of top Grand Nation al guys that race th e 600cc series full tim e," said Carr. " A few of th em sho w up here and th ere, but not consis tent ly. It would be mu ch more rewarding for me if the y did. " But sh o u ld hi s p eers decide to contest the 600cc series, Carr feels that he would cont inue to reign. " I would hav e a big advantage because I've spe nt so much time on them," said Carr. " Bu t it would sure mak e it a lot more interesting." Part of the reason that Carr continues to race the 600series is the lacko f Grand Nati onal Championship events. " T he (G rand National Champion ship) series is way too short. In the early 1980s there were over 25 races, and now there are only 16 a year," said Carr. "T he series also needs to hav e mor e types of races. Before, there used to be two or three short tracks and two or three TTs as well as the usual oval s. Today there's only one short track and only o ne TT. "T he way the sched ule is geared, gives the factor y riders an ad vantage and it's no t good for the spo rt," Carr added. " I know th e miles is wh at sells our sport, but the factor y has a big adva ntage at the mil es, and even at the half miles. T here's no way tha t a priva teer can co nsistent ly co m pe te with factory machinery. But pu t us on a short track or TT, and the advantage is zero. Anyone can win, and if the