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;:AMA GraiI~ NationalCham ionship.Series . Round 13: Peoria TT :D TTR K· . IR AC By Donn Maeda Photos by Bert Shepa rd and Maeda PEORIA, n, AUGUST 7 n Peoria, Illinois, you can count on the sun rising every morning, and setting every evening. And it also seems that, once a year, you can count on Team Harley-Davidson's Chris Carr to fly to victory at the Peoria Motorcycle Club's annual Busch Beersponsored Grand National TT. An exaggeration? Perhaps, but of the last nine runnings of the famous event, Carr has won eight - with the last seven coming in succession. "The pressure for me to win this race is unbelievable," said Carr, after his most recent win. A load has been taken off my shoulders, that's for sure. At least for the next 12 months, it has." In nabbing his seventh-consecutive Peoria TT win, Carr not only further extended his series points lead over Scott Parker - third at Peoria - he earned a place in the mo torcycle racing history 'books, as well. Entering the event, Carr already the facility's winningest rider was tied with former Grand Nat ional Champion Joe Leona rd for the mostconsecutive Peoria win s: Like Ca r r, Leonard dominated the clubgrounds between 1953-61, racing to six-consecutive wins, but the dirt track legend's na me will now forever be listed after Carr 's in the club's record books. Carr I U also moved into a tie with the late Steve Eklund for first on the all-time TT win list. Both riders boast nine Grand National TT victories, but most insiders agree that Carr will take over first place on that list as well, when the series moves west to the Castle Rock TT this September. "To be honest, I wasn't even aware of the Joe Leonard record," said Carr. "But I'm glad that my ninth' win has brought up the name of Steve Eklund. More than being happy about tying him for the most TT wins, I'm glad that my win has brought his name up and reminded us of him. He was a great racer, the best TT rider of his time." Finishing second was Bartels' Harley-Davidson rider Mike Hale, the same youngster who pressured Carr across the finish line at last year's event. Prior to the race, many dubbed Hale as the man who would finally break Carr's win streak, but the likable Texan was again forced to play the role of the bridesmaid. Hale got the start he wanted - one that was better than Carr's - but in the mad scramble to overtake early leader Ben Bostrom, Hale slipped off the groove and allowed Carr to pounce. Bostrom eventually dropped out of the race with mechanical woes, but not before he fended off Hale's attacks and allowed Carr to scoot away. "I just got a little too anxious," said Hale, who announced that this was his last-ever Peoria TT. "I wanted to get into the lead and pull away from Chris, but I slipped up . You can't slip up when you have Carr behind you ." Hale, a member of the Smokin' Joe's Honda road race team, will pursue the AMA Superbike National Championship full time in 1995. "This is my last visit to Peoria, and I was really hoping to win it," said Hale. Another rider who many felt could dethrone the Prince of Peoria was fourtime Grand National Champion Scott Parker. The factory Harley rider flew higher and further over Peoria's notorious jump than he ever had, but it still wasn't enough. Parker pressured Hale to the end, but was forced to settle for third and lose seven precious points to his championship rival, Carr. "I really tried to hammer down today and felt better than I ever have," said Parker. "But [ slipped up a li ttle bit towards the end and let them guys get away.a bit." Carr enjoys an ll-point lead over Parker, 177-166, while third-placed §teve Morehead has 143. After toying .with the idea of skipping the TT, Morehead showed up and turned in a respectable 10th -place finish to earn a few points. Still, the popu lar veteran saw Parker pull further out of reach. "When I come here, I fake what I can get," said More head. "TT isn't really my cup of tea, but I figured I should come and race anyway." Oddly enough, Carr's win was only Ben Bostrom (11) led Mike Hale (32), Chris Carr (4), Eric Bostrom (17Y) and the rest at the start of the 25-lap National. his second of the series - his first came at the series-opening Daytona Short Track. Consisten t finishes have allowed him to maintain his points advantage over Parker, who has won four races, and Morehead, who has won three. HEATS Several surprises were had in the seven four-lap scratch heats that were used to determine starting positions in the four lo-lap heat races. While no one was surprised to see Carr, Andy Tresser, Rodney Farris, Aaron Hill and recentlycrowned 600cc Na tional Champion Mickey Fay win their respective scratch heats, many were pleasantly surprised to see Morehead and Jay Springsteen top their qualifiers with commanding performances. Barte ls ' Harley-Davidson's Eric Bostrom led the way in the opening heat race, but was forced back to third by Ha rley-Davidson of Sacramento-sponsored Aaron Hill and a hard-charging Parker. Hill was the firs t to sneak past Bostrom, but Parket followed a few laps later and quickly reeled him in. At the finish, Parker was only inches behind Hill , and guaranteed a starting spot in the main. Bostrom and the rest would