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·.·AMIR NationalChampionship.Serles . Round 14: Rapid City Half Mile D TTR K.:, ·. . AC AGrand (Above) Chris Carr (4) and Scott Parker (2) led Rodney Farris (92), Ronnie Jones (16) and the rest at the start ofthe 25-lap National. .(Left) Harley-Davidson teammates Scott Parker (2) and Chris Carr (4) ran this close for most of the race. They were separated by mere inches at the finish. By Dave Hoenig Photos by Flat Trak FotDS RAPID CITY, SD, AUG. 10 ea m H arley-Da vidson ' s Chris Carr did something that he hasn't done all year on the AMA Grand National Championship circuit - win a main event on a 750. Carr, the cu rren t series points leader, has certa inly shown his trademark consistency throu gh out the 1994 campaign, and it w as pra ctically a given that th e " Pri nce of Peoria " would come ou t on top when the Grand National regulars made their an n ual stop at the Peoria IT. Butvictory in the Rolling Thunder T Show eluded th e 1992 champ un til the AMA Gr and Nation al Champions hip . Series made its only mid -we ek stop of 1994, during the Black Hills Motorcycle Rally, as Marlboro pr esented the Drag Specialties Grand National at the Black Hills Speedway half mile. It turned into an excellent race between Harley-Davidson factory teammates Carr and Scott Parker, as Carr made a last-lap charge work, sna tching the win from Parker. "It's grea t to w in this r ace on a Harley, out here in fro n t of all th ese H arley fan s," said Carr , w ho wi de ned his points lead over Parker. "The Hondas ha ve kicked our butts the last couple of years." Carr extended his points lea d over Parker to 15, and now leads the series, 197-182. Carr looked to be in trouble when Parker took the lead on lap 23 of the 25lap National. "I was getting a great drive off four and I looked there on the white-flag lap," said Carr. "I got just enough of a run that I made up my mind to try there on the last lap . I think Scotty got a little conserva tive after he took the lead, but in a ra ce like .that, it 's easier to follow than to lea d . Early in the race he was loo kin g inside, but he couldn't get as good a drive from down there. I didn't have to change my line to make my run, that made it a lot easier." Park er ne ver gave Carr a moment's re st, as he stayed glued to the points leade r after Carr took over on lap three. "When I took the lead back , I had to become mor e conservative," said Parker. "No t conservative as much as just careful to protect my line. I wanted to ge t on the groove and be as wide as I cou ld, to make him pass me on the outside. That's wha t I did, and he still beat me. He knew he d idn' t hav e anything to lose, if he didn't try the outside, he was goi ng to finis h secorid anyway. I think we bo th felt we were alo ne, after we lo o ked back earl y an d no one was there." . Un til a late-race slip, A&R Racing's Will Davis was closing dramatically, but a near fall left Davis sa tisfied wi th thir d. "I had a grea t seat to watch Scott and Chris," said Davis. "Man, they were all over each other. I thought I'd pitched it away for sure. I was looking for a place to land." Inconsis tent track conditions left the vast majority of the riders saying that they couldn't get their machines to hook up . It was the one sound heard throughout the pits. HEATS A large field of 53 entries was placed into eight qualifying heats with two second-chance races. Ronn ie Jones, Dav ey . Durelle, Rodney Farris, Rich King, Geo Roeder II, Parker, Carr and Kenny CooIbeth won the first rounds. Jeff Dietz and Jess Roeder topped the second chances. Carr's 1.35.47 four laps were jus t .016