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~I AMAIProgressive Insurance U. S. Flat Track Championships Round 13: PMC Race ParI< seemed to be one rider or another who appeared to be capable of swiping the Prince of Peoria's crown from him. Carr doesn't have to wonder anymore, because that day finally came SCOTT ROUSSEAU PHOTOS BY FLAT TRAK PHOTOS PEORIA, IL, AUG. 18 l5C.xcept for the two times that he ~didn't come at all, reigning AMA Grand National Champion Chris Carr has woken up every Peoria TT race morning since 1988 wondering if that day was finally going to be the day in which someone besides himself stood atop the podium at PMC Race Park. More often than he ever may have let on, those mornings were filled with intense pressure. There always 18 AUGUST 28,2002' eye I e J.R. Schnabel (331 led a good chunk of the race, only to get passed by Nicky Hayden (691 on the last lap for the win. Here. Joe Kopp (31. Johnny Murphree (201. Chris Carr (11. Tommy Hayden (221. and the rest give chase. on August 18, 2002. Newly crowned AMA Superbike Champion, dirt tracker at heart and American motorcycle racing superhero du jour, Team Honda's Nicky Hayden, ended a Carr win streak that dates back to 1988 (although Carr did skip the '96 and '97 editions of the race to pursue his Superbike career) and stripped Carr's By perennial claim to the top of the Peoria podium in front of a crowd estimated to be 15,000. It was arguably the race that they had come to see been waiting to see - for several years, and it went into the books just as it should have. Like Carr had pre- n e _ s dicted someone would long ago, Hayden earned it. "It almost didn't work out, but I didn't give up," Hayden said. "This feels really good. It feels good because I beat Chris Carr - not that I really have any rivalry with him, but I wanted to be the guy to do it. Chris has won the last 13 yea rs that he has come here, and he'll be the guy to beat next year too. He'll always be the Prince of Peoria. "But this win is special to me," Hayden added. "To come from the, back like that... I didn't know if I was going to be able to pull this off. Peoria has always been one of my favorite places to race because the fans here are so awesome. I could see all the fans hanging over the fence and cheering me on - and that just motivated me. I've raced all over the world, and nobody is as cool as these fans are." In a heart-stopping race that was ultimately decided on the last lap, Hayden, who came all the way from the penalty line after jumping the start, shot around J.R. Schnabel off turn two just after the pair received the white flag to score a tremendously popular win. Hayden used the loose dirt on the outside of turn two, which had just enough moisture in it to carry him past Schnabel, who led much of the race and probably would have been credited as the first man to beat Carr if he had not bobbled at the exact same moment that Hayden got his tremendous drive toward the Peoria jump. "I thought so too," Schnabel said. "The first 10 laps went good. I'd gain on Chris [Carr] a little bit and then lose a little bit. I started getting tired, and finally he got me. I followed him for a couple laps and thought, 'He's not going any better than I am.' Then he started getting a little tired. We were both spinning the tire. I had a good line through three and four, and I got back under him. Then, a couple laps later, I screwed up a little bit and I looked back and saw the number 69. I thought, 'Oh, no, he came from somewhere because he wasn't there a long time.' I just figured I'd run low, but he came from around the outside and put it on me. That's why he is who he is. He's great rider. And my hat's off to Chris, too. He's still the man at Peoria, and he'll be the man when we come back here next year. Peoria means Carr." Team WE Racing/West Bend H a rl ey - D a v i d son/ Fi e Ids h ee r Leathers-backed Schnabel led the first 14 laps before the Quality Certified Pre-Owned Ford/David Liles Fuels-backed Carr caught and passed him just past the start/finish line on lap 15. Schnabel then went to school on Carr's lines repassed him on lap 21 to get back in the lead and