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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128374
Why not just work a deal to get back with Goad? Well, Johnny has got Jared [Mees), and they are doing great. I would really have been putting myself - and Johnny would have been putting himself - in the same situation that I was already in, on a two-rider team without enough funds or manpower to get the job done right. There was no sense in me coming in there and messing up what he and Jared have going. We talked about it, though, and Johnny is the one who got me hooked up with Carl. It seems like most of the top-level guys who go to American Supercamp come out a whole lot better, and they also come away with a newfound respect for Carr. What is that all about for you guys? It's just an unbelievable experience. Everybody should just be able to sit with Chris Carr for one hour. He is an awesome guy on or off the track, for the sport, everything. If he ever retired, we'd be in trouble. A lot of people would like to see that happen just because he wins so much, but he is a major, major part of this sport, and he's not just out for Chris Carr. He has come to so many of How has your relationship with Carl started off? It's going okay. We are communicating, and he is learning how to deal with me. You could talk to any of the other tuners that I have ridden for, and they could probably tell you that I am just as quirky as Joe Kopp or Kenny Coolbeth or Johnny Murphree. We all give them something different to deal with. Carl is learning how to download my lingo about what the bike is doing and interpret that into what he needs to do to make the right changes. We tested the week before the Daytona Short Track, tested a lot of stuff on the Harleys, and found out some of the things that we don'r want to do. But I think overall we're going in the right direction. I know he has a really good motor program, and he has been around a long time. He has championships under his belt, and I have a set mechanic who is working on bikes for Mike Hacker 40 hours a week, or whatever, and we are both going after the same thing. We both make our money at the track that day, and we both depend on each other. I think that's what you need to go fast. "My dream has always just beep to be a major. player In the sport and to be known In It and recognized as somebody who was always there." - Mike Hacker You have spent a lot of your career injured, and it's a little surprising that your results have been as good as they have been in spite of that. I am tired of getting hurt. That last injury to my leg at the Springfeld TT [2002] was the third one on that leg. That's part of the reason why I have started attending American Supercamps. Chris Carr came to me a couple years ago and said that he wanted to help me. 36 APRIL 20,2005 • CYCLE NEWS us [competitors) and said, "Hey, I can help you, and want to help you." That says a lot about his character. You're well known as a miler, and you have had solid results on the half mile, but you're TT and short track performances aren't up to par with your bigbike performances. Do you think that you can you turn that around and be the more complete rider that it takes to be a championship contender? [Nods heod yes) When I rode for Johnny, I was good everywhere, and Supercamp has been unbelievable in helping me to adjust for whatever the racetrack throws at me on that day. My short track results haven't shown it yet, but I know that I am a better short tracker than I was two years ago. You mentioned the people that you answer to, namely the sponsors, such as SuperTrapp, who have supported you. SuperTrapp actually came with you from Pat to Carl. Describe your relationship with them. They are the backbone of Mike Hacker racing. They have supported me through injuries, through team swaps and not running up front. Without them, I could not go racing. They're a great bunch of people. I am blessed to have them be on board, to see where I am going and what I want to do, and to support me like they do. I also have to thank Lombardi's Harley-Davidson and Schott's Harley-Davidson, who have come on board through Carl and are playing a big role in what we're doing. Z Galleries and Tom Norton have really stepped it up this year. It takes a lot of money to do this, and without the help of all of these people, we couldn't even reach for our goals. What do you want to accomplish in this sport? What do you feel like you still can accomplish? My dream has always just been to be a major player in the sport and to be known in it and recognized as somebody who was always there. My goal now is to get back to winning races. I haven't tasted that since Du Quoin (2003). I almost won at Hagerstown last year, and when I was put at the level that J was with Johnny, it's hard to digest being at the level I am right now resultswise. I'm pushing to get back on that level of where you're there and they have to beat you. That feels good. So, are you behind or ahead of where you should be? I'm behind, and you could attribute it to my bouncing around to the different rides or all the injuries - there are a million excuses, but I'm not where I need to be and where J know I can be. I don't think that there is anybody who works any harder than I do at this sport. A lot of it is my head, and I know that if we get some good finishes under our belt, we're going to start climbing back up that ladder. eN