Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Checked Flat Track Cham ion Chris Carr IkIent that we wiD maintain our relationship with Ford. They .... an auto company, and they think In different hInns than a motorcycle company. Their 2006 budgets ' - ' t been released yet." Reprdless, whatever Carr does will continue to lndude a tIllIIm nucleus of which longtime tuner and frlencI Kenny Tolbert Is a hup part. '" ClOlIlldel Kenny and ~ the core of my success, IIld we've had a lot of people through the years who have flelllated that IU«IISI, Ib MIke Shattuck, and a gentleIIWI by die name of Dutch Hoy, and obYlousIy Mike DImi Ford for havInI flIIth In our flI'OllI"lII1l," Carr says. "CenlmunIcadan and CIlIII1I'I1OII pis ' - been Il1OI1I In1*fIIIt tIIIn lndMduII . - d on this -.n. It's more dIiI,-. bfI. or a rtdIr. k . . . ....,.. effort to win." The IPPl 'OIldt to 1006, could be quite • bit different hri In die past, Carr. . If he Is IC*'I to race for two ~ dttn he knows thIt there could be a itfllil'llie CIIt ef icily chIIracters In eICh. "WtI4in JOUt,. I'Idf1I for the Grand National ~, and JOU to pIIces Ib Peoria and :QiI:~" ~,. I'llCIrW • lot of &IJYI who 8I'IIIl't really a ........ In the poInIs,.. CIrr IB)'L ~ thole [singles] races, au l'-'h,'flI[I)~'~ QMlld be.". that ' D be I'llCIn& a championship \il;~. this ~ and JIM johnson. J.R. Sc:hnIbeI il8lfnw..wwtdl!l~.". lin the . . . . -a], j ~ . . . . . . MI on those partlcuIar f, 1'1 t'MIIIIIlI)< *'" those lMIlt$ dIlJer- .,,* FUJI fA MIllO blat, I\'lClIt Ib- IIliIIIl'Ilo MtIIIlIIl. . . wi be dIIferwnt." ft.~~ hM 2006 forwwd. Carr Is c:antIii'~ NIItol'IlIIIefl/:r II -.an. Such Fries htd NIIIonII'4lc:lIOrteI, wi "JIIvlIIIIzed «1* ~ he .. quick 110 point out that how'" 1IIlcII. won't be up 110 him. ""l'lW, up to the ttudena of the pme to judge," "e--/lbIn& could be the same In 2006, and I CotW out and win the next six chImplonshlps in a _ . ind that won't put me In the position to judge dW*t who CllIn8 before me." by""'''. c:.r.. eo But, for the sake of those who did come before him, Carr hopes that the AMA can properly preserve the sport while managing its transition away from the Grand National format. "' think it's important that there be some sort of link to the past," Carr says. "I think that if there's one thing that flat track has right now that's of most value, it's that history. If AMA loses that link to the past - and you don't have to say that this [new] guy is Grand National Champion - then I think that's a fatal mistake for flat track. , undentand the need to make flat track a little more niche oriented, like road racing and motocross, but road racing and motocross don't have our history. There are no '50s and '60s heroes from the U.S. in road racing and motoreross, but we [flat track] have that, and we need to keep memorializing those individuals, many of [whom] are still alive today. We need to be able to continue to educate the flat-track fans down the road. , think you can use the present to honor the past and educate the future, and still accomplish what we need to accomplish, which is growth for flat track." While Carr will be linked to the sport's glorious past, how much longer he will be linked to its present is up for consideration. Carr says that he is seriously looking at retirement - possibly at the end of 2006. "At this point, especially now, yes," Carr says. '" did a couple of Interviews earlier In the year, and people wwe askil1l me how long, and , told them that I was Iooklng at two-year windows. Now it's a one-year window, and If some other opportunities come along, then I want explore those as well." What opportunities? You might be surprised at Carr's answer. "I want to I'3Ce the Pike's Peak Hillclimb one day," Carr says. "That's a n going uphill. It just never has worked out in my schedule to go and do that, and in order to go and do those things, you have to go and be prepared. I don't want to just go there just to ride the mountaln. I want to win. Carr also has a great interest in land-speed racing. He says he has already had some initial discussions with one of the top motorcycle streamliner teams about possibly getting behind the tiller and going for the absolute motorcycle land-speed record at Bonneville. "I'm always Interested in going fast, and fortunately there's nothing out there to hit when you're going that speed. There might be some opportunities like that, and you never know, maybe one day I'n go and do Baja as wen. There are some other things in motorcycling that I've always admired and just haven't had a chance to do." Whatever happens, life is good, and Carr continues to enjoy it with his wife, Pam, and two sons, Cale, 9, and Cameron, 7. He has no regrets - save one, perhaps - and he knows that for the sport he loves, the big picture Is at stake now. "On a personal level, I am a little bitter that I don't have the opportunity to chase that sixth championship, but in the end I believe that there is a ton of potential for flat track to grow under the current proposaJ," Carr says. "But if the people in the position to make it grow do not strive to make it work as hard as I have strived to make my career a success and to promote the sport as hard as I tried to promote it under the old system, if they don't put the effort out that I have put out, I am going to be disappointed. I expect those people to put out the effort for those of us who have kept flat track going for the last 20 years. If they don't, there are going to be some pissed-off people, and I'm going to be one of them." eN au M

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