Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

plate awarded to him at Pomona wasn't on display in his three bedroom house in Valley Springs, California. There was no special case for it, no room on the .mantle, and not even a special corner on the wall reserved for his prize. "He didn't even unpack it from his suitcase for a week or so," reported Carr's longtime girlfriend, Stacey Hall. "I had to remind him to, and even then he just set it on our dresser. "I think just the satisfaction of knowing that he is number one is enough," said Hall. "I guess the actual plate isn't a big deal. That's not what I expected." And what about the man who lost the number one plate? In post-season interviews, Parker made it very clear that he had competed in two less events than Carr and perhaps showed less sportsmanship than one would expect from a four-time champion. "How can I beat him if I don't race as many times as he does?" said Parker repeatedly. At the Oklahoma City Half Mile, Carr spun out while running third and disaster struck as he tried to pick his motorcycle up and rejoin the race. Parker clipped the rear of Carr's Harley and was sent flying over the handlebars. The defending champ suffered strained ligaments. in h~Jl;!ft 191elumcl. tQ9~ !'In. ambulance ride to the hospital, while Carr was able to make the restart and went on to finish eighth. After the incident many people, especially Parker, criticized Carr, saying that it was a "dumb" mistake and that he shouldn't have tried to pick his bike up and restart the race. "I learned a lesson early in racing, and that was to never give up:' said Carr. "In one of my first races at Lodi, I crashed and got upset. I didn't finish the race, but if I had gotten up and finished 1 would have gotten a trophy. When 1 found that out, I was even more upset. 1 was only six when I learned that lesson. (Above) The first "toy" that Carr purchased after winning the championship was a Honda XRlOO that he converted into a mini dirt tracker. Notice the numberplate? "4E is my official District n'umber," explained Carr. (Left) Carr and his longtime girlfriend Stacey Hall share a three bedroom house in Vailey Sprmgs, California. "From then on, if I have the opportunity to restart a race, I'm gonna do it. I owe it to myself and to the people that invest their money in me to never quit. "That was the case in Oklahoma. Here 1 am with my bike sitting on the groove. Two thoughts went through my mind - I have to get my bike off the groove, and I have to see if I can restart the race. Those were quick judgments that were made in a heartbeat of a second. I knew the bike was running, but I couldn't get my hand on the clutch lever because it was buried. The only way to get it up was to pick it up and try to grab the clutch lever real fast. I knew that something would happen, but I thought 1 could do it. 1 didn't think it would kick out like it did, and it got hit before I even got a chance to grab the lever. Some people say that it was intentional. Hell, 1 couldn't have choreographed it any better if 1 had practiced it for a year!" Hindsight is 20/20, but when asked if he would do it differently if he had the chance, Carr replied, "No, I wouldn't change anything. I would do the same thing because I don't feel that 1 made a bad call. That's all a part of racing. You've got to take the good with the bad." As far as Parker goes, Carr has yet to speak with his teammate since the close of the season. "I think Scotty is handling it (finish- ing second) the way he feels that he needs to handle it. r took my lumps, and I feel that 1 handled it with class all of these years. Now it's his turn," said Carr. "This is the way I look at it. A lot of people.will ask you, 'What does it take to be champion?' Well, the answer is this: You have to have a good motorcycle and you have to have a good mechanic. You have to be a damned good rider, which Scotty and I have both proven. And you have fo have luck. 1 say that this year 1 finally had a little more luck than Scott. Luck really has a lot- to do with this business, whether we like to say so or not. "I've put everything that I have into winning the Grand National Championship for the past few years, and 1 have been close - real close - on a few occasions. What it took for me to finally win it was some good luck." Now that he's got that luck, Carr hopes to hold on to it, and take it with him down the seemingly natural road that many dirt trackers follow - from dirt to pavement. . With road racing looming in his future, one may wonder why Carr, like so many other dirt trackers, hasn't dabbled in road racing in the past. 'Tvealways felt that if you're going to do something, you should do it right," said Carr. "I feel that if 1 had tried to road race here and there in the past, it would have hampered my dirt tracking. The same goes for the future. When I decide to go road racing, I know that I will have to leave dirt track behind." When questioned about the accomplishments of dirt tracker-tumed-road' racer Doug Chandler, who at one time successfully split several seasons between the two disciplines, Carr replied, "Some people ca.t:\ do that. I'm just not one of them. I can't take anything away from Doug, look where he is now. (Chandler recently signed a lucrative two-year contract to contest a factory Cagiva in the World Championship 500cc Road Race Series.) But I think he would have gotten where he is a lot sooner if he had concentrated solely on road racing when he made the switch." Carr is realistic about his switch to road racing - he makes no big claims and insists on nothing. 'Tll get on a 250 first, that's for sure," Carr said. "It doesn't matter to me if it's in the AMA, WERA or ARRA series, what I'm going to need is experience. Of course, my ultimate goal is to someday race in Europe - you're not gonna .get rich in America, at least not right now. "I know that I'm going to have to take my lumps, but I plan on paying my dues and doing it right. While I respect Jean-Michel Bayle as a motocrosser, I think he was stupid to jump right into Grand Prix racing. And now he's switching to the 500cc class. There are only a handful of guys that can ride a 500 to its potential. Me? I'll have to find out how fast I can go on a 250 before I can start thinking about riding a 500." Does Carr feel that he will be as successful as his dirt track predecessors Kenny Roberts, Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson and Chandler? " 'm going to need a good, solid year on a road racer before I can answer that question," Carr answered modestly. "I think that dirt trackers still have somewhat of an advantage with their sliding background, just look at all of the American World Champions. Every one of them have dirt track experience. I think that says a lot in itself." When indeed he does make the switch, Carr plans on taking his longtime friend and mechanic, Kenny Tolbert, with him. "I would definitely like to keep 13

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