| CARR
BECOMES ONLY THE SECOND FIVE-TIME AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPION
Chris
Carr wrapped up his fifth AMA Grand National Championship Saturday in
the final weekend of the 2003 AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat
Track Championship. Carr, 36, of Fleetwood, Pa., clinched the championship
with a fifth-place finish in Saturday night’s
Springfield (Ill.) Short Track race. The only rider
who had a chance at catching Carr, series rival Johnny Murphree,
finished eighth and that effectively put Carr out of reach with just
the Springfield Mile the next day. Carr led major portions of the
season-ending Springfield Mile, but lost out in the draft and finished
fourth.
Only one other rider in the history of the AMA Grand National Championship,
Carr’s old rival Scott Parker, has more championships than
Carr. Parker won nine titles during his 21-year racing career. Carr
just
completed his 17th season in the Grand National Series. He missed
two years in the mid-1990s while he road raced for Harley-Davidson
in AMA Superbike.
On the season Carr won a series-leading five races pushing his career
wins record to 62, second all-time in AMA Grand National Championship
racing. Carr also moved to the head of pack in the all-time career
AMA Short Track National wins list. With three of his wins coming
on short tracks Carr, with a total now of six-career wins, moved
ahead of legends Kenny Roberts and Steve Eklund in career short track
victories.
“
It’s a pretty cool feeling to be able to say in the history
of the sport I’ve accomplished something that only one other
guy has done,” said Carr, whose other championships came in
1992, 1999, 2001 and 2002. “I’m proud of our team from
our sponsors, to my wife and kids, to my crew chief Kenny Tolbert
and
Rich Bates who put in a lot of time to allow me to win another championship.
They worked hard and this championship is more than a victory for
just myself, it’s a victory for a lot of people and I wouldn’t
have been able to accomplish what I have without them.”
Carr rode three brands of Quality Checked Certified Pre-Owned Ford-sponsored
motorcycles during the 2003 season – VOR, Rotax and Harley-Davidson.
Carr started the season with a victory in the Daytona Beach Short
Track series opener. He never relinquished the championship lead
throughout the entire season. In all Carr scored nine podium finishes
with victories in Daytona Beach, Fla., Chillicothe, Ohio,
Haubstadt, Ind., Hagerstown, Md., and Columbus, Ohio.
Carr plans on returning to defend his championship in 2004.
Johnny Murphree finished runner-up to in the series for the second
straight year. Former champ Joe Kopp was third. A total of 10 riders
won races this year showing continued parity in the championship.
108,900 fans attended the 17 races in the series. Five rounds were
nationally televised on Speed Channel. The AMA Grand National Championship
will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.
For immediate post-race results, points, in-depth series and rider
information, regular columnists and much more, log onto www.1800FlatTrack.com,
the official website of the AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track
Championship.
About AMA Pro Racing
AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport
in the United States. Its properties include the AMA Supercross Series,
the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship, the AMA Chevy Trucks
U.S. Superbike Championship, the AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat
Track Championship and the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship. Nearly
2 million race fans attended AMA Pro Racing events during the 2002
season. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.
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