While our museum on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway is temporarily closed as we join the world in the fight against COVID-19, the stories of our Heroes of Horsepower shine like an eternal flame. On his birthday, here is a look at 2020 inductee Chris Carr and his amazing career that brought him to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 6, 2020) – Chris Carr, a 2020 inductee into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) who celebrates his 53rd birthday today, won his first AMA Grand National Flat Track title in 1992 as a factory Harley-Davidson rider. It was the beginning of a run that eventually would include six more Grand National titles, 78 championship wins, seven 600cc crowns and a Formula USA Dirt Track Series title.
Impressive credentials but consider this: the early years of his career were spent competing against four dirt-track champions who preceded Chris into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America – Ricky Graham (MSHFA Class of 2014), Scott Parker (MSHFA Class of 2009), Bubba Shobert (MSHFA Class of 2007) and Jay Springsteen (MSHFA Class of 2005 ). And that, according to Chris, is what made him a seven-time time Grand National champion.
“I got beat by the best and I learned from the best,” said Carr, a California native who has lived in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania for the last 23 years. “Then it was my turn.”
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His turn, though, was interrupted by his desire to test his talents in road racing. Chris made the move to compete in both dirt track and on asphalt as a member of Harley’s fledgling road race team. In 1995, Chris won three national dirt-track races and finished third in the Grand National championship standings. He was also named AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year in road racing.
Chris put his dirt-track career on hold and devoted the next two years to improving his road race skills. In 1996, he gave the Harley factory its first and only pole position, but that was not enough. Harley’s VR1000 Superbike was grossly underpowered and Chris was 30 years old with a deep desire to win. With no horsepower improvement in sight for the VR1000, he made the switch back to the Grand National series at the end of 1997.
With the factory team full, Chris raced with the support of Harley-Davidson of Sacramento and won three national races. He finished second in the 1998 championship, only two points out of first.
In the year that followed, Chris won his second Grand National crown. In 2001, he formed his own team with longtime tuner Kenny Tolbert spinning the wrenches, Chris dominated the Grand National scene, winning a record-tying five championships in a row.
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By 2006, the desire to go fast and be the best was still very much alive in Chris, but his dirt-track career was winding down. He joined Denis Manning for an assault on the motorcycle land speed record. With Chris at the helm, the BUB Seven Streamliner set a new world record, and Carr became the first motorcyclist to exceed 350 miles per hour.
In 2009 Chris and Denis returned to the Salt Flats and set another world record with a two-way pass that averaged 367.382 mph.
Despite the world record success and road racing foray, Chris makes it clear what type of motorcycle competition he liked the most.
“First and foremost, I was a dirt tracker,” said Chris. “It’s not what I did. It’s who I am.”
From the dirt tracks and road courses spread across America to the Salt Flats of Bonneville, Chris cemented his legacy and place in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Although he and 2020’s other eight inductees are waiting out the COVID-19 shutdown before they are ushered into the MSHFA later this year, hanging on just a little bit longer to receive the formal honor is fine with Chris.
“I have been very fortunate in a long and successful career, and it is an honor to be voted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America,” Carr said. “While we were all looking forward to the induction celebration in March that was postponed, sometimes racing has to step aside for life’s larger issues. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone during the COVID-19 crisis, but we will come out of this stronger and our induction into the Hall of Fame will be even more special.”
About the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America: The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) was founded by Larry G. Ciancio and Ronald A. Watson and conducted its first induction in 1989. Watson spent the next 30 years tirelessly building it into what it is today until his sudden passing in 2019. The original museum in Novi, Mich., relocated to Daytona Beach, Fla., in 2016 and greets more than 100,000 visitors a year. The MSHFA is the only hall of fame that encompasses all of American motorsports: cars, motorcycles, airplanes, off road and powerboats. Its mission is to celebrate and instill the American values of leadership, creativity, originality, teamwork and spirit of competition found in motorsports. The MSHFA is operated by the nonprofit Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation, Inc.
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America thanks AMA Hall of Fame inductee Larry Maiers who, in a story for the 2020 MSHFA Induction Ceremony Yearbook, wrote the majority of the content in this feature press release. While president of Penton Imports and Hi-Point Racing Products, Maiers announced motorcycle races and hosted two TV shows: MotoWorld and Bike Week. “It was a great career,” Maiers said. “But the best part was the friends I made. It’s gratifying to see so many of them in the MSHFA.”
Photos: Dave Hoenig, Scooter Grubb Photography and Brian Cleary BCPix.com
