AMA

FT: Carr wins seventh championship

CARR WINS HIS SEVENTH AMA FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 8, 2005) -- Chris Carr wrapped up his seventh AMA Flat Track Championship Sunday, by winning the historic Springfield (Ill.) Mile. The title was the fifth in a row for the ...

Published: Sep 9, 2005, 7:43 AM

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CARR WINS HIS SEVENTH AMA FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 8, 2005) -- Chris Carr wrapped up his seventh AMA Flat Track Championship Sunday, by winning the historic Springfield (Ill.) Mile. The title was the fifth in a row for the 21-year pro from Fleetwood, Pa. His new title places him alongside Scott Parker as the only two riders to win the AMA Grand National Championship five straight years. Next season Carr could become the first in the long history of the championship to win six consecutive No. 1 plates.

Carr wrapped up the title early this year. The Du Quoin (Ill.) Mile is the final round again this year and will run on October 1. With one race to go in the 2005 season, Carr has added three wins to his career tally and now has 71-career AMA Grand National wins making him the winningest active rider in the championship and second on the all-time wins list.

Carr won the 2005 AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship in a very competitive season that saw eight different winners in the 14 rounds leading up to Du Quoin. He was challenged by Ken Coolbeth, Jr., and Joe Kopp much of the year. Coolbeth suffered a heartbreaking mechanical failure while leading at Springfield, which put him out of championship contention. With Coolbeth out of the race, Carr, who was running in fifth at the time, suddenly remembered that Kopp still had a shot at catching him.

"I saw Kenny drop out and thought, 'OK, now I can cruise,'" Carr said. "And then I realized that Kopp had a good night at the short track the night before and was still in there. I was trying to do the math in my head and I couldn't remember what the gap was so I just forgot about it and put all my focus into winning the race.

"It felt great to go win the championship with a victory, especially on the Springfield Mile where everyone is giving everything they've got to win that race."

The victory came on the heels of a hard crash in the short track competition the previous night in which Carr was knocked unconscious before gathering his faculties and racing back from 14th to fourth on the restart.

"I knew right there I had a good shot to clinch the title," said Carr. "I went from a possible five-point lead to a 19-point lead based on my comeback from the crash."

Carr's 2005 campaign was amazingly similar to his 2004 title run where he sprinted off to a substantial lead by mid-season only to watch the lead evaporate three-quarters of the way through and then a strong finish by Carr to secure the top spot.

The 2005 championship presents Carr with a golden opportunity in 2006. He could do what no one else in the 51-year history of the series has done.

"I have the chance to become the first rider to win six championships in a row," Carr said. "I've never been one to race for the record books, but that would be a nice goal to accomplish. I'll take it one race at a time next year and do my best to win the championship again and put a new record in the books."

Carr ran his own team this year sponsored by Quality Checked Certified Pre-Owned Ford, Lancaster HD, Phoenix Racing, KTM, Arai, Powertrip, Coolskunk.com, Wiseco, Cometic, A&A, Redline, Motion Pro and RM Web Design. He rode Harley-Davidson and KTM motorcycles during the 2005 campaign.

About AMA Pro Racing
AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the THQ AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Motocross Championship, the AMA Superbike Championship, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship and the AMA Supermoto Championship. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.

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