7-Time AMA Grand National Champion Chris Carr Talks to Dean Adams at SuperbikePlanet.com

Chris Carr gets ready to roll out for the first 450cc Pro practice session of the day at Mid-America Speedway in Indianapolis on August 17, 2012 during the track's hosting of their 'Night Before the Indy Mile' short track spectacular.  With the first flat track session of the day taking place in the background, Carr takes a last look at his #4 DFW Honda/GoldenTyre-sponsored CRF450R before heading out to test some of the new flat track tires he has been working on for the European-based company.

The just-retired former 7-Time AMA Grand National Champion 'officially' hung up his steel shoe at the end of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season, but was seen at several venues throughout the 2012 season either testing tires or fulfilling his announcing obligations for the MavTV television crew that was tasked with filming the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track season's events.

In his quest to help bring another tire provider to the ranks of flat track, Carr worked with the GoldenTyre folks during the 2012 year to help further develop their line of 'DT-II'-style flat track tires to possibly be made available to the masses in the States and make another, or even less expensive option available to the racers.  The week before appearing at the Mid-America event in Indy, the Pennsylvania resident was on-hand at the Kansas fair race circuit not only testing tires but racing in one of the vintage classes.

Carr got a chance to sit down and talk with long-time journalist and SuperbikePlanet.com website operator Dean Adams in the last few weeks, and among the many conversational pieces that were brought out in the 40 minute interview were his testing duties for GoldenTyre, hanging with 9-Time World Champion Valentino Rossi at the 2012 Lucas Oil Indy Mile (held the night after the above shot was taken), and what it was like to set the land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2009.

Round 16 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season saw the last time that Chris Carr would compete at the Springfield Mile.  Carr would go on to finish in the 2nd-place spot on his #4 American Motorcyclist Assoc/Classic H-D/DFW Honda/Arai-backed XR750, just .012 seconds behind winner Willie McCoy.  Not bad for a soon-to-be retiree.

Carr is shown in the shot above heading out for the first practice session of the day at the Springfield Mile II on September 4, 2011.  He would go on to end the season ranked as the 5th-place rider in the overall standings of the 2011 AMA Grand National Championship.

Part of the conversation that Carr had with SuperbikePlanet.com hinged on his long-time involvement with the Harley-Davidson XR750, and it is very candid.  At one point, the former champ even goes as far to say that they were a 'pain in the a..' and one of the 'most expensive race motors' to campaign in any form of racing, usually lasting only 100 miles before needing to be torn down and rebuilt properly, especially 'if you are contending for a championship.'

He may have been on-hand for Mid-America's 'Night Before the Indy Mile' to do tire testing, but make no mistake about it, Chris Carr is still and always will be a competitor to the end.  Here he leads Henry Wiles on the #17 Don's Kawasaki KX450F and Rob Pearson on the #27 Matt Reecy Racing Yamaha YZ450F after getting the holeshot and heading into turn two on the first lap of the 450cc Pro heat race.  Notice the Golden Tyre decal on Carr's #4 DFW Honda swingarm.


A big thanks to Dean Adams from SuperbikePlanet.com for this great interview with 7-Time AMA Grand National Champion Chris Carr.

Now sit back for about 40 minutes and enjoy what the The Prince of Peoria has to say about the long-in-the-tooth XR750, GoldenTyre, Valentino Rossi and going (real) fast:

http://superbikeplanet.com/2012/Nov/121125-154.htm