From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

CARR EARNS AMA PRO RACING SPEED CHANNEL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR NOMINATION

Veteran rider only the second rider in AMA Grand National history to win five titles

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Oct. 27, 2003) — For the third straight year Chris Carr has earned a nomination for the AMA Pro Racing Speed Channel Athlete of the Year. Carr, 36, of Fleetwood, Pa., became only the second rider in a half-century of AMA Grand National competition to win five championships. He is the winningest active rider in the AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championship with 62-career national victories. This year marks Carr’s sixth nomination for the coveted Athlete of the Year award.

In 2003 Carr won a series-leading five races putting him second all-time in AMA Grand National Series wins to retired rival and recent Motorcycle Hall of Fame inductee Scott Parker. With three victories on short tracks this season Carr also moved to the head of pack in the all-time career AMA Short Track wins list ahead of legends Kenny Roberts and Steve Eklund. Carr just completed his 17th season on the AMA Grand National circuit. He spent two years away from the flat track series while he pursued a road racing career on Harley-Davidson’s factory Superbike team. In 1996 he gave Harley-Davidson its first and only AMA Superbike pole at Pomona, Calif.

Carr won his first AMA Grand National Championship in 1992 and followed that up with titles in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003. He will be gunning for his fourth-straight championship in next year’s 50th anniversary season of AMA Grand National racing.

“It feels good to be nominated again, however I’m not getting my hopes up to win the award,” Carr joked. “I’m fortunate to be in a position to be nominated for such a prestigious award once again. Someday if I win this thing we’re going to have a real big party.”

Carr rode three brands of motorcycles during the 2003 season – VOR, Rotax and Harley-Davidson, all sponsored by Quality Checked Certified Pre-Owned Ford. 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. That’s the first time that’s been done in the AMA Grand National Series since Dick Mann led from flag-to-flag in 1971. In all Carr scored nine podium finishes with victories in Daytona Beach, Fla., Chillicothe, Ohio, Haubstadt, Ind., Hagerstown, Md., and Columbus, Ohio.

Tune in to 2 Wheel Tuesday on the Speed Channel, Tuesday night at 10:30 p.m. (EST) where host Greg White will feature this week’s nominee.

The presentation of the AMA Pro Racing Speed Channel Athlete of the Year Award will take place at the AMA Pro Racing Awards Banquet on Saturday evening, Nov. 22 at the Rio Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The public is invited to the banquet. Tickets are just $125, which includes banquet admission, hors d’oeuvres and dinner. For ticket information, call (614) 856-1900, ext. 1342. To reserve a room at the Rio Suites Hotel and Casino at the special rate of $125 plus tax per night, contact the Rio directly at (888) 746-6955.