The record alone can tell the tale. At the hallowed home and only remaining venue of modern TT racing, the Peoria Motorcycle Clubgrounds, 'Mr. TT' Chris Carr has racked up this tally:
Since 1986, only Bubba Shobert has been successful in reaching the checkered flag in front of Carr, which the former factory Honda rider did twice in 1987 when the event appeared in the AMA schedule in June and repeated in August. Since then, it's been a shutout when Chris has suited up to ride. Only when Carr's road racing career prevented him from competing did someone other than the blonde Californian to take home the trophy: 1996, when the late Andy Tresser rode to victory, and 1997, when Joe Kopp won his first-ever Grand National. Carr returned in 1998 to start a new win streak.
The legendary track and the Carr win streak became one of Scott Parker's biggest challenges in recent years prior to his retirement. The nine-time champion made it clear that he wanted to break Carr's stronghold. Injury in 1999 put Parker out of the event, and the previous year saw Parker slide home a distant but powerful second, but the Michigan native lacked the speed and stamina to stay with Chris at a venue this observer has in the past tagged, "the hottest race in America." Incinerator-like Midwest August heat and the natural bowl shape of the clubgrounds make for a certain summer sweatbox, and Carr loves it hot. While everyone around wilts, the Prince smiles and hopes the mercury soars.
Others have indeed given it a shot, but there is no doubt that the favorite entering this year's contest is the H-D of Sacramento-sponsored team led by Carr. Crew Chief Kenny Tolbert prepares a very special motorcycle unique to this once-a-year race, and the spectators likely discuss who might take second rather than question the winner.
I talked to Chris about the significance of the Peoria TT, and here's what he had to say:
"I'm ready to kick their ass again, that's the way I look at it. It's a track that's good for us, good for our equipment, and we know how to get around the place. Those guys are gonna have their hands full beating me, period.
"This place is a love-hate relationship in one respect, and people don't realize that. I love coming here and racing this racetrack, because it's one of the best skill tracks that we have in the country. On the other hand, because of my success, I tend to hate it after a while (laughs) because so much is expected of me here. Everybody out there wants to be the first guy to beat Chris Carr in thirteen years. I can accept that, but the hardest part is all that hype going into it, and dealing with that. Once I get my helmet on Sunday morning, and we get to go burn some laps in practice, and get the show on the road, everything will be fine. I know that because I've been there before. I look forward to when they say, "alright guys, you can go out for practice." All that other stuff leading up to it will be forgotten about by then."
Kenny Tolbert puts together a pretty special bike for Peoria, correct?
"Yeah there's no doubt about it. The setup we run for Peoria, especially now in 2000 is a unique setup. We're basically going with the same type of stuff that we've been running at Peoria in the past. We'll be running the Ron Wood chassis with the 600cc ATK motor. That's what won a lot of races out here for us. Bubba Shobert was the last guy to win on a setup other than what we have and still use. We don't run this particular setup anywhere else, at least not in the year 2000. We've been short tracking our C&J chassis, but we got to go back to our tried-and-true for Peoria. It seems to be the hot ticket for us and it's what we're used to winning with here."
Be confident that the hot ticket will be Carr at the front this weekend. It's certainly much better odds than the lotto. You just can't find anyone to take the bet.