10 Minutes + 2 Laps with Chris Carr
Progressive AFT Series Director Chris Carr Progressive AFT Series Director Chris Carr [Photo: Kristen Lassen for AMA Pro Racing]
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In “10 Minutes + 2 Laps with…”, we take the same amount of time required to complete a Mission AFT SuperTwins Main Event (give or take a red flag) and use it to catch up with, and hopefully learn a little about, some of the more prominent figures on the Progressive American Flat Track scene. This week, we caught up with seven-time Grand National Champion and American Flat Track Series Director Chris Carr.
AmericanFlatTrack.com: I think a lot of fans know you’re the Series Director for AFT, but probably fewer understand exactly what that means. Can you lay out your responsibilities in the position?
Chris Carr: Yeah. I've been Series Director. I've also been pretty much in a dual role as Race Director, as well, administering the rulebook. I liaison with the promoters of the event and try to figure out what we’ve got to do with track prep and then try to meet the schedule as published as best we can. As you know, that’s a lot of balls in the air, and you’ve got to juggle them and try to put out a good product in the end.
Some days we hit that pretty good and some days we didn't. That’s the nature of flat track, but we strive to be perfect every week.
AFT: How about outside the race weekends?
CC: Administrative stuff… Working on the relationships within the industry, talking to new venues to try to take our sport to markets that we need to be in, and explore new markets to see if we can develop a more widespread fan base.
We're always about trying to grow the sport. This past year, our metrics improved across the board versus 2025, and we want to make this the beginning of a resurgence. Our hope and goal is to keep that momentum rolling into ‘27.
Chris Carr meets with the riders at Springfield [Photo: Tim Lester for AMA Pro Racing]
AFT: I believe your last win came just a little over 18 years ago now. That means there are some pros out there today that weren't even born yet. Do you find that most of the younger guys know their history, or are there some of them out there that are largely clueless of what you accomplished in your day?
CC: I think a lot depends on if they're first or multi-generation racers. If they’re first generation, they've probably never heard of me. If they're second or third generation, they likely have. You get a mix of it.
Some of them are students of the game and aware of what I've accomplished. Others don't really give a rip, and that's okay too.
AFT: Speaking of, obviously you had a ton of accomplishments and set a bunch of records. But that also means it’s news whenever someone approaches or eclipses them. Does that sting or do you embrace that as the nature of the sport?
CC: It's the nature of the sport. I think when I came up through the ranks and I was in my rookie year at the pinnacle of the sport, at that time Jay Springsteen had three Grand National Championships and 39 wins. I was fortunate enough to finish second to him a few times. I think it was his 39th when I was a rookie at the San Jose Short Track in 1985. And I finished second to him at Springfield when he got his last one – his 43rd – in 2000. So while I was the first loser in the end of that, I was proud to be a part of it in some way.
And then for me to achieve what I did by the end of my career, I never once would have imagined that at 18 years old in 1985 that I would eclipse those numbers myself.
So am I surprised to see the numbers that Jared Mees produced? No, not at all. And expect that there are some guys on the track today that may eclipse his one day. They're certainly capable of it.
Chris Carr flies to victory at the 1992 Peoria TT [Photo: Dave Hoenig for AMA Pro Racing]
AFT: I guess that it worked out nicely in a way that Mees actually ended up level with you at 78 wins.
CC: Well, we're trying to go through the record books now and see if there are any that we can take away from him. (laughs). No, I'm just kidding.
AFT: Are there any racers out there today that remind you of either yourself or some of the guys you raced against?
CC: I would say Briar Bauman reminds me a lot of Ricky Graham. They're from the same part of the world. They're both from Salinas, (California), and you know Ricky had three championships and Briar’s got two now. Ricky won nearly 40 races himself Briar’s right at 40.
Their styles are very similar. When they're on, they're fantastic, and when they're off, they're off. That's just how the sport is. They both wear their emotions on their sleeves and sometimes that bites them.
Dallas (Daniels), to me, is probably the most dedicated old-school guy in a lot of ways. He's like me in that it's hard to ruffle his feathers. He’s pretty tough mentally, and he certainly has proven that he's pretty tough physically too to come back from a broken femur a couple of years ago and still be in contention to win races so quickly after doing that. That takes a lot of grit. He also reminds me of Jared in that regard.
But you can't compare anybody to (Scott) Parker. Parker was one of a kind. You know he raced uniquely. He wasn't what you would call a technical rider, but he sure knew how to win races. That's something you can't teach.
AFT: You had a long association with Harley-Davidson as a racer. Your job now requires you to be unbiased, but I don’t think anyone would argue that it’s not good for the sport in general to have Harley-Davidson competitive once again.
CC: Well, you know, you can't talk about flat track and not talk about Harvey Davidson. That's always been the case from its inception. Actually, from the day in which the second Harley was built.
In reality, they're pretty synonymous with each other. I think them being in contention for championships is good for the sport. We’ve just got to figure out how to reintroduce that to their customer base. Getting their customer base activated in the world of flat track is something that I think would be beneficial not only for Harley Davidson but for the sport as well.
AFT: It’s time for the two bonus questions. The first one is, can you name an interest or hobby of yours that is completely removed from racing, engines, or wheels?
CC: Golf.
AFT: Last question. What would be your death row-style last meal?
CC: Pizza from the local pizza place, Snuzzles.
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