PICKERINGTON, Ohio Chris Carr has earned his ninth AMA Pro Racing SPEED Athlete of the Year nomination. In addition to another solid year in the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship, Carr became the fastest motorcyclist ever this September when he cracked the 350 mph barrier at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Carr, a 39-year-old Californian who now calls Fleetwood, Pa., home, won the prestigious Athlete of the Year Award in 2003. In what will be remembered as one of the biggest days in the history of motorcycle land-speed racing, seven-time AMA Grand National Champion Chris Carr shattered the FIM world record by piloting Denis Manning’s BUB Enterprises streamliner to 350.884 mph at the AMA/FIM International Motorcycle Speed Trials by BUB on the Bonneville Salt Flats. “When I committed this year to this project we had a goal we wanted to reach and we reached it,” Carr said of breaking the land speed record. “I was disappointed that I didn’t reach the goal of winning the championship in flat track, but I’ll be back next year with an even stronger desire to win back that title.” Carr finished tied for fourth in this year’s AMA GNC Twins Championship and was fourth in the Singles Championship as well riding his Quality Checked Certified Pre-Owned Ford-sponsored machines. “Being the first to reach 350 miles per hour was a great milestone,” Carr added. Through the years whenever we’ve driven past Bonneville, Kenny Tolbert [Carr’s Grand National mechanic] and I have always said we’d like to take a flat track bike out there to try to break a record. Then this opportunity came up. Denis Manning and his crew were such professionals. I never felt like they wanted me to get in there and cowboy it. Things were approached very methodically and we were fortunate to have perfect conditions. I hope someday to be the first rider to reach 400 mph.” Carr continues to show incredible versatility in his racing career. In addition to his accomplished flat track career, Carr was also a leading AMA Superbike rider in the 1990s, giving Harley-Davidson its only AMA Superbike pole. Now he can add fastest man on two wheels to his impressive list of accomplishments. The 2006 AMA Pro Racing SPEED Athlete of the Year will be named at the 32nd annual AMA Pro Racing Awards Banquet on Sunday evening, Nov. 19 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Carr joins Josh Hayes, Ricky Carmichael and Ben Spies as nominees for this year’s award. The final nominee will be announced next week.