Springsteen vs. Carr II at the 2015 Sacramento Mile
Cycle News Staff | April 1, 2015
Photo by: (Dave Hoenig/AMA Pro Racing)
Rematch! One of the highlights of last year’s Sacramento Mile was the friendly contest between the two AMA Grand National living legends Jay Springsteen and Chris Carr. The exo was popular enough with the fans that race promoters are bringing it back for this year’s event, according to a news release sent by SMI today. So at this year’s 50th running of the Sacramento Mile, at Cal Expo on May 30, 2015, fans will not only get a chance to meet two of racing’s superstars during the evening’s festivities, but the night will be highlighted by a the return of the friendly one-on-one Shootout Exhibition ride on the Mile between the Hall of Famers dubbed “Clash of the Titans II”.
Springsteen took victory in last year’s inaugural Clash by the slightest of margins. He’ll be looking to repeat at this year’s event, but look for Carr to go all out to try to even the score.
Jay Springsteen is considered one of the best AMA Grand National flat-track racers of all time. Bursting onto the scene and earning the AMA Rookie of the Year Award in 1975, Springsteen won three consecutive AMA Grand National Championships starting in 1976. In 1982 he became the first rider to reach 30 wins in AMA Grand National competition – a feat he accomplished at the Sacramento Mile.
California’s own Chris Carr was the dominant rider in the AMA Grand National Championship during the early 2000s. The native of Stockton won seven national championships and retired second on the AMA Grand National all-time wins list with 78. He rode for Harley-Davidson as a factory rider for much of his early career, but gained the majority of his success as a private team owner. He was also one of the few riders in his era of Grand National racing to attract major corporate sponsorship, being backed by Ford Motor Company. Carr considered the Sacramento Mile his home race and he is one of the most successful riders ever in the classic event. He won a total of nine Grand Nationals in Sacramento, his first coming in 1987 and his final win there coming in 1999.
“We heard the fans loud and clear and we’re happy to bring Jay and Chris back for Sacramento’s Clash of the Titans II,” said Steve McLaughlin, of SMI, the group promoting the event. “Even though both of these legendary riders are retired they proved last year that they had enough speed in reserve to have qualified for the National last year. We never expected the guys to go that fast, but it shows that they still have their competitive spirits completely intact. It’s going to be hard to top last year’s Clash, but we’re looking forward to the rematch.”
Practice for the 50th Sacramento Mile begins on Saturday, May 30 at 2:00 p.m. and opening ceremonies for the evening program kick off at 6:00 p.m. For additional information visit: http://www.sactomile.com/
