Trailblazing Parents Name New Son Chevy

Mom Jessica Morris holds Chevy Dale Karr, whose dad, Roger, chose his auto-inspired name and his sister Hally's.

JIM REED / Tribune

By JAN HOLLINGSWORTH The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 17, 2007

PLANT CITY - Roger Karr Jr.'s first wheels were a Chevy El Camino. In fact, he's driven nothing but Chevys ever since.

So it seemed only fitting that he named his firstborn son after his favorite brand of car, with the name of his favorite NASCAR driver - Dale Earnhardt Jr. - thrown in for good measure.

Chevy Dale Karr arrived at Brandon Regional Hospital on June 13.

His father had been mulling over names for months, ever since a sonogram confirmed the baby was a boy.

"I wanted something interesting," the young father of two said of the moniker.

Karr, 23, was watching a movie called "Crank," starring a character called "Chevy," when "it kind of got me rolling on that name," he said.

His family's passion for Chevrolets - "About half of my closest family members drive them," he said - seemed to underscore his choice. The comic actor Chevy Chase helped clinch it.

"At least there is someone in the world that's named that," Karr said.

At first the baby's mother, Jessica Morris, was not amused.

"I like it now," Morris said. "For the most part, everybody likes it, I think." Morris, 22, took a shine much more quickly to Karr's name for their 2-year-old daughter, Hally, named after a character in a Western movie.

As for her new son, she really couldn't quibble about the Dale part. It happens to be the baby's father and grandfather's middle name.

"I'm a junior and he's a senior, so I kind of went along with tradition," Karr said. "I guess Dale Earnhardt figured in about 50-50."

Reporter Jan Hollingsworth can be reached at (813) 865-4436 or jhollingsworth@tampatrib.com.