In 1992, the matriarch of the Coombs family, Rita, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and Carrie returned home to Morgantown, West Virginia, to not only support her mother, but to help keep the family business afloat. With little time to waste, she established a new law practice before marrying Jeff in 1993. With her family by her side, Rita battled cancer and underwent treatment through 1994. In 1995, Carrie and Jeff gave birth to their first child, and shortly after (1996) Rita was officially cleared of her cancer diagnosis. As anyone who has met Rita can attest, the cancer didn't have a chance, and to further illustrate her toughness she survived a brain aneurism later the same year. While things seemed to be stabilizing and slowing on the home front, the business side of things was doing anything but. Racer Productions' reach in the off-road industry was expanding, all of the properties were booming, and the operation as a whole was rapidly gaining in power and prestige.
1998 was a banner year for the Coombs, to say Carrie was multitasking would be an understatement. While raising her three-year-old son, she was running a successful law practice and playing vital roles in the family businesses, as CFO in DC Jr.'s Racer X Illustrated and as legal counsel to DC Sr.'s newly created NPG (National Promoters Group). Having grown accustomed (or, better yet, addicted) to multitasking, it was a slightly increased version of business as usual at the Coombs home (which now housed offices for Racer X, Racer Productions and MX Sports). Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for DC Sr.'s health; cancer had once again crept into the family. "We had been through it before with my Mom, she beat it, so we never thought it would end the way it did. He [DC Sr.] walked into the hospital on the 4th of July for a bone marrow transplant and never walked out. He died the day of the opening ceremonies at Loretta Lynn's." Carrie was thrust into a role she had never played prior to that point: being on stage, front and center. "I had never gotten up to speak to the riders; it was the hardest riders' meeting I've ever had to give, to stand up and tell everyone, 'Today my father died.' "
The news rocked the entire off-road industry, as DC Sr. had pioneered and laid the foundation for much of what we consider as standard in racing today. As for Carrie Coombs-Russell it was not only devastating on a personal level, but completely life changing. With DC Jr.'s time now spoken for by his upstart magazine and Timmy handling amateur MX events, the family business in which she supposedly "didn't have a place" was now resting squarely on her shoulders. Yes, Rita was still involved, and technically in charge, but DC's numerous roles needed filling. "He [DC Sr.] was the front man, so to speak. He built and managed the facilities and tracks, and she [Rita] managed the business end." Rita continued her role, but Carrie assumed the brunt of her father's responsibilities, all while raising her kids and continuing a successful law career.
The shock of Dave Coombs's passing coupled with the adoration and appreciation for what he had done for off-road racers kept the wolves at bay in the late '90s, but the new millennium brought new, unexpected challenges for Racer Productions and MX Sports. All facets of the off-road market were booming, ATV sales were on the rise, and the GNC and GNCC series were pulling record numbers. The reorganized NPG business model had proven successful, and a similar plan was being laid out for the ATV side of things: the creation of the ATVPG, which included fellow NPG member Amy Ritchie of Red Bud and Sam Gammon of Victory Sports.