Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

This just in from F-USA/CCS boss Kevin Elliott, via e-mail:

According to the AMA Museum press release, (5/27/2003 Apparently, AMA Museum Finds A Shortage Of Eligible Road Racers For Hall Of Fame This Year …..), “Duke Pennell – Five-time AMA ‘Flagman of the Year’, worked for nearly five decades as a racetrack official starter.”

Since the creation of CCS 20 years ago, Duke Pennell has been the official starter for us at Daytona. Duke is THE best starter I have ever known and worked with. The AMA’s release states he worked for nearly five decades, they are wrong. He continues to work every Daytona event for CCS and Formula USA, and he also continues to train starters and assistant starters for us whenever we can find a candidate that will measure up to Duke’s exacting standards.

More than anything, Duke and his late wife Bee Gee set the standard for road race officials in their manners, their professionalism, their sacrifices and their dedication to the sport of motorcycle road racing. If I can be half the person that Duke is, I will consider my life a success.