CN
III ARCHIVES
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
E
arly in his career as AMA
starter Duke Pennell once
threw the green flag to start a
race and the flag flew off the
pole and blew directly into the
path of the riders blasting off the
line. Lesson learned. After that
Duke always kept his thumb on
the flag, no matter how securely
it was stapled to the pole.
Pennell was a tireless AMA
racing official who spent his
entire adult life officiating AMA
races. Pennell is best known for
being an AMA starter for better
than 50 years. He flagged nearly
every major AMA national race
from the late 1940s to the late
1990s.
Pennell brought a unique flair
to his position. Instead of wear-
ing the traditional white starter
P110
the money, so his buddy gave
him the bike anyway and let him
pay it off over time.
"I paid a quarter here and
nickel there," Pennell remem-
bered with a smile.
Pennell joined the local motor-
cycle club in Athens and began
working as an assistant at the
club-sponsored local AMA races.
His first job was working as pit
steward for local half-mile races
in Athens in 1939.
clothes, Pennell was
the first to wear colorful
tailor-made outfits that
added a splash of color to
the race meets. His wife,
Bee Gee, made most of
the flags Pennell used during
his career. She also worked for
over 30 years at AMA headquar-
ters. In 1987, the Pennells were
presented the prestigious Dud
Perkins Award for their dedication
to motorcycling.
Pennell was born in Athens,
Ohio, on February 10, 1921. When
he was 17, a friend offered to sell
Pennell his Harley-Davidson for
five dollars. Pennell didn't have
THE
DUKE
OF
STARTERS
Longtime AMA Starter Duke
Pennell gives the checkered flag
to Cal Rayborn at Indianapolis
Raceway Park sometime in the
late 1960s or early '70s.
Duke and his wife Bee Gee.
For years Bee Gee worked
at the AMA headquarters in
Columbus, Ohio.
