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brass didn't know was that in his military aviation work, Brinck had worked on motors vastly more advanced than the Harley racers. Now with factory support, in 1925 Brinck made the difficult decision to leave a well-paying and stable job at McCook Field to pursue racing full time. In September of that year, Brinck proved that Jones was a great talent scout when Brinck broke through to win his first AMA National title, the 15-Mile Cham- pionship for 30.50-cubic-inch (500cc) motors held in Syra- cuse, New York. Besides his dirt-track racing accomplish- ments, Brinck also did well in the few motordrome races he entered during the waning days of the board track circuit. During the winter of 1926, Brinck traveled to Australia and earned several race wins and speed records during his months Down Under, including the best lap ever turned on a single-cylinder machine at 96.5 mph. Included in his Aussie tour were several beach races. Brinck's background in engineering gave him a spe- cial interest in high-revving engines. His passion became small motors, his favorite being the Harley-Davidson 21.35 c.i. (350cc) "Peashooter" motor that came out in 1926. Magazines of the time credited Brinck with building a "Peashooter" mount that was nearly has fast as the 30.50-inch motors. On July 31, 1927, Brinck rode one of the small Harleys to victo- ry in the National Championship race held in Harley-Davidson's own back yard, the Milwaukee Mile. He was quickly becoming one of the country's best-known riders. Tragically, just as his popu- larity was at its peak Brinck's life was suddenly cut short on August 13, 1927, during a National Championship race at the Eastern State Exposition track in Springfield, Massachu- setts. His bike's front tire blew out entering a turn, causing him to crash. Joe Petrali, who was closely following, managed to miss the downed rider, but slammed into Brinck's bike and was seriously injured in the mis- hap. Doctors who attended to Petrali were so convinced that he would die, that they allowed an intern to practice his stitch- ing to sew back on a section of Petrali's lip that was cut off in the accident and carried in with the gravely injured rider. Yet despite the odds against him, Petrali surprised doctors and after two months in the hospital made a full recovery and was back racing within a year. Years later in an interview, Jones said that shortly before his fatal accident, Brinck had been given a lucrative offer to go to work as an engineer for the famous carburetor maker, Schebler. Jones, understand- ing the dangers of the racing game, suggested that his friend take the job. So, it was ironic that Brinck, who basically got into racing just to test mo- tors he'd built, found it hard to walk away from the sport after experiencing National victories and the adulation, notoriety and monetary rewards that came with it. Brinck's death deeply sad- dened the racing community. Fellow racer Jim Davis ac- companied Brinck's body on the train ride back to Dayton from Massachusetts. Repre- sentatives of the factory teams, motorcycle trade personnel, a large contingent of motorcy- clists from western Ohio and many of the top racers of the day attended his funeral ser- vices in Dayton. His funeral procession was led through downtown Dayton by an escort of city and county motorcycle patrolmen as well as dozens of area riders. Brinck will be remembered for his excellent engineering skills, his enthusiastic support of racing small, highly efficient engines and his fearless riding style. Decades later, Brinck was recognized for his ac- complishments in the sport when he was named among the original class of inductees into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998. CN CN III ARCHIVES P118 Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives