1967 Daytona Beach 200 Buddy Elmore El Paso TX 2-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article

Description

1967 Daytona Beach 200 Buddy Elmore El Paso TX 2-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article
Original, Vintage Magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
The 200-mile national championship
road race that is held each spring at
Daytona Beach, Fla. is one of sports
major events and is America’s top motor-
cycle race. It is the longest, the fastest
and the most demanding of any race
for man and machine, but it is also the
richest. The history of this 200-mile
event dates back to 1937 when the
first national championship was held
on the old beach-road course south of
Daytona Beach. This old course had a
two-mile straightaway over a macadam
road for the back stretch and a two-
mile straightaway on the hard sands for
the front stretch, these being connected
by highly banked sharp turns at either
end, making the course 4.1 miles long.
Ed Kretz, Sr. of Monterey Park, Cali-
fornia had the honor of winning the
first AMA 200-miler on an Indian and
at an average speed of 73.34 mph.
The beach-road course was the site
of this annual race through 1960. During
this period the outstanding and well-
known riders whose names were added
to the winner’s list of this long test of
speed and endurance were Ben Cam-
panale, Billy Matthews, John Spiegelhoff.
Floyd Emde, Dick Klamfoth, Paul Gold-
smith, Bobby Hill, Brad Andres, John
Gibson, and Joe Leonard.
In 1961 the championship races were
moved by the AMA from the beach to
the Daytona International Speedway.
The entry lists have grown through the
years until now approximately 900 riders
participate in the many events held dur-
ing motorcycle week. These include an
endurance run, short track races, sports-
man road races, a novice road race, an
amateur road race, a combined 250cc
road race for amateurs and experts, and
all is climaxed by the 200-mile national
championship. These riders come from
all sections of the United States and
Canada to compete over the Speedway's
fast asphalt tri-oval and its tricky, wind-
ing flat infield course.
The first three years the event was
run on the Speedway it was kept to a
two-mile course, but in 1964 the race
was changed to the full track road cir-
cuit, which is 3.81 miles.
From the grandstands, spectators can
see every thrilling minute of this spec-
tacular race. They can follow the bikes
as they roar full bore round the high
banked curves and down the long straight-
aways, then dive into the twisting chi-
cane of the infield. There have been four
winners of the 200-miler in the six years
it has been held at the Speedway. Roger
Reiman of Kewanee, III. won it the first
year in 1961. He returned to the win-
ner’s circle in 1964 and 1965, with back-
to-back wins. Don Burnett and Ralph
White won in 1962 and 1963, respective-
ly. The race in 1966 was won by Buddy
Elmore of El Paso, Texas on a Triumph,
averaging 96.582 mph, which is the fast-
est time established so far for the 200-
miler at the Speedway.
It's not all play or work in sunny Florida. Here
taking advantage of intermission between races,
a pretty visitor from Oklahoma stretches out com-
fortably on her motorcycle for a sun bath and
snooze at the Speedway during last year's races.
Left: Travel by motorcycle. Daytona Beach, Fla.
becomes "Motorcycle City, U.S.A." each year
when thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts gather
for a week of activities and enjoyment. Here a
group is shown returning to their motel follow-
ing the day's racing at the Speedway.
Buddy Elmore of El Paso, Texas, winner of the 1966 200«mile national championship road race set
a record of 96.582 mph for the experts to shoot at this year.
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