John Tenney

When John was 13 years old he bought his first bike with his paper money. It was a BSA 125. Mr. Beckman would take John to one hundred mile endurance runs and scramble races, when John was 15 years old he rode in the Jack Pine 500's. John was the youngest rider for two years and finished second twice and fourth and fifth, limited to four hundred riders. At the age of 18 years old he went pro. Riding a BSA 30-50 sponsored by Beckman, at that time Beckman was number two in the USA. In 1955 John won his first pro race at Auto City Speedway in Flint. The next year he won the Michigan State Championship at the Ionia Fairgrounds.

He was asked to drive Coxie Bowman's Ford Falcon powered midget, and if he did well, he was promised he could drive Bobby Grim's Offy. John won everything that 1970 night. The next year John finished third place in AMRA points. He was the Midwest Champ in 1972, winning the championship show at Hartford, Michigan. He lapped all of the other competitors except the second place finisher. He also won the NAMAR sanctioned Winchester 300 in Indiana. On September 3, 1985 his racing career came to an end in an accident that left him with a broken right arm and a broken pelvis. He had to have three operations for his injuries. He raced for 27 years before having to retire.
John died in a house fire on November 6, 2011. (1936 - 2011)
