On a cold, but beautiful Michigan winter day, Bart Markel weds the love of his life, JoAnn Overton.
Bartlett D. "Bart" Markel, was the godfather of flat-track racing in Flint, Michigan, and one of the greatest racers in American Motorcyclist Association history.
A former U.S. Marine and two-time Gold Glove boxing champion, his aggressive riding style earned him the nicknames "Black Bart" and "Bad Bart". According to the AMA, at one point, Markel was suspended from racing for his rough riding style. Quoted on the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum Web site, Markel said he just "didn't like following anybody," and if they gave him an inch on the track, he took a foot.
It was in the dirt, sliding motorcycles
tire-to-tire around racetracks at high speed, where the Flint native left major
national marks.
Teamed with sponsor Bert Cummings of Cummings
Harley-Davidson, Markel helped fire up a slew of famous Flint-area
racers -including Jay Springsteen, Scott Parker and Randy Goss - in the gritty
arena of flat-tracking.
Markel, Springsteen, Parker and Goss collectively
won 17 Grand National titles, according to the AMA.
Bart competed in more than 140 AMA Grand National
Series, winning the AMA Grand National Championship three
times during the 1960s.
Bart Markel was inducted in the AMA Hall of Fame in 1998.
