Gary Nixon

Gary Nixon
Nixon with the Daytona 200 winner's trophy
NationalityAmerican
Born(1941-01-25)January 25, 1941
Anadarko, Oklahoma[1]
DiedAugust 5, 2011(2011-08-05) (aged 70)
Baltimore, Maryland

Gary Nixon (January 25, 1941 – August 5, 2011) was an American professional motorcycle racer who most notably won the A.M.A. Grand National Championship in 1967 and 1968 as a member of the Triumph factory racing team.[1] He was also the winner of the 1967 Daytona 200 motorcycle race on a 500cc Triumph Daytona.[2]

Nixon was born in Anadarko, Oklahoma.[1] He was known for his partnership with legendary tuner Erv Kanemoto when they won the 1973 U.S. National Road Racing Championship for Kawasaki.[1] He competed at the international level in the 1976 Formula 750 championship, laying claim to the Formula 750 world championship on a modified Kawasaki KR750 until international politics denied him that prize.[3][4][5]

He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America[6] in 2003.[1] He last resided in Maryland and participated in vintage motorcycle racing as well as testing motorcycles for the locally produced syndicated public TV automotive review program MotorWeek.

Nixon suffered a heart attack on July 29, 2011, and died in Baltimore, Maryland on August 5 from complications.[7] He was 70.

  1. ^ a b c d e "Gary Nixon at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Daytona 200 winners". motorsportsetc.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  3. ^ "Gary Nixon's Kawasaki KR750 (archived)". americanmotorcyclist.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  4. ^ Assoc, American Motorcyclist (January 1977). Nixon Loses FIM Appeal and F750 World Championship. Retrieved 15 December 2012. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ^ DeWitt, Norman L. (2010). Grand Prix Motorcycle Racers: The American Heroes. Motorbooks. ISBN 9781610600453. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  6. ^ Gary Nixon at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
  7. ^ Swarts, David (19 February 2005). "R.I.P. Gary Nixon". Roadracing World. Retrieved August 5, 2011.