Bruce Penhall

Bruce Lee Penhall (born May 10, 1957) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway racer who later starred in television and in film. He was the World Speedway Champion in 1981 and 1982 and rode for the successful Cradley Heath Heathens speedway team in the United Kingdom. He retired from speedway racing the night he won his second World Championship in 1982 in front of his home crowd at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In his relatively short career, Penhall appeared in 7 World Finals in all speedway competitions, including riding for the United States in the World Pairs Championship and the World Team Cup. He would win 4 World Championships in total, adding the 1981 World Pairs and 1982 World Team Cup to his individual titles. Speedway career Penhall first rode speedway when he was 16 at Irwindale Raceway on the American west coast. From novice status, he quickly established himself in the US National Championships, twice finishing in the top three positions. In 1976 he toured Israel and in 1977 Australia and New Zealand, before being lured to Cradley Heath Heathens in 1978 by Dan McCormick and Derek Pugh. On his Dudley Wood debut against Sheffield in a challenge match, Penhall notched just a single point. Never again in his British career would he score less than four for the Heathens. In his second match - his league debut - he scored nine; within a month he clocked double figures and topped the scorechart for the first time with 13; in July he took over as club captain following the departure of Bruce Cribb and hit his first Heathens maximum; and by the end of the year he had achieved a season average of over 9.00 points per match.