GODSPEED! ED KRETZ, JR. (1932-2013)



Ed Jr., sitting on his father’s lap, was born into motorcycle racing.


Ed Kretz in 2010 with the bike his dad won the 1937 Daytona 200 on.

Fans of the glory days of American scrambles, dirt track and TT racing mourn the passing of Ed Kretz. Jr. The Kretz family was American racing royalty in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. Ed Kretz, Jr. was an AMA Grand National Championship competitor of the 1950s and 1960s. Kretz was known primarily as a TT and road racing specialist, but he also was a leading offroad rider in the 1950s. He was 81 years old.


Father and son: Ed Jr. (33) with Ed Sr (38).

He won the 200cc class at the Catalina Grand Prix in 1956. His biggest career win came in 1955, when he rode a Triumph to victory in the prestigious Peoria TT. His father, Ed Kretz,Sr. won the inaugural Daytona 200 in 1937. Ed Kretz, Sr. passed away in 1996 at the age of 85.


Ed Kretz Jr. in 1948.

Ed Kretz, Jr. was born in Pomona, California, in 1932. Motorcycling was always a part of Kretz’s life. He grew up going to races with his famous father and working in the family-owned Ed Kretz & Son motorcycle dealership in Monterey Park, California.

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