Larry Lawrence | June 6, 2017
Kevin Rentzell, a leading road racer of the 1980 and ‘90s passed away Monday in Tennessee. (Photos by Larry Lawrence)
Kevin Rentzell, one of the leading national road racer of the 1980s and early ‘90s, passed away in a truck accident according to media reports in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
He was 54.
According to News Channel 9 in Chattanooga, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said the crash happened on Monday on Highway 41 near the intersection of McBrien Lane, just after 3 a.m. The truck went off the road and hit a tree. Crews pronounced Rentzell dead on the scene of the crash.
Rentzell, who was often called by his nickname “Revin’ Kevin”, won an AMA 600cc Supersport National at Talladega in 1989, but is perhaps best known for finishing on the podium in the 1989 Daytona 200. Rentzell finished third to John Ashmead and Jamie James in that year’s 200 with a brand new Suzuki GSX-R750 that he bought shortly before the race.
Rentzell on his way to scoring a podium finish in the 1989 Daytona 200.
“I just got the bike a week ago,” Rentzell told the American Motorcyclist magazine after the race in ’89. “We were having a whole lot of trouble with our ’88 bike, so we just went in and got this one box-stock off the showroom floor. All week long I was crying because I didn’t have the horsepower to run with the fast guys. I wanted to put in hotter pistons, but Rich Chambers (former racer and one of the race announcers) advised me not to do it. He said, ‘Daytona is a long race. Just hold a good pace and you’ll be there at the end.’ That was the best advice I ever got.”
In addition to being a leading sprint racer, he was also a national champion endurance racer and won multiple club-racing national titles in both CCS and WERA. In national endurance racing he rode with some of the top teams in the country, Including Kayo Racing and Dutchman Racing.
One of the most remarkable performances for Rentzell came in a AMA/CCS event at Road Atlanta in March of 1987, where he won all seven races he entered that day against a talent field of riders. His sponsor, Kayo Corporation, took out a full-page ad in American Roadracing celebrating the accomplishment.
Rentzell was known for his loose and natural riding style on the bike. He often raced powerful open-class motorcycles and punctuated his rides by spurts of monster wheelies, giving fans a show. While he was spectacular on the big machines, those you saw Rentzell race a Yamaha FZR400 will never forget him flicking it around like a toy, making fellow competitors on much bigger bikes shake their heads in frustration trying to stay with him.
Tributes and memories of Rentzell are pouring in on social media.
A note on Facebook written by Roger Lyle, Owner/ President of Motorcycle Xcitement Track Days typifies the remembrances of Rentzell:
“My heart is broken! My great friend Kevin Rentzell lost his life yesterday in a dump truck accident. Revvin’ Kevin always put on a show and had his mom Beverly and dad Robert always cheering him on! His brothers Bob and Lindsey were there too! I was part of their family whenever we were together. I will cherish those memories. Race in Peace Brother Kevin Rentzell.”
Rentzell was the proud father of two daughters, Victoria and Amanda.
For funeral details click here: http://www.lanefh.com/tributes/Kevin-Rentzell
