John Penton, ‘Godfather’ of Off-Road Racing, Dies at 100

John Penton, ‘Godfather’ of Off-Road Racing, Dies at 100

John Penton, who set a transcontinental speed record in 1959 on a motorcycle built for street use and then helped to revolutionize off-road racing with his own brand of light, nimble bikes, died on Sept. 7 in Amherst, Ohio, west of Cleveland. He was 100. His death, in an assisted living facility, was confirmed by his son Jack Penton. Mr. Penton never lived more than a few hundred yards from the farm where he grew up in Amherst. But he developed …