Obituary
AMA
Jim Sumner died of injuries during testing
Jim Sumner: A Life-Long Racer PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- AMA Pro Racing dirt-track competitor Jim Sumner, 32, of Grafton, Wis., died Sunday, May 26, as the result of injuries sustained in a single-bike accident during practice for the Springfield Mile ...
Published: May 29, 2002, 10:26 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Jim Sumner: A Life-Long Racer
PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- AMA Pro Racing dirt-track competitor Jim Sumner, 32, of Grafton, Wis., died Sunday, May 26, as the result of injuries sustained in a single-bike accident during practice for the Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois.
Sumner, national number 45, was part of a racing family deeply rooted in motorcycle competition. AMA Pro Racing extends its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Jim Sumner. Sumner is survived by parents and long-time AMA Congress representatives, Al and Judy, sisters, DD and Chris, and brother, Bert.
Sumner was a life-long racer following in his father's footsteps into the sport. He first earned his AMA Pro Racing license in 1986. Sumner never became a star on the AMA Grand National circuit; rather he was a journeyman racer who earned the respect of his fellow competitors by turning in some strong performances over the years. He was one of the riders in the series who raced for the sheer love of the sport. Sumner twice came back after suffering serious injuries, a testimony to how much he enjoyed racing.
Sumner's best AMA Grand National result was a 10th-place finish at the Springfield Mile in May of 1995. His biggest successes came in the Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series (formerly called the Harley-Davidson 883 Dirt Track Series) where he earned 11-career top-10 finishes including his only national podium finish, a third on the Springfield Mile in September of 1993.
Sumner worked for and was sponsored by Suburban Motors, a Harley-Davidson dealership in Thiensville, Wis. He had been with the company for over 11 years.
Memorial Service:
Thursday, May 30
4:00 p.m. (CDT)
St. Philip Neri Catholic Church
5566 N. 69th St.
Milwaukee, WI.
The family is requesting donations to the St. Philip Neri Catholic School, local animal shelters or the Steel Shoe Fund -- a benefit for injured dirt-track racers.
-ama-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article WST: ABC Raceway and Proctor race results
Next article NWS: Yakima: Event fact sheet
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
Latest news
The new records set by Toyota's Hypercar trio with WEC 2026 title
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
30 min
The new records set by Toyota's Hypercar trio with WEC 2026 title
Max Verstappen explains why he’s so good in the rain in Brazil
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
Max Verstappen explains why he’s so good in the rain in Brazil
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Maverick Vinales to undergo extensive medical checks: “If I have something broken, I'll stop”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
2 h
Maverick Vinales to undergo extensive medical checks: “If I have something broken, I'll stop”
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe