Duane Dreyer (1957-2011) Duane Dreyer, owner of Dreyer Motorsports and a nationally-ranked motocross rider in the mid-1970s, who later formed and rode for a leading WERA National Endurance team, died Tuesday night at his home in Clayton, Indiana. A few days earlier Dreyer had been released from the hospital after suffering complications related to alcoholism. He was 53. Dreyer, is part of one of the first families of motorcycling in Indiana. His grandfather Floyd “Pop” Dreyer, was a sidecar racing national champion in the 1910s and ’20s and today is enshrined in the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. Duane grew up working in the family’s motorcycle dealership. He became one of the leading young motocross racers in the Midwest winning numerous regional races. He turned pro in the mid-1970s and earned national No. 95. Dreyer was a regular qualifier in AMA Motocross Nationals in the in the mid-1970s, scoring a top-10 finish in the Mid-Ohio Motocross National in July of 1974. He was just 17 at the time. Ultimately Dreyer’s motocross career was cut short by a shoulder injury. In the early 1980s Dreyer branched out and opened a Yamaha dealership next to the family’s long established Honda store. Eventually Dreyer Motorsports grew to become one of the larger dealerships in Indiana, taking on Kawasaki and Suzuki in addition to Yamaha. Dreyer was always a major supporter of racing. His dealership sponsored dozens of local racers and local racing events. In the 1980s a group of Duane’s high school buddies began road racing and convinced Dreyer to get back into the sport. Dreyer had road raced once before with amazing results. In a one-off ride Dreyer entered the WERA Grand National Finals being held in Indianapolis in 1980 and in his first road race took a close third to John Ashmead and Jim Brady in the 750cc Superbike class. When he came back to road racing Dreyer had some epic battles with fellow WERA novice Scott Zampach. Dreyer also helped form Dreyer Racing, a WERA National Endurance team. The team had great success in the middleweight production class, taking several class victories and earning an overall podium result at Grattan (Mich.) Raceway in 1987. Dreyer was talented in all forms of motorcycle racing. He won a regional indoor flat track race at Market Square Arena against some of the top Grand National riders of the era including Chris Carr and Steve Morehead. “He was one of the most talented riders I ever saw race,” said good friend and Dreyer Racing teammate Gene Burcham. “He would come to those WERA races on Sunday, having missed Saturday’s qualifying races because he was working at the dealership, and blast through the field from the back row. This was when WERA had 25 rows of novices. He’d get up there and battle Zampach. If he would have been able to really stick with racing he would have gone to the top.” Instead his ever expanding dealership was the main focus of Dreyer’s. At one point Dreyer Motorsports had over 40 employees. Recent years had been tough on Duane. He had to deal with a pullback at the dealership due to the recession. Having to layoff employees was incredibly difficult for Duane and he battled with bouts of alcoholism. Even though it appeared that Duane was on the road to recovery, his body was unable to recover from the ravages of the disease. Duane is survived by his father, Floyd “Junior” Dreyer, brother Mike Dreyer and sister Terry St. John. He had three nieces and nephews. Duane was preceded in death by mother Louise. The Dreyer family will continue the operation of the business in honor of Duane, where he will be deeply missed by those worked with him. Conkle funeral home in Avon, Ind. will be making the funeral arrangements. Here is the link: ~http://www.conklefuneralhome.com/~. Funeral Arrangements: Visitation Sunday 2/20/2011 From 5-8pm Masonic Services will be at 7pm Funeral Services will be Monday 2/21/2011 at: Conkle Funeral Home, 76 N SR 267, Avon, In 46123 The family asks that donations in remembrance of Duane be made to: IndianaUniversity Foundation 545 Barnhill Dr Emerson Hall #215 Indianapolis, IN46202