[1] Penton entered the grueling Jack Pine 500-Mile Enduro in 1948 where, he was impressed by the performance of the BSA motorcycle ridden by the race winner.
[3] The International Six Days Trial is a form of off-road motorcycle Olympics which is the oldest annual competition sanctioned by the FIM dating back to 1913.
[4] He was also a long-distance motorcyclist, setting a transcontinental crossing record in 1958 when he rode a BMW R69S from New York to Los Angeles in 52 hours and 11 minutes.
[5][6] After Penton won the 1966 Jack Pine Enduro on a Husqvarna, the Swedish motorcycle manufacturer named him the distributor of the brand for the eastern United States.
[1] He formed a successful racing team that supported some of the top enduro racers of the era including his son, Jack Penton who competed in 12 ISDT events as well as Dick Burleson, Carl Cranke and Billy Uhl.