David Marchino on a Yamaha FZR600 leads Reuben Frankenfield in a WERA C Superstock race at Putnam Park in June of 1992. Marchino tragically died in a crash at Putnam Park exactly 20 years ago today. (Larry Lawrence photo)
It’s been two decades, but I still remember it like it happened yesterday. It was 20 years ago today – July 5, 1992 – I was covering a WERA sprint racing event at Putnam Park in west central Indiana. There was a good battle going on in the B Superstock final between Reuben Frankenfield, Eric Smith and David Marchino.
The fact that Marchino was battling for the lead was notable in itself. He was a first-year expert, who’d won a regional WERA title as a novice the year before and he was rising rapidly that summer, regularly challenging for expert wins on his Yamaha FZR600.
On this day Marchino passed Frankenfield and Smith going into turn one to take over the lead. But the double draft had sucked him in too fast and he didn’t make the turn. He pitched it in trying in vain to hold the line before his Yamaha flicked him off the high side.
The ambulance rolled, but no one thought much about it. Sure Marchino crashed at a high rate of speed, but he didn’t make contact with another bike or any barriers. We figured he might have been beat up a little, or maybe even broken a bone or two. No one dreamed what had really happened.
It turns out his impact from the highside was so violent that it ruptured David’s aorta. Almost unbelievably Marchino was rushed to an area hospital, but was never revived. He was just 26 years old. When word got back to the track that he’d died I remember just standing there wondering if I’d heard right. A gloom was cast over the track and we all quietly left that evening in collective shock. David was coming up at such a rapid rate there’s no telling where he might have gone in racing.
So today I just wanted everyone who reads the Rider Files to take a moment to remember a young fallen racer, who was taken from us just as he was hitting his stride.
If you remember David, his brother has a memorial Facebook website. Click here to leave your comment.
Rider Files 
Thank you Larry
LikeLike
Larry, thanks for the wonderful tribute. Rest In Peace, David, you’re greatly missed.
LikeLike
David was my best friend and roommate in college. He was incredibly bright, caring and could not have been a better friend. I think about him all of the time and have never read the story of his success in racing until this piece. I miss him very much. Rest in peace Dave!
LikeLike
I remember racing David very well in 1990, when we were both Novice class, I on a new FZR, he on a Hurricane. You snapped a photo I have of us at IRP in the “carousel” about to enter the drag strip. He was a very “clean” and respectable racer struggling to be competitive on the Hurricane in ’90 against the FZRs. I knew he’d be hard to beat on the FZR he had for his rookie Expert season. I got injured at Grattan and took a year off to recover. Was shocked and very sad to hear of David’s passing at Putnam Park. I believe his brother who also raced WERA with him stopped racing after that very sad day. RIP and Godspeed David
LikeLiked by 1 person