Benny Campanale was a true pioneer of motorcycle racing.  He began winning regional dirt track and TT races at an early are in the New England are, and by the end of the 1930s, the Woonsocket, Rhode Island native rode to victory in two of the first three Daytona 200 Beach Races in 1938 and 1939. 

One year after his victory in '39, good friend and fellow Woonsocket, R.I. native Babe Tancrede took home the checkered flag in 1940 at Daytona. 

Benny, as well as a host of other early Class-C racers, often stopped by my dads place when the museum was in Illinois on or around the weekend of the Springfield Mile.  I would have loved to have met him, if only to ask a few questions of what it was like to race back then.

When looking at the bike in the photo, we make some interesting observations.  The machine is a 1937 Harley-Davidson WLDR -- HD's 45 cubic inch high-performance flathead.  They produced around 100 of these bikes, and this one is in full racing trim, as most likely set up by Campanale himself.  The bike features front fender, and gutted front brake, as well as a thin pad on the rear fender for sliding back to get out of the wind.  Floorboard have been removed with pegs put in place, and special Linkert MR-2 Barrel racing carburetor has been mounted.  It is interesting to note that the machine has no magneto, but instead runs a total loss battery with timer, but no generator.  This was about the only option back then, as the generator was too heavy, but the racing rules stipulated "no magnetos or other special racing equipment".