Kit Palmer | June 22, 2016
The motocross community lost another great when Dewayne Jones, brother to AMA Motocross Champion Gary Jones, passed away at 12:56 A.M. on Sunday, June 19. Dewayne Jones had been battling cancer over the last five years, and it appeared he had beaten it less than a year ago, but the cancer returned in early 2016, this time taking his life. He was 65 years old.
Dewayne Jones is considered a pioneer of American motocross. As a former factory rider for Team Yamaha, Team Honda and Team Can-Am, as well as being a member of the renowned Jones family, Dewayne put his stamp on the AMA National Motocross circuit in the early 1970s. His best finish was second place at the Lake Whitney 250 National in 1973.
Jones is survived by his mother Melinda, daughter Stephanie, son Jason, brother Gary and sisters Lois and Melinda.
American issue a release on Jones’ passing:
It is with great sadness that American Honda marks the passing of former Team Honda factory racer DeWayne Jones, who died on Sunday, June 19, following a battle with cancer.
Born September 15, 1950, in Montebello, California, Jones was a charter member of Team Honda, racing a CR250 Elsinore alongside younger brother Gary and Marty Tripes in 1973, the squad’s inaugural year. DeWayne posted a best finish of second place behind Gary at Texas’s Lake Whitney Cycle Ranch, and although it was Gary who would earn Honda its first AMA Motocross National Championship that season, DeWayne was notable for his strong starts. “No one could beat him off the line, including me,” Gary remembered. “All of the first-turn photos from back then, he’s in front of me. Everywhere we went, DeWayne was on the gas.”