{{short description|American motorcycle racer}} {{Infobox Motocross rider | name = Danny Chandler | image = | caption = | nationality = American | birth_date = October 5, 1959 | birth_place = Sacramento, California, U.S. | death_date = {{death-date and age|4 May 2010|5 October 1959}} | death_place = Yuba City, California, U.S. | years = 1979 - 1985 | teams = Maico, Honda [KTM] | races = | championships = | wins = 4 }} '''Danny''' "'''Magoo'''" '''Chandler''' (October 5, 1959<ref name="Danny Chandler at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame">[http://hof.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=61 Danny Chandler at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame]</ref> – May 4, 2010) was an American professional motocross racer.<ref name="Danny Chandler at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame"/> He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1979 to 1985. He is remembered for his hard-charging, aggressive riding style.
Chandler began his professional motocross career with the Maico factory racing team in 1979.<ref name="Magoo The Magnificent">[https://books.google.com/books?id=XfsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28 ''Magoo The Magnificent'', by Len Weed, American Motorcyclist, May 1983, Vol. 37, No. 5, ISSN 0277-9358]</ref> He was nicknamed Magoo by his father at an early age, and the name stuck.<ref name="Magoo The Magnificent"/> By 1982 he had earned a place in the American Honda factory racing team. That same year he beat the vaunted Europeans at the 500cc U.S. Motocross Gran Prix at perhaps the toughest motocross tracks in the United States, Carlsbad. The victory would be the biggest of his career.<ref name="Magoo The Magnificent"/> In 1982 he also won both races in the Motocross des Nations as well as the Trophée des Nations, becoming the first rider to win both motos of both events in the same year.<ref name="Magoo The Magnificent"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.memotocross.fr/downloads/mem-82-mxdn-res-complet.pdf |title=1982 Motocross des Nations classifications |publisher=memotocross.fr |accessdate=7 March 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.memotocross.fr/downloads/mem-82-trdn-res-complet.pdf |title=1982 Trophée des Nations classifications |publisher=memotocross.fr |accessdate=7 March 2025 }}</ref>
After being dropped from the Honda team, Chandler went to Europe to compete in the Motocross World Championships. His career ended when he was left paralyzed after a crash at a supercross race in Paris in 1986.<ref name="Danny Chandler at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame"/> Despite the setback, Chandler began promoting mountain bike races and became involved with D.A.R.E.<ref name="Danny Chandler at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame"/> Chandler was inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.<ref name="Danny Chandler at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame"/>
Chandler died on May 4, 2010, from illnesses related to his paralysis.<ref>[http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/motocross/2010/05/05/danny-magoo-chandler-passes ''Danny Magoo Chandler Passes'', by Larry Lawrence, Cycle News, May 5, 2010] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526121210/http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/motocross/2010/05/05/danny-magoo-chandler-passes |date=May 26, 2010 }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.dannymagoo.com Danny Chandler Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202214604/http://www.dannymagoo.com/ |date=2011-02-02 }} * [http://hof.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=61 Danny Chandler at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=XfsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28 ''Magoo The Magnificent'', by Len Weed, American Motorcyclist, May 1983, Vol. 37, No. 5, ISSN 0277-9358] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100508233930/http://www.motocrossactionmag.com/Main/News/GODSPEED-DANNY-MAGOO-CHANDLER-19592010-6920.aspx Godspeed: Danny "Magoo" Chandler (1959-2010), by Jody Weisel]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Danny}} Category:1959 births Category:2010 deaths Category:Racing drivers from Sacramento, California Category:American motocross riders Category:American disabled sportspeople Category:People with paraplegia