As a racer and race fan alike, the mention of ‘Daytona’ initially brings a mental image of ‘the big one’. A stock car pile-up, where 10-plus cars all collide into each other and the fans wearing their “Dale-is-god” or “Tony Stewart married my step-sister” t-shirt. Sleeves cut off by what appears to have been done by something no sharper than the back side of a plastic butter knife, exposing their bald eagle tattoo that upon second glance might be a portrait of a cast member from ‘Duck-Dynasty’, wearing a white salt sweat rimmed ‘MAGA’ hat… all simultaneously yell “hold my beer!”
Or does the distant southern whisper of ‘Daytona’ in your subconsciousness bring the visuals of skin bursting through the stitches of leather vests, farmers tanned arms sun kissed to the colour of hooters shorts orange, suspiciously the same colour as the president’s facial completion…, does your nose tingle with the smell of burning rubber and rev limiters bouncing at lower rpms than your happily ‘put away for the season’ snowblower come to mind? Get the picture?
Regardless of what comes to ‘your’ mind, the first week of March and the mention of salty palm trees brings only one thought to mind for me: the Daytona 200!
Obsessed some may say, utterly consumed others may shout out of frost-bitten car windows… no, the true reality is many who have ‘been there and done that’ will vouch that anything short of complete and full commitment to this event and immense per-planning will leave one driving home with a mind full of what ‘could have been.’
The Daytona 200 is a race that involves months of commitment and planning, and if done right, rewards riders with an experience they will never forget. Why else would riders the likes of Dunlop and Hickman, to ‘name drop a few’ make the pilgrimage across the pond similar to the Yankee flag waving forefathers of names like Herrin and Scott did many years ago? Why would they drag a large gaggle of crew to the majestic shores of Daytona beach if it wasn’t a bucket list race?
Unique to endurance racing is the fact that winning is not the result of just the rider or one name on the back of a suit. It takes a legitimate team to be successful. A ‘Jenga’ tower of people whose task in the pits balances on the placement of the member beside him or her and equally how all six individuals who come over the wall work together to be fast but potentially more important, ‘don’t mess up!’, to put it nicely.
This being my second start in the Daytona 200 I had a concept of what I was in for. With a smaller grid vs 2024’s event, the importance of traffic and track position that I learned last year, seemed like something more in my control. Extremely important factors in a race with multiple pit stops required to make it to the finish line, outright pace was not the only path to a respectable race result.
Despite the smaller grid, the class was separated into two groups for the two sessions of qualifying, the first of which was shortly after the one practice session Thursday morning. That’s right, only one practice to get up to speed and make changes. This means you’re rolling the bike off the truck and need to be in the window and regardless of the amount of snow we got this winter, I had to be ready to go too. This is where having a team with years of experience starts to pay off.
To start qualifying, the separation of groups was per-determined and unfortunately for me I was plopped into the ‘B’ group. Well, just like in the alphabet, A is before B and opening qualifying had me several seconds faster then the next rider in my group and left with no one to use as a draft or even chase and help set a top 10 lap time. The ‘banking’ is something people rave about at Daytona, but the draft from turn 6 where you enter the banking, all the way down the back-straight to the chicane, and again from the chicane to turn 1 is all about the draft, and its worth seconds a lap.
Draft or no draft, I qualified 18th and that’s where my race would start. As the race played out lap by lap it was much like it was in qualifying. I led a pack of one or two riders around while the lead pack drafted each-other and off into the distance they went. A red flag mid race as rain started too fall made my eyes grow wide with excitement (both my CSBK Pro Superbike wins were in the rain in 2024) but unfortunately with the banking, walls and speed at Daytona, rain meant a temporarily stoppage and not opportunity for yours truly. The race restarted and the last 33 laps were similar to the first 24 and as the checkered flag flew, 14th is where I would finish and that was my end result.
As a rider and a racer through and through, I was left asking myself inside, smiling as people said congratulations on my walk back to the garage with my wife Laura… “is the end result full filling if the path there wasn’t achieved by being fast? Is this not what racing, in all forms of motorsport is about?” At Daytona, ‘slow’ is not a word that comes to mind. So, as I reflect on my 14th place finish, should I be satisfied? Furthermore, did I do my team and the maple leaf adorn across the side of my GSX-R750 and those who it represents proud?
Now maybe I’ve been listening to too much AM talk radio lately in presenting these hypothetically asked questions in the context that I’m going to answer the phone lines shortly and get the perspective of some callers across the airwaves? But its in reflection and the questions you need to ask yourself that lead to taking steps up the podium and not down it.
Finishing 20th in my first start and now 14th in my second, is their enough sand in the glass left to compete with the likes of Eslick and his 20 x 200 starts? If you don’t try, you’ll never know. What I do know is that when the winds blow the first week of March 2026, I’ll be giving my all to be in the lead draft all 57 laps at the World Centre Of Racing in the Daytona 200
Till the lights go out to start the next race, thanks for following along!
