2019 Daytona 200

westie

westie

Its Dethklok!
There was a time once when I'd have a big viewing party and people would place bets and we'd scream for people like Russel, DuHamel, Chandler, Bostrom and Mladin. There was the year Hodgson openly said that wide open on the banking scared the crap out of him. Or the year Russel got punched in the head so hard they couldn't get a helmet on him. This race had soo much going on in and around it. In this years race I know 2 riders. What happened? You may say the 600's killed it. You may say DMG killed it. It's definately not the race we used to look forward to. In any event, a new season is upon us.

Link of preliminary list of riders-

https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/daytona-200-talented-field-of-riders-taking-shape/
 
budman

budman

General Menace
Staff member
I think the tire wear issues forcing it into the 600's killed it. I am not sure it was DMG specifically, but I don't know the ins and out of it either.

It use to be a huge international field on bitchen bikes that used older tech tires. People want to see the premiere class bikes not 600's and that took the true polish that made Daytona shine away.
 
stangmx13

stangmx13

not Stan
Daytona is now placed exactly where it should have been all along, an exhibition race with a big purse. its kinda like the TT or Monster Energy Cup, and that can be great. it doesnt need to be included in the MA championship and theres little reason to burden those teams w/ the extra effort required for endurance racing.

if ASRA (or whoever is running it) wants the big names to come out, they just need to keep increasing the purse and increasing the media coverage. make the race too big for them to ignore.
 
budman

budman

General Menace
Staff member
For me the Daytona 200 was epic shit as a young teen/man.

The 70's had stacked fields with American factory teams all participating and international superstars from the GP scene involved.

Plus you could actually watch it on TV...! Unlike any other road racing in the USA. :afm199

Field may seem stacked... it is not bad, but not like its hey day for sure.
Not a single factory dude in there... a couple with some factory support I suppose like Fong. That is a good call for M4 to get him in the race for a bunch of seat time to learn the bike. I bet Bobby has a solid shot to win it actually.
 
DonJigweed

DonJigweed

Urban Achiever
Daytona is the most obvious example of the sad decline of AMA Superbike racing. Mr. Daytona, Foggy, Colin Edwards, etc. riding trick superbikes around the banking, with a few select World Super guys coming over to join the party. Fuck yeah. I wish I could find a youtube clip of Gobert backing it in to the chicane from 180mph. I'm sure there's still good racing there with the 600s, but I can watch good racing at my local kart track...
 
Map8

Map8

I want nothing
Staff member
Tire wear issues definitely ended the Superbike participation in the 200. But rider, team and series contracts also changed. It was no longer possible to get big name racers from other series to come race the 200 even in the last years of Superbike 200s. Racers weren't free to do one off rides in other series anymore. International championships became more adept at marketing and branding.

You can blame the AMA or DMG if you need an easy answer but in reality a race like the 200 was destined to lose out to the rise of WSBK and MotoGP and BSB as stronger entities.

Now back to the annual "The Daytona 200 used to be..." thread.
 
berth

berth

Well-known member
600s didn't kill it. The 600s of today are faster than the 750s of the past. You still get that drafting flash pass at the line style finishes. You still get that grind of Daytona. You still get the riders under the paint wallowing on the high bank (for extra wallowing, you had the Boxer Cup -- Holy Blue Whales). You get The Sound.

I've always wanted to go just to listen to it.

The fact that Jason DiSalvo managed to win a Daytona 200 after replacing a motor truly shows the "anything can happen" at Daytona phenomenon.

The marketers stopped paying attention to Daytona, so the factories stopped going to Daytona, so now it's a "racers race" to race, but with no money. The bulk of the riders show up simply to show up. Fewer go seriously to outright win it.

We're long past the likes of Eddie Lawson racing it to race it, and win it against a field of others that also badly want to win it, and came actually prepared to do so.

It's an also ran today. Nice play to get some seat time, a cool track to run, a neat check mark on folks bucket lists. But just not as hard fought as it was.

I, too, used to go to viewing parties. Organized my own with complete strangers. Made an event out of it.

I think that last time I had a glimpse of it was 3-4 years ago.
 
stangmx13

stangmx13

not Stan
the purse is 175k this year with 25k going to 1st. for guys racing existing bikes and existing teams, the winner will def leave in the black. its prob helping attract more fast guys.
 
budman

budman

General Menace
Staff member
Not a bad purse. Probably the best in the US.

I hope that Bobby and others put some money in their pockets.

To a factory dude 25k or a Daytona win does not mean very much anymore. It used to be some real status.
 
Maddevill

Maddevill

KNGKAW
I started watching Daytona when Roberts and Lawson rode the YZR680 monster 2 strokes against Freddie and Baldwin on the RS and FWS monsters. Now that was exciting. Tons of international stars showed up and it was a real event.
Too bad those days are long gone.

Mad
 
Map8

Map8

I want nothing
Staff member
Bobby Fong has been quickest in the two afternoon sessions today. Tyler O'Hara is tenth.

Other notables from the most recent session:
4th - Geoff May
5th - Kyle Wyman
6th - Danny Eslick
7th - Jason Farrell
8th - Josh Hayes
11th - Corey West
15th - Jason DiSalvo
38th - Johnny Rock Page LOL
44th - John Ashmead



Will be interesting to see how Sean Kelly (3rd quickest) does at the 200 and during the MA season.
 
budman

budman

General Menace
Staff member
Go Bobby!!!! :party

John Ashmead... so cool he is still having fun with the kids.
 
L

Lewd_Ferrigno

Well-known member
Here’s a pic of Bobby Fong’s old crew chief smoking on a barrel of VP race gas, at Daytona
43735-B45-0-E7-B-41-F7-BBA2-BCA2-F2-E8-EEED.jpg
 
DonJigweed

DonJigweed

Urban Achiever
budman said:
Go Bobby!!!! :party

John Ashmead... so cool he is still having fun with the kids.
Click to expand...

I used to race CCS down in West Palm Beach, and this burnt looking old geezer with a long blonde ponytail flapping around was kicking everyone's ass in the Shootout (like Formula Pacific) on his ZX7. That was 25 years ago. Ashmead must've had his AARP card at least 10 years now. Unreal.
 
Map8

Map8

I want nothing
Staff member
Lewd_Ferrigno said:
Here’s a pic of Bobby Fong’s old crew chief smoking on a barrel of VP race gas, at Daytona
43735-B45-0-E7-B-41-F7-BBA2-BCA2-F2-E8-EEED.jpg
Click to expand...

I remember when he rode for that team. Safety First or something? Wasn't there some scandal associated with the team owner later? What year was that photo taken?
 
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