Daytona 200: Eslick wins it again after "incident" made him miss last year's event
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Danny Eslick on his way to victory in Saturday's Daytona 200
By Paul Fenn
Contributing Editor
The Daytona 200 wrapped up Bike Week at Daytona with Danny Eslick reclaiming his winning mantle after missing out last year.
Eslick had won in 2014 and 2015, but missed last year’s race entirely after his suspension due to an “off-track incident”.
According to a report in Cycle News, “He is the sixth three-time champion of the road racing classic, joining an elite list that also includes Dick Klamfoth (1949, ’51-52), Brad Andres (1955, ’59-60), Roger Reiman (1961, ’64-65), Kenny Roberts (1978, ’83-84) and Mat Mladin (2000-01, ’04). Scott Russell and Miguel Duhamel share the all-time Daytona 200 wins record with five.”
Meanwhile, last year’s champ, and this year’s polesitter, Michael Barnes on his Prieto Performance Yamaha 600 rallied late in the game, skidding to a halt on the podium in third place.
This year’s race had a clunky start, riled by three red flags which resulted in three complete lap one restarts. Once the race proper began, however, the Yammies got down to hard biz and a battle royal unfolded between the pre-race favorites.
This was Yamaha’s 24th Daytona 200 victory. That rather astonishing record marks the most in racing history for a single manufacturer. Interestingly, Eslick’s three victories thus far have come on three different bikes.
His take was $25,000 out of a total pool of $175,000 – and he was given a fetching steel-and-gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch.
“It was an incredible race… just good clean, clean racing,” Eslick was reported to have said later on from Tulsa, Oklahoma. “I didn’t know Cory (West) was just going to go for it on the last lap.”
But Eslick employed a classic slingshot maneuver on Saturday, passing West while coming out of the last turn of the last lap.
Starting grid at Saturday's 76th Daytona 200. Photo: David Swarts
Eslick and West had battled brilliantly for the lead for the final five laps of the 58-lap race on the 3.51-mile-long Daytona International Speedway. West seemed to be enjoying a decent margin in Turn 2 on the final lap, but Eslick got hungry and made the lethal pass, drafting off the 31-degree bank in Turn 4 on the high side and besting West by a miniscule 0.041 seconds.
All in all, a very satisfying 200 miles of sound and fury.
For more Paul Fenn, click this eatsleepride.com/rider/champers.
