Herrin Wins The Daytona 200

Josh Herrin started from the pole at the 81st Daytona 200 and when the checkers fell he came out on top of a 10-lap sprint to the finish following a red flag.

The Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider had his Panigale V2 in front for much of the 57-lap race and held a lead of more than 20 seconds when the red flag set up the late race dramatics. 

Herrin didn't get off the pace during the last laps and set himself up for the slingshot to the finish line when he drafted past Yamaha's Josh Hayes and claim the victory by just 0.070 seconds. That margin of victory was similar to last year's near photo finish.

“The race went amazing,” Herrin said from Victory Lane. “It seemed like everything was against us, but we worked as a team and got settled down and even Xavi’s guys from Germany came over at the end to help us. It was a very eventful race and I can’t believe we were able to pull it off. After how the race went in 2022, in my mind I needed to get the win for the team and for Ducati. It’s such a special moment and that I was able to do it on the V2 before we step up to the V4 R in Superbike this year. We’ve got a lot of confidence heading into the race season now and I’m thankful to be part of the Ducati family.”

Herrin’s teammate Xavi Forés American debut didn’t go to plan with a mechanical problem signaling the end of his race before the first round of pitstops.

The top five finishers:
P1 - Josh Herrin (Ducati)
P2 – Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
P3 - Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
P4 – Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
P5 – PJ Jacobsen (Yamaha)