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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127775
DIRT TRACK . A G N MA rand ational C hampionship Series Round 1: Daytona Muncipal Stadium I e Irs s 0 (Left) Will Davi s wheelles off the corner on his way to wi nnin g the Daytona Short Track . Davis became th e sixt h different winner In the history of th e event. (Below) Rich King neg otiated his way through heavy traff ic to bring home a hard-earned second-place fin ish In his final ride for team owner George Garv ls. By Scott Roussea u Photos by Kinney Jo nes DA vro; ABEACH, FL. MAR. 9 n winning the series-opening Daytona Short Track, Will Davis proved th e o ld adage tha t a m a n can fall many times in life, but is only a failure when he refuses to get up. In tru th, Davis ha d only fallen once a t t he stadium - in th e AMA 600cc National Cha mpions hip Series op ener on the night before the GNC event, but it was a crash of epic porportions, as the friendly North Carolinian was unceremoniously run over by fellow comp etitors after goi ng down in tum one . But even though he was battered and bruised, Davis, the newest member of Ben Ford Jr : s Total Control Rac ing squad, returned to claim the win in one of the events on the championship trail tha t has m ean t more to hi m than an y other. "I know that Rich King said that he I wanted to win this thing, but I wanted to win it too," Davis said after claiming his eighth career and first short track Grand National victory. "Daytona is all I've ever wanted to win - well, that and Springfield. Growin' up in my house, Daytona is all I ever hear d about from my dad ." Davis' wi n is perhaps all the mor e amazing when you consider tha t he was forced to co me fro m th e second row after fini sh ing seco nd in h is heat race. Bu t the 31-year-old used his fast reflexes to get a fifth-place start as the 16-rider field raced into the first tum. Davis then went to work on the rough but passable Mu nicipal Stadium dirt and pick ed off the rid er s in front of him one by one bef ore catching race leader Terry Poovey on the 16th lap . Davis would not be headed after that. "This wasn't a typical Daytona race track," Davis said. "This was a real race track. You could pass on this one without running into people." Team Saddlemen rider Rich King, the "othe r" m an wh o wanted to w in Daytona so badl y, found himself locked into ano ther o f hi s cons isten t second-pla ce fin ishes a t t he ch ec ke r e d flag . Li ke Davis, the 32-year -old Iowan started on the second row in the feature, but unlike Davis, King had more work to do after being mired in the middle of the pack as the field powered off the first tum. King had his Garvis H o nd a Town entry hooked up and haulin ' to the fro nt, however, as he put away early race lea der Joe Kopp to grab third p lace at about the same time Davis grabbed the point. King then inherited secon d place after the hard -runni ng Poovey scattered a m ot o r and dropped ou t. King d istance d himself from the new third-place man Kevin Varnes and attempted to ru n down Davis after th at, but by his own admission, it was little more than w ishful thinking. Yethe was pleased to provide his team owner George Garvis with a fitting sw an song for the pair. " O nce [ got to secon d, Wi ll was gone," King said. "We had th e speed. We just need ed a bet ter shot off the line. I'll tell yo u, th a t Garvis H on d a really works." For Varne s, USC Racing' s yo u n g Pennsylvania hot shoe, third place in the Daytona short track was almost as much a re aso n to smil e as the win , for he believes it provided an adequat e preview of the wa y his season is going to turn out. "I'm not gonna run hot and cold this year," Varn es said. "I' m going to be a lot more cons istent." "Consistent" would be the best wa y to describe the 24-year-old's run to the podium on his Penn State Cycles Rotax. Varnes also came off row two and stru ggled earl y in the main eve nt , running eighth and then dr opping to 10th before he ading to th e fro nt . Varnes followed Kin g throu gh th e field , s top pi ng only briefly to engage in a spirited dice with USC Racing teammate Ricky Graham in the middle st ages of the ev en t before