Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127831
ROAD RACE AMAIMBNA SUPERBIKE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES By Paul Carruthers Photos 'by Henny Ray Abrams and Kinney Jones DAYTONA BEAG!, FL, MAR. 9 t was deceivingly familiar, yet strikingly different. Yamaha's Scott Russell and Smokin' Joe's Honda's Miguel DuHamel crossed the finish line together at the end of the 56th running of the Daytona 200 by Arai, but they actually were miles apart - 3.56 miles, to be exact. Last year DuHamel and Russell finished one-two in the closest naytona 200 ever. This year, DuHamel was just another backmarker, another blip on Ru ssell's radar screen as he flew to a record fourth victory in the Daytona 200. . Remarkably, Russell has now won The Daytona 200 four times in the last six years, finishing second in the other two to compile a record that is unmatched. But this win was rather simple in comparison to the other three. He didn't start at the back of the grid, he didn't crash, remount and still ride to victory, /:'-. and he didn't win a drafting war to the 0\ finish line. All he did this time was lead ~ all but three of the 57 laps on a motorcy, cle he'd never raced before, adding fur0\ ther to the legend that is Mr. Daytona. ...... ~ There was simply no matching Russell I.J on this sunny and warm day in SouthCij ern Florida: . The nian who came the closest to doing so was Muzzy Kawasaki's Doug Chandler. The defending AMA Superbike National Champion rqde a heady ::;s 6 race that'saw him leave the Florida facility with the championship points leild. Chandler crossed the finish line some 4.5 seconds behind Russell, a gap that is somewhat misleading and would have been much wider if not for a caution period that placed the pace car at the front of the field for several laps in the closing stages. Third place went to Russell's Yamaha teammate Colin Edwards II. The Texan was forced to pit earlier than planned after burning up a tire on only the 15th lap while trying to match Russell's pace, and he spent the rest of the 200 miles playing catch-up. Still, he couldn't gain any ground on Russell, or Chandler for that matter, and third was the best he could do for a second straight Daytona 200. '~My bike worked really good and 1 don't know what happened," Russell said at a loss as to why this one was so easy. "1 knew these two guys (Chandler and Edwards) would be the guys to beat and they were. My bike just didn't do anything wrong. The tires (Russell used Dunlops) were. unbelievable and 1 could run hard the whole t:i1;ne if 1 needed to without any trouble. And the bike was' ridable like that. 1 don't know, maybe we just hit the setup just a little bit better with the bike. If that's the way it goes then I'm just real, real happy for Yamaha and all my sponsors. Whatever you call it, I'll take it." . Smokin' Joe's Honda's Steve Crevier made a decision late in 'the race that bumped him from a certain sixth-place finish to fourth at the line. When the pace car pulled out while workers ยท nal SPeedway (Above) The 56th Daytona 200 by Arai gets under way with "Mr. Daytona" Scott Russell (4) . leading the pack. His Yamaha t~ammate Colin Edwards (45) leads Doug Chandler (hidden), Steve Crevier (14), Tom Kipp (16) and Mat Mladin (66). (Left) Russell went on to easily win the Daytona 200, becoming the first man to ever win four times.