VOLUME 59 ISSUE 10 MARCH 8, 2022 P111
T
he Daytona 200. The name
invokes images of Agostini,
Roberts, Rainey, Russell
and many other greats who
have conquered the 31° banking
nestled on the Florida coast.
As much as an arena for gladi-
ators as it is a racetrack, Daytona
International Speedway is unique
in that it links America's current
generation of stars with those
of the past and is a definition of
American Speed for racing enthu-
siasts around the world.
For 2022 the 80th edition of
the 200, starting at 1:00 pm (EST)
on Saturday, March 12, it has all
changed. MotoAmerica and the
AMA take over the running of the
great race for the first time since
the former came into being as
the managing organization of the
American Superbike Champion-
ship in 2015. (Click here for the
2022 Daytona 200 weekend rac-
ing schedule.)
Run under MotoAmerica's
Supersport regulations, the grid
will be predominately made up
from class stalwarts in the Yamaha
YZF-R6, Suzuki GSX-R600 and
Kawasaki ZX-6R. However, the
2022 race will also see the nation-
al debut of the Ducati Panigale V2
and Triumph Street Triple 765 RS,
giving us a first glimpse of the new
breed of Supersport machines that
will begin to reshape the category
over the coming years.
The Daytona 200 is the only
MotoAmerica-sanctioned race that
requires pit stops and refueling
with the race distance of 200 miles
spread over 57 grueling laps. The
result often comes down to who's
played the slipstream game just right.
In 2021 we saw a clinic from
youngster Brandon Paasch as the
then 19-year-old used the slip-
stream like a veteran to out-drag a
devastated Sean Dylan Kelly to the
line to take the winner's Daytona
The World Center of Racing
welcomes back some of
America's finest as the
Daytona 200 enters a new
era under the management
of MotoAmerica.
set to return to its
the running of the
cash and star riders
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN J. NELSON
