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and any hopes of victory, even at this early stage, were gone. "I was catching up to Eddie and Scott and I said, 'Okay, I'll get in their draft and race to the end,' " Duhamel said. "I was pretty happy about that part of the race, but then I got a false neutral and I didn't take any chances. I took it straight and that's the ground I couldn't make up for the victory." By lap 16, Polen and Edwards had climbed into the top 10 after their dismal qualifying races saw them start 15th and 18th, respec- tively, but the race had already distilled into a battle between the old warhorse Lawson and the young buck, Russell, with Slight now cemented in third. Lap 17 saw Russell pit for fuel and a new rear tire, with Lawson doing the same on lap 21. But there was a wrench in the works in the shape of Polen, who had gambled on a one-stop strategy by fitting the hardest tire he could get. But by lap 25, the tire started to vibrate, and Polen's hopes were gone as he made a mercy dash into the pits for a new rear. He rejoined at the back of the top 10. Edwards' race was over roughly the same time as Polen's after his Yamaha "just quit," he said. "It didn't make any funny noises or anything, it just quit running." With Polen taken care of, Russell moved back into the lead from Roche, Slight and Lawson. Steady Eddie quickly disposed of the two in front and set off after Russell, 6.5 seconds up the road. The four- time MotoGP Champion was riding so hard he ruined his second rear tire, so on lap 31, Lawson made the call to pit for a second unscheduled rear tire. His crew wasn't ready for him, and when he rejoined the fray, Lawson was down in fifth. But the tide was turning. Two laps later, Russell dashed into the pits for another rear and a splash of fuel. This time, however, Russell's crew was ready for him, and a fast Muzzy Kawasaki team got the number one back in the race in third place and, importantly, in front of Lawson. Lap 39 saw Duhamel and Yanagawa pit, Slight a lap later, meaning Russell was now in front of Lawson by 3.5 seconds. Lawson knew it was now or never. By lap 42, the gap was down to 2.6 seconds. Lap 44, down to 1.7 seconds, and on lap 46, Lawson pounced and took the lead on the front straight. However, the tire grem- lins weren't banished yet, as Lawson pitted for a third rear on lap 48, Russell a third rear one lap later. They emerged 1-2, with Rus- sell holding a light advantage over Lawson, and on the 57th and final lap, the two were glued together. Russell held sway but encountered a lap- per, a man who would go on to provide a huge amount of Ya- maha's team success over the next 25 years, Chuck Graves, at the final chicane. Russell was held up just enough by Graves for Lawson to position himself perfectly for the run to the line, and the GP legend used the all-famous slingshot to take his final two-wheeled win by just 0.051 seconds. "Boy, I'll tell you what, my heart rate must have been over 200!" Lawson beamed from Victory Lane. "I just thought if I got behind Scott, I could draft him down the front straight and pull this thing off. Scott just about collected that guy [Graves] in the chicane, so I went right up to the top of the banking and just pinned it. We had enough horsepower that we beat him to the line. This thing's fast." The 1993 Daytona 200 marked the end of Eddie Law- son's two-wheeled career and the beginning of Scott Russell's international fame. Lawson would turn his attention to a brief four-wheel IndyCar (CART) racing career, taking a best finish of sixth at the Michigan International Speedway. Russell would go on to take the 1993 WorldSBK Championship, the third for an American behind Polen and two-time champion Fred Merkel, and three more Daytona 200 victories for Kawa- saki. CN CNIIARCHIVES P150 Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives