MARCH 9-11, 2023
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY / DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA
ROAD RACE I 81ST DAYTONA 200
P92
for the win involving Hayes,
Herrin, Petersen, Davis and
Paasch (who had time penal-
ties waiting for them), Gillim
and
Jacobsen. Hayes led out
of the final chicane, but it was
Herrin who played it perfectly,
using the slipstream to perfec-
tion to take the win by 0.070
of
a second from Hayes and
Petersen, with Gillim fourth.
Gillim would later protest the
results believing that Petersen
didn't actually finish third due
to being one lap behind at the
end of the first race start. His
protest was denied.
had earlier been docked 15 sec
-
onds for speeding in pitlane, with
his penalty applied to
the second
race time, not the first. The same
penalty applied to race rookie
Blake Davis (Yamaha).
Petersen ended the first race
a lap down on the leaders, but
by the time the lights had gone
out for the second time around,
no one told him he was on the
lead lap, so the South African
had no idea where he was in the
race despite being in the lead
group when the lights went out.
By the start of the final
lap, it was a seven-rider fight
A 10-lap, new race sprint
was then called and from there,
chaos reigned. Herrin was under
investigation for the incident
with Escalante, and was given a
six-place grid penalty (M4 Ecstar
Suzuki appealed the penalty,
believing Herrin's indiscretion
required a more severe pun
-
ishment but their appeal was
denied),
but it also meant those
riders who had earlier issues—
Petersen, Jacobsen and Gillim—
could now rejoin with a chance
of victory.
However, it wouldn't be a third
straight 200 win for Paasch, who
Herrin (1) and Escalante (54) were hard at it
for the majority of the race until a controversial
pass from Herrin at turn one saw Escalante on
the deck and out of the race.
