Cycle News

VOL. 51 ISSUE 11 MARCH 18, 2014 P157 that year. Triumph was a serious contender throughout the 1950s, and won at plenty of other Nationals, but try as they might, the company never won at Daytona during that decade. And try they did. Take 1952 for example. Triumph had 29 bikes in that's year's race, but even with those kinds of numbers they came up short. Jimmy Phillips managed third, but that was it. Hugh McAfee came closer the next year when he was runner up in '53 to Harley-Davidson's Paul Goldsmith. So if 29 bikes couldn't do it, how about 41 Tri- umph entries in 1954? Still no Daytona victory. Then came a Massachusetts auto repairman named Don Burnett. Burnett was tearing it up in races in New England on a Triumph, and when a BSA dealer offered him a Gold Star to race he took it. That didn't sit well with rival Triumph, so they won Burnett back by offering him a true factory ride. "All I had to do was show up with my riding gear and race," Burnett said of his deal with Triumph. "I had mechanics working on the bike and they'd take it back to the factory between races. It was great. Plus, a regular working man was making about $5000 a year back then and I was making that working at our shop, plus I also earned $6000 from racing with Triumph. I was rolling in dough." With the factory Triumph ride in 1961 Burnett fin- ished second to Roger Reiman in the first year the Daytona 200 moved from the beach to Daytona In- ternational Speedway. Back with Triumph again in '62 Burnett came to Daytona more determined than ever. Triumph was making a full assault on winning and his bike was specially prepped in England for the race. Carroll Resweber was practically unbeatable at that point and he was the fast qualifier and led the first 21 laps of the race, building a 15 second lead over fellow Harley-Davidson rider Joe Leonard, before his en- gine blew. Leonard took over the lead, but seven laps later was out with a broken chain adjuster. Suddenly Burnett was leading the race, his Tri- umph running strong and fast. Mann was second, but had hit a pylon and bent his rear brake lever under, handicapping him. Mann charged and closed the gap on Burnett, who in turn was nurs- ing his Triumph that had heated up and gradually lost horsepower in the closing laps. In the final 10 laps Burnett knew the score. "I saw my pit board," he said. "First it said 10, then nine, then eight. I knew Mann was catching me." On the final lap Mann caught Burnett and was on his rear wheel. Burnett gave his Triumph ev- erything it had and held on to win by 10 feet at the line. It was an exhilarating victory for both Burnett and Triumph. It marked that company's first win in America's most prestigious race. Triumph was the last of the major British mak- ers to win at Daytona. Norton had done it way back in 1941 with Billy Mathews and BSA in '54 with Bobby Hill. So it had to be a huge relief for the management and plant workers back in Me- riden to finally get the win in America's biggest race. Then it got even better for Triumph when Buddy Elmore and Gary Nixon won Daytona back to back in 1966 and '67. The '60s were good to the company. Then the downfall. Nixon's pole on a Triumph in '71 was about the last hurrah for the brand at Day- tona. The company was in financial trouble and cutting back its racing efforts, which were done completely after the '73 season. A few diehards kept racing Triumphs in the 200, throughout the mid-1970s, perhaps most notably Mike Kidd in '74. Ely Schless even put a Triumph on the grid for the Daytona 200 in 1985 when the race featured Superbikes. Then the brand went quiet at Daytona for over two decades, until the Formula Xtreme era came to the 200. In 2007 Robert Mclendon and Steven Breckenridge made history when they raced the new Hinckley-made Triumphs in the Daytona 200 for the first time in 22 years. CN TRIUMPH IS BACK Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives

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