VOL. 55 ISSUE 11 MARCH 20, 2018 P33
pions Scott Russell (1992, '94-
95, '97-98) and Miguel Duhamel
(1991, '96, '99, 2003, '05) share
the all-time record for Daytona
200 victories.
"We've kind of set our name
in the books here at Daytona;
we've done pretty well," Eslick
said. "The biggest thing is the
crew here at DIS; this is the only
race [of the season] where we
do pit stops."
Eslick, who averaged 95.834
mph, also credited his crew
with their preparation of a spare
engine forced into use after the
team's first engine failed during
Friday's qualifying.
"Again, it goes back to the
team," Eslick said. "They busted
their butt last night. I don't know
what they did but they found a
couple horsepower in that thing
and it definitely made my life
easier."
Cory West (Yamaha R6
600) finished second in the
57-lap/200-mile race on the
3.51-mile road course, 26.294
seconds behind Eslick.
Robertino Pietri (Suzuki GSX-
R600) rounded out the podium
via a last-lap pass of Geoff May
(Yamaha R6 600) to match the
third-place finish posted by his
father Roberto Pietri in 1982.
Polesitter Valentin Debise—a
native of France now living in
Lake Elsinore, California—was
leading the race when he
crashed at more than 100 mph
entering the course's Interna-
tional Horseshoe turn on lap 10.
Debise was seeking to become
the second French rider to win
the Daytona 200. Patrick Pons
(1980) is the race's only French
champion.
Debise's M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
Team said that Debise was taken
to nearby Halifax Medical Center
and was awake and alert. After
tests, Debise was diagnosed
with a compression fracture of
the third lumbar vertebra. Wear-
ing a brace, he was released
Saturday night and is expected
to make a full recovery.
Second-fastest qualifier, and
2016 race champion, Michael
Barnes, a veteran rider from
Boca Raton, Florida, had a
strong run until lap 24, when
his Yamaha R6 600 was retired
due to mechanical problems.
Two years ago, Barnes came
out of retirement to become the
oldest Daytona 200 Champion,
at the age of 47. Prior to Satur-
day, Barnes hinted that this year
would be his last appearance in
the race.
John Ashmead (Kawa-
saki ZX6R 636) of Palm City,
Florida—the 1989 Daytona 200
Champion—extended his record
for career miles completed in the
Daytona 200. Ashmead finished
18th and now totals 4533 miles.
CN
1. Danny Eslick (Yam) 57 laps
2. Cory West (Yam) 57
3. Robertino Pietri (Suz) 57
4. Geoff May, (Yam) 57
5. Shane Narbonne (Yam) 57
6. Max Angles, (Yam) 56
7. Darren James (Yam) 56
8. Bailey Cox (Kaw) 56
9. Joseph Giannotto (Yam) 56
10. Jody Barry (Kaw) 55
Eslick leads the way in
the Daytona 200.
