Kevin Schwantz, the 1993 500cc Grand Prix World Champion, has been fired from his duty as driver of the official pace car of the 67th annual Daytona 200 at Daytona International Speedway. Cliff Nobles has also been replaced as the pace car observer and signal man.
At Wednesday’s riders’ meeting, Schwantz was introduced to the AMA Formula Xtreme racers as the driver of the official pace car for the 200, a job he performed without incident last year. But as the pace car session during Thursday morning’s AMA Formula Xtreme practice was underway, Schwantz was walking pit lane.
“It took me 43 years but I finally got fired from a job for the first time in my life,” laughed Schwantz, when asked by Roadracingworld.com why he wasn’t driving the pace car. “Apparently, Dennis Rhee [Senior Vice President, AMA Pro Racing] called Kizer [Keith Kizer, Senior Director of AMA Pro Racing] and told him the MOTO-ST guys are doing the pace car.”
“I think Kevin was joking when he said he was fired,” said Eric Putter, AMA Pro Racing Media Relations Manager. “Roger Edmondson [President of MOTO-ST and Grand Am] offered his series’ pace car crew, which has more experience running the pace car, and the AMA took him up on the offer because we want the most experienced team doing the job.”
While MOTO-ST staff and AMA Pro Racing staff members have never before collaborated on racing operations at either organizations’ events, uniformed MOTO-ST staffers have been present at AMA technical inspection and at the riders’ meeting at Daytona.
The presence of the MOTO-ST staff has added some creditability to the rumors that a Daytona Beach-based group, a group possibly incorporating key personnel with International Speedway Corporation, owners of NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway, and/or Grand Am and MOTO-ST, will obtain the commercial rights to the AMA Superbike series.
Several news outlets have reported that this Daytona Beach-based group will announce that it has purchased the commercial rights to AMA Superbike during the Daytona 200 race weekend.
AMA officials have declined comment.
Stay tuned for more details.