By David Swarts
Danny Eslick used a last-lap pass on Josh Herrin to take a narrow victory in the 74th running of the American Sportbike Racing Association’s (ASRA) Daytona 200 Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, becoming the first rider to win back-to-back Daytona 200 races since Mat Mladin did it in 2000-2001.
It was the 12th time in the history of the Daytona that a rider took back-to-back victories.
Several riders contested first place during the race, which was kept close by four red-flag stoppages, but TOBC Racing Suzuki’s Eslick, Wheels In Motion/Motosport.com/Meen Yamaha’s Herrin and Project Mayday Yamaha’s Geoff May were always near the front.
As the end of the race neared, Eslick, Herrin and May each had to make one last pit stop for fuel. Each made their stop quickly, but May experienced a problem with a temporary fuel leak that cost him valuable seconds and any chance of the win in the closing laps.
The battle between Eslick and Herrin then came down to the last lap, when 28-year-old Eslick drafted past Herrin on the run to the finish line and won by a scant 0.086 second.
May was 3.4 seconds back in third.
Slovenian rider Bostjan Skubic, age 40, finished fourth, his best finish in his 15th run in the Daytona 200.
Armando Ferrer, of Venezuela, was originally scored in 11th place and one lap down, but an audit of the lap times after the race showed that the electronic timing and scoring system missed one of Ferrer’s laps early in the race. Ferrer was credited with fifth place on his Racersprice.com Yamaha YZF-R6.
Canadian Darren James started the race 28th on his Ruthless Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 and finished sixth, his first time finishing the race in five tries. James, a Pirelli-sponsored rider, also had the distinction of being the highest non-Dunlop finisher.
Regional star Sean Dwyer came home seventh, the final rider on the lead lap, on his Dunlop-sponsored Yamaha YZF-R6.
Tuned Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Prince was lining up a pass attempt on Skubic on the final lap when Prince ran out of fuel. He was credited with eighth place based upon his 56 laps completed.
Penske’s Ryan Christian, riding a Michelin-shod Yamaha YZF-R6, came back from a crash to finished eighth in his first Daytona 200.
Liberty Chevrolet’s Kristofer Knopf rounded out the top-10 finishers in the 53-rider event.
Woodcraft/Penguin Racing School’s Eric Wood was running near the front until he crashed mid-race. An impact with soft barriers and a red flag break allowed him to return to the race and finish 12th on his Kawasaki 636.
Steve Rapp was racing for the lead until a clutch change during the final red flag break resulted in his Tuned Racing Yamaha developing an oil leak, which led to an extra pit stop and a stop-and-go penalty.
Patricia Fernandez, the only female in the event, rode a clean race to take 16th on her ADR Motorsports Yamaha in her first-ever Daytona 200.
Jason Farrell was fighting for the lead when he crashed in the West Horseshoe on lap 14 and lost three laps making repairs. He never got those laps back, but he still placed 24th.
Stefano Mesa’s run at the front ended when the battery in his Westside Performance Yamaha failed, causing him to miss a mid-race restart.
Barrett Long qualified fifth but didn’t get to make a lap in the race because his Longevity Racing Ducati 848 blew its engine on the warm-up lap.
Former Daytona 200 winner John Ashmead qualified 35th but lost his bid to challenge Ricky Orlando’s unofficial all-time Daytona 200 mileage record when his Peter Brady Racing Kawasaki’s engine blew on the first lap.
74th Daytona 200 Sanctioned by ASRA
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
March 14, 2015
Official Race Results:
1. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), 57 laps, 3:01:31.197
2. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), -0.086 second
3. Geoff May (Yam YZF-R6), -3.473 seconds
4. Bostjan Skubic (Yam YZF-R6), -30.614
5. Armando Ferrer (Yam YZF-R6), gap not provided
6. Darren James (Yam YZF-R6), -73.389
7. Sean Dwyer (Yam YZF-R6), -106.878
8. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap
9. Ryan Christian (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, crash
10. Kristofer Knopf (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap
11. George Letakis (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap
12. Eric Wood (Kaw ZX-6/636R), -1 lap, crash
13. Bruno Silva (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap
14. Alan Slaney (Tri Daytona 675), -1 lap
15. Steve Rapp (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, stop-and-go penalty
16. Patricia Fernandez (Yam YZF-R6), -2 laps
17. Fernando Silva (Yam YZF-R6), -2 laps
18. Christian Crosslin (Suz GSX-R600), -2 laps
19. Eric Haugo (Yam YZF-R6), -2 laps
20. Eric Helmbach (Kaw ZX-6R), -2 laps
21. Anthony Fania (Suz GSX-R600), -2 laps
22. Eric Pinson (Yam YZF-R6), -2 laps
23. Joel Lenk (Yam YZF-R6), -3 laps
24. Jason Farrell (Kaw ZX-6R), -3 laps, crash
25. Darrin Klemens (Suz GSX-R600), -3 laps
26. Charlie Mavros (Yam YZF-R6), -4 laps
27. Christian Meekma (Tri Daytona 675), -4 laps
28. Gino Angella (Duc 848), -4 laps
29. Jeff Permanian (Yam YZF-R6), -5 laps
30. Andrew Abel (Suz GSX-R600), -6 laps
31. Calvin Crosslin (Suz GSX-R600), -6 laps
32. Jon Foy, -6 laps
33. Russ Intravartolo (Yam YZF-R6), -6 laps
34. Daniel Spaulding (Yam YZF-R6), -7 laps
35. Stuart Harper (Yam YZF-R6), -8 laps, crash
36. Ryan Jones (Hon CBR600RR), -13 laps, mechanical
37. John T Blike, Jr. (Kaw ZX-6/636R), -13 laps
38. Arthur Aznavuryan (Yam YZF-R6), -14 laps
39. Tony Stomiolo (Kaw ZX-6R), -24 laps
40. Dustin Apgar (Yam YZF-R6), -25 laps
41. Stefano Mesa (Yam YZF-R6), -26 laps, DNF, mechanical
42. Seth Starnes (Yam YZF-R6), -27 laps, DNF, crash
43. Norman Pomerleau (Yam YZF-R6), -28 laps, DNF
44. David Sadowski, Jr. (Yam YZF-R6), -29 laps, DNF
45. Carl Soltisz (Yam YZF-R6), -29 laps, DNF
46. Josh Gallusser (Suz GSX-R600), -32 laps, DNF
47. Stephen Wilkins (Yam YZF-R6), -39 laps, DNF
48. Jamie Patterson (Suz GSX-R600), -54 laps, DNF
49. Barrett Long (Duc 848), -57 laps, DNF, mechanical
50. John Ashmead (Kaw ZX-6R), -57 laps, DNF, mechanical
51. Scott Stall (Yam YZF-R6), -57 laps, DNF
52. Xavier Zayat (Yam YZF-R6), -57 laps, DNF, mechanical
53. Charlie Long (Duc 848), -57 laps, DNF, crash
More, from a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway:
TOBC Racing Suzuki Rider Danny Eslick Repeats as Daytona 200 Champion
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Danny Eslick won the 74th Daytona 200 for the second-straight year on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, outdueling 2010 champion Josh Herrin with a dramatic last-lap pass coming off the 57-lap/200-mile American SportBike Racing Association event’s final turn.
It was the 12th time in the race’s history that a rider has won the Daytona 200 in consecutive years; the most recent repeat had been Mat Mladin in 2000-01.
Eslick pitted for fuel on Lap 54 while leading, but retained the lead coming out of the pits. Herrin then closed in quickly and when the final lap began, his No. 2 Yamaha was within a second of Eslick’s No. 69 Suzuki. In the high-banked Turns 1 and 2, Herrin grabbed apparent control. When the riders emerged from the 3.51-mile road course’s chicane – having both dealt with the untimely obstacle of a slower, lapped bike – and began climbing onto the speedway’s Turns 3 and 4, he had a seemingly secure advantage.
It was a mirage.
Eslick tucked in and drafted off Herrin’s bike, then nudged by him on the outside coming out of the famed “NASCAR 4.” He held on to edge Herrin by .086 seconds.
“It was a textbook draft-pass at Daytona,” said Eslick, from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. “Those last couple laps were pretty crazy. I thought I was all by myself. I was able to set him up [at the end].”
Added Dublin, Georgia’s Herrin: “I thought I was going to be able to hold him off.”
Geoff May, a long-shot veteran rider from Gainesville, Georgia, started a Yamaha from the pole and ran up front for much of the afternoon, eventually finishing third.
The Daytona 200 has its own, tradition-rich legacy that has run parallel to the DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The event is America’s most historic motorcycle race, dating to 1937 when Ed Kretz Sr. rode an Indian motorcycle to victory on a 4.2-mile shoreline course that utilized both the beach and State Road A1A in Daytona Beach; the race moved to the speedway in 1961, two years after the facility opened. Saturday’s running featured four former champions: Eslick, Herrin, Steve Rapp and John Ashmead.
In addition to Eslick, here are the other Daytona 200 repeat championship efforts: Ben Campanale (1938-39); Dick Klamfoth (1951-52); Joe Leonard (1957-58); Brad Andres (1959-60); Roger Reiman (1964-65); Cal Rayborn (1968-69); Dick Mann (1971-72); Kenny Roberts (1983-84), Scott Russell (1994-95 and ’97-98) and Mladin.
Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for the latest news all season long. Fans can also follow the latest on DAYTONA Rising, the $400 million frontstretch renovation at the “World Center of Racing” by using #DAYTONARising on Twitter or visiting www.daytonarising.com.