Saturday of the CCS/ Formula USA weekend at Daytona included several CCS sprint races as well as qualifying for Sunday’s Formula USA National events.

In Middleweight Supersport Expert, Dega Racing’s Larry Denning came from behind to catch early leader (and rookie Expert) Ted Cobb, with Denning was in front by the time they reached the banking for the first time. Riding a Suzuki GSX-R600, Cobb shadowed Denning and his YZF-R6 for all five laps but couldn’t get close enough to even attempt a pass. Many National Experts watched the race with interest as Denning was only able to record 2:01 laps with a stiff headwind on Daytona’s front straight. Denning said that when he started coming through NASCAR turn four it felt like a semi was trying to draft him because the wind was hitting him so hard.

In his first race weekend since breaking his right patella (aka kneecap) last season, “Lightning” Larry Denning went on to score wins in Middleweight Superbike Expert and Unlimited Supersport Expert on his Pirelli-equipped Yamahas.

The Lightweight Grand Prix Expert race saw former AMA 250cc Grand Prix National Champions (and Performance Machine teammates) Randy Renfrow and Roland Sands gave 17-year-old Jason DiSalvo a lesson in racing on the high banks. Cruise America Grand Prix Racing’s DiSalvo got a great launch from the front of the grid and had pulled out a two-second lead by the time the field reached the West banking. Renfrow and Sands came from the back of the grid to quickly pull clear in second and third. Sands and Renfrow knew what had to be done to catch DiSalvo’s A-kitted Honda RS250 and instantly began working the draft together, and it only took two laps for the pair to catch and pass young DiSalvo. From there it was a three-bike race. Working through traffic on the last lap, Sands thought that he had shaken his pursuers and led into the chicane, and Renfrow slipstreamed DiSalvo and then Sands and went by to win with Sands second, followed by DiSalvo, Jeff Wood and GP Tech’s Simon Turner.

The final race of the day was the Unlimited Grand Prix $1000 Shootout. Riding his 2001 GSX-R750, Cobb got the early advantage over Greg Harrison’s GSX-R1000 and Denning’s YZF-R1. Denning and Harrison displaced Cobb to third on the banking while Rich Conicelli, from row seven, and Scott Russell, from row 11, caught up. Russell went from sixth to first with his factory HMC Ducati 996 on lap two, leaving Denning, Harrison, Conicelli, and Cobb to decide the best of the rest. Russell lapped in the 1:54s for all five laps and crossed the finish line first. On the final lap, Conicelli caught Denning’s draft through the East banking, and nipped Denning for second at the line.

After the race, Russell said that he jumped the start on purpose so that he could run all five laps yet not take the win from another racer. That made Covered Bridge Racing’s Conicelli the winner over Denning. Former 500cc Grand Prix racer Toshiyuki Arakaki rode his Kenz/ Jtrust Racing GSX-R1000 from row 10 to pass Harrison on the final lap for third. Harrison took fourth.

In Unlimited Supersport, Roadracing World’s Chris Ulrich went from row eight and 38th on the grid aboard his GSX-R750 to fourth in five laps, passing Harrison and his 155-horsepower GSX-R1000 on the last lap. Denning won followed by John Ashmead and Cobb. Concelli finished sixth.

MIDDLEWEIGHT SUPERSPORT EXPERT: 1. Larry Denning (Yam YZF-R6); 2. Ted Cobb (Suz GSX-R600); 3. Mark Zaremskas (Yam YZF-R6); 4. Shawn Conrad (Suz GSX-R600); 5. Dave Rosno (Suz GSX-R600); 6. Pedro Valiente (Yam YZF-R6).

LIGHTWEIGHT GRAND PRIX AMATEUR: 1. Steve Genter (Hon RS250); 2. Keith Sanderson (Suz SV650); 3. Thomas Matsey (Yam FZR560); 4. Paul Harrison (Yam TZ250); 5. Dennis Bonneau (Suz SV650); 6. Stuart Carter (Suz SV650).

LIGHTWEIGHT GRAND PRIX EXPERT: 1. Randy Renfrow (TSR Hon RS250); 2. Roland Sands (Yam TZ250); 3. Jason DiSalvo (Hon RS250); 4. Jeffery Wood (Yam TZ250); 5. Simon Turner (Yam TZ250); 6. Derek M. King (Apr RSR250).

MIDDLEWEIGHT SUPERBIKE EXPERT: 1. Larry Denning (Yam YZF-R6); 2. Ted Cobb (Suz GSX-R600); 3. Pedro Valiente (Yam YZF-R6); 4. Charles Neighoff (Yam YZF-R6); 5. Ken Stafford (Yam YZF-R6); 6. Scott Simpson (Kaw ZX-6R).

MIDDLEWEIGHT SUPERBIKE AMATUER: 1. Giovanni Rojas (Suz GSX-R600); 2. Bill Sheridan (Yam YZF-R6); 3. Christopher Beck (Suz GSX-R600); 4. Paul Bastarache (Kaw ZX-6R); 5. Andre Bibeau (Yam YZF-R6); 6. Steve Craft (Yam YZF-R6).

HEAVYWEIGHT SUPERBIKE AMATUER: 1. Giovanni Rojas (Suz GSX-R600); 2. Robert Kruger (Suz GSX-R750); 3. Steve Fontanez; 4. Joseph Routhier (Hon CBR600); 5. Geoffery Allen (Suz GSX-R750); 6. Theodore Estes (Suz GSX-R750).

SUPERTWINS EXPERT: 1. Thomas Fournier (Duc 996); 2. Joseph Bilinski (Duc 996); 3. Jeff Nash (Duc 748); 4. Fred Stucky (Duc 800); 5. Douglas Gross (Duc 996); 6. David Podolsky (Apr 998).

SUPERTWINS AMATEUR: 1. Tim Banks (Suz TL1000); 2. Papa Thiam (Hon RC51); 3. Obie Johnson (Duc 900); 4. Thomas Noble (Suz SV650); 5. Robert Bianco (Suz TL1000).

UNLIMITED SUPERSPORT AMATEUR: 1. Darryn Wilbur (Yam YZF-R1); 2. John Stapleton (Suz GSX-R1000); 3. Chris Murray-Audain (Yam YZF-R1); 4. Giovanni Rojas (Suz GSX-R600); 5. Randy Rega (Yam YZF-R1); 6. Steve Fontanez.

UNLIMITED SUPERSPORT EXPERT: 1. Larry Denning (Yam YZF-R1); 2. John Ashmead (Suz GSX-R750); 3. Ted Cobb (Suz GSX-R750); 4. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R750); 5. Greg Harrison (Suz GSX-R1000); 6. Rich Connicelli (Suz GSX-R750).

LIGHTWEIGHT SUPERBIKE AMATEUR: 1. Thomas Matsey (Yam FZR560); 2. Keith Sanderson (Suz SV650); 3. Dennis Bonneau (Suz SV650); 4. Moses Detray (Suz SV650); 5. Tom Holley (Suz SV650); 6. Wayne Gaylord (Suz SV650).
LIGHTWEIGHT SUPERBIKE EXPERT: 1. Donald Unger (Duc 750); 2. Steve Keener (Suz SV650); 3. Jerry Wood (Duc 570); 4. Robert Fisher (Suz SV650); 5. R. Todd Keesee (Suz SV650); 6. Bob Robbins (Suz SV650).
HEAVYWEIGHT SUPERSPORT EXPERT: 1. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R750); 2. John Ashmead (Suz GSX-R750); 3. Rich Conicelli (Suz GSX-R750); 4. Charles Chouinard (Suz GSX-R750); 5. Anthony Lupo (Suz GSX-R750); 6. Christopher Rankin (Suz GSX-R750).
HEAVYWEIGHT SUPERSPORT AMATEUR: 1. Giovanni Rojas (Suz GSX-R750); 2. Robert Kruger (Suz GSX-R750); 3. Geoffrey Allen (Suz GSX-R750); 4. Nathan Kern (Suz GSX-R750); 5. Christopher Beck (Suz GSX-R600); 6. Jeffrey Bankston (Suz GSX-R750).
UNLIMITED GRAND PRIX $1,000 SHOOTOUT: 1. Rich Conicelli (Suz GSX-R750); 2. Larry Denning (Yam YZF-R1); 3. Toshiyuki Arakaki (Suz GSX-R1000); 4. Greg Harrison (Suz GSX-R1000); 5. Ted Cobb (Suz GSX-R750); 6. Anthony Fania (Suz GSX-R750).