On the final lap of the March 12 Daytona 200 Josh Herrin and Dane Westby made contact several times as they roared toward the finish line at Daytona International Speedway. The final contact locked Westby’s front brake and resulted in Westby and trailing rider Taylor Knapp crashing at an estimated 165 to 170 mph. When Knapp and Westby eventually stopped sliding and tumbling, they both got up and walked away; the worst injury between the two was a broken left thumb for Westby. Herrin, meanwhile, finished the race in fifth and immediately started placing blame for the incident on Westby. “He just kept trying to push me up and up the apron,” Herrin told Roadracingworld.com at the track. “I just stuck my elbows out. I wasn’t gonna give up a spot just because he wanted that to happen. I just put my elbow out, and when he got sucked into the draft I think the lever just hit my elbow or something.” And in a published interview with another website, Herrin went so far as to say Westby was a “stupid idiot trying to get a pass for fourth instead of fifth, fifth instead of sixth. So I just put my elbows out and hoped that we weren’t both going to fall, because it’s kind of deadly, falling down at 180 mph.” A video replay of the finish accompanied by a poll on SPEED TV’s website resulted in 62.43% of the respondents voting that Herrin was at fault in the incident as opposed to 31.83% voting that it was a “racing incident” with no one at fault and only 1.61% of voters feeling Westby was at fault, at post time. The final say on the matter came down today when AMA Pro Racing announced that Herrin would be suspended for one event, the doubleheader race weekend May 13-15 at Infineon Raceway, and put on probation for the remainder of the 2011 season. Herrin’s team, Monster Energy Graves Yamaha, was also fined $7500, which will go towards the purchase of more soft barriers. Parts of the rulebook cited in AMA Pro Racing’s ruling include: A2.3.p Riding at any time in such a manner as to endanger other riders, officials or the public; and A2.3.u Any other act or actions deemed by AMA Pro Racing to be detrimental to the sport of motorcycle racing. Contacted minutes after AMA Pro Racing issued today’s press release announcing the penalties, Herrin said he did not feel the sanctions were appropriate. “I don’t agree with it,” Herrin told Roadracingworld.com Monday. “I don’t think it’s right. It’s just what they decided to do. There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m pretty bummed out about it because [at] Infineon we have a lot of friends and family who go up to that race. So it sucks to not be able to ride in front of a bunch of people. It will just make us more hungry. I know it’s making me a lot more hungry to go out and ride. I get a really long break now to go out and do some testing and ride at my house and get some training in.” Asked about the harsh comments he made shortly after the race, Herrin said, “I was a little hot-headed after, because I found out everyone was fine, so I just kind of let my emotions go. And I learned and paid the price by just saying a few things wrong. I learned a lesson that I shouldn’t say things in public but also just watch what I say. I shouldn’t let my anger make my mouth say things I don’t mean. I know I said something about Dane, called him a name or something. I was just really hot-headed. I let my emotions get a hold of me. “I’ve called a couple of people. I’ve talked to Taylor Knapp. I plan on talking to Dane and letting him know it was an accident and it definitely wasn’t intentional and if I could take it back, if I knew it was gonna happen I would have just given the spot up. I didn’t plan on anything like that happening. I felt horrible after it. Like I said, I learned a few things. I’m just glad that Yamaha and Graves and Monster and everybody stood behind me and helped me through it. We’ll be ready for the next race and just as strong as ever.” Herrin said that his emotions after the race got supercharged when at one point he was told he won the Daytona 200, only to find that he had not won the race when he reported to victory lane. “I didn’t actually think about that [if I won it] until I came back into the pits,” said Herrin. “I came in bummed out and asked if everyone was alright that fell. Then they said yeah, they were fine and everyone was walking, and then they told me that we won. “I did a burn out, because I thought I had won. Then I went over to the podium and I felt like somebody who was in the wrong place and shouldn’t be there. I kind of walked away with my head low. It was a horrible feeling, that’s for sure. Going back into the trailer, I was probably more mad than I’ve ever been just because the way the race ended and things people were saying to me and people coming over wanting to fight me. Emotions were high. I was just saying things I shouldn’t have been saying. “I know some things have gone out on the Internet that I said certain things, and it ended up being somebody on my Facebook [page] that said something and somebody was pointing fingers saying that I said it. It’s just a bunch of stuff that shouldn’t have happened. I’m definitely sorry for what happened, and I wish I could take it back.” Herrin said that he plans to attend the official AMA Pro Racing test May 2-3 at Miller Motorsports Park and that he will still attend the AMA Pro Racing event May 13-15 at Infineon Raceway to support his team and sponsors off the track. And now, a reader points out that the penalty could have been worse: FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Josh Herrin got off easy. Some might think it was harsh but were he in another series things might have turned out more harshly. Good on AMA Pro Racing for moving swiftly. Reference: ~http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/20072009/58/bsb-carter-brookes-deserves-ban.html~ Phillip Williamson Lake Mary, Florida