Random notes, comments, statistics, musings, and bits of trivia from the Daytona round

Li’l Bit Goes Back-To-Back

This past Saturday, Josh Herrin became the 13th rider in Daytona 200 history to win back-to-back Daytona 200s (Scott Russell and Danny Eslick did it twice).

Herrin joins Dick Klamfoth, Brad Andres, Roger Reiman, Kenny Roberts, and Mat Mladin with three Daytona 200 wins. Eslick has four wins, while Russell and Miguel Duhamel each have five victories.

They Were Fastest

Daytona International Speedway is a veritable crucible of velocity where aerodynamics, drafting, gravity, centrifugal force, track position, and of course, horsepower combine to produce the highest top speeds the riders and bikes will achieve at any of the 11 racetracks MotoAmerica will visit in 2024.

Here are the top speeds that were reached in each of the four race classes last week at “The World Center of Racing”:

• 185.5 Miles Per Hour – Mission King Of The Baggers

James Rispoli, Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide, Race 1 Lap 2 of 6

Tyler O’Hara, S&S Cycle/Indian Challenger, Race 1 Lap 4 of 6

Troy Herfoss, S&S Cycle/Indian Challenger, Race 1 Lap 6 of 6

• 184.3 Miles Per Hour – Daytona 200

Richard Cooper, PHR Performance Triumph Speed Triple 765 RS, Qualifying 1 Lap 7 of 14

• 171.9 Miles Per Hour – Mission Super Hooligan National Championship

Cody Wyman, Gator Harley/KWR/Harley-Davidson Pan America, Race 1 Lap 4 of 4

• 163.3 Miles Per Hour – BellissiMoto Twins Cup

Avery Dreher, TopPro Racing Aprilia RS 660, Qualifying 1 Lap 10 of 12

They Were Quickest

Overall lap records and race lap records were set in all four classes that competed at Daytona International  Speedway. Here are the stats:

• Supersport:

Richie Escalante, Qualifying 1 (Lap Record), 1:47.833 (Lap 13 of 14)

Richie Escalante, Daytona 200 (Race Lap Record), 1:48.625 (Lap 46 of 57)

• Mission King Of The Baggers:

Troy Herfoss, Qualifying 2 (Lap Record), 1:49.987 (Lap 4 of 4)

Troy Herfoss, Race 2 (Race Lap Record), 1:50.004 (Lap 5 of 6)

• Mission Super Hooligan National Championship:

Tyler O’Hara, Qualifying 1 (Lap Record), 1:52.781 (Lap 5 of 9)

Cory West, Race 2 (Race Lap Record), 1:53.376 (Lap 2 of 6)

• BellissiMoto Twins Cup:

Gus Rodio, Qualifying 2 (Lap Record), 1:55.193 (Lap 10 of 13)

Gus Rodio, Race 2 (Race Lap Record), 1:55.413 (Lap 3 of 9)

And That’s How West Has Won

Arkansan Cory West made his AMA professional road racing debut at the age of 16 in the AMA 250 Grand Prix class. Since that time, he has raced in Supersport, Superbike (he was the 2004 AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year), Superstock, Formula Xtreme, Daytona SportBike, Mission King Of The Baggers, and the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship. He was also runner-up three times in the Daytona 200 (2011, 2017 and 2018).

In 2022’s Mission Super Hooligan National Championship, West was the first rider to win a professional road race on the Indian FTR1200. Then, in Super Hooligan race two at Daytona International Speedway this past Saturday, West also became the first rider to win a professional road race on the Harley-Davidson Pan America. Way to go, Cory.

The Hurt Locker

Our thoughts and best wishes go out to the riders who suffered injuries at Daytona International Speedway, including Mission Super Hooligan National Championship rider Andy DiBrino (concussion and fractured tibia/fibula), BellissiMoto Twins Cup competitors Ed Sullivan (finger) and Dominic Doyle (shoulder), and Daytona 200 pilots Tyler Scott (shoulder) and Niccolò Canepa (shoulder).

Familiar Smiles

And speaking of riders on the mend, it was great to see Supersport riders Kevin Olmedo and Sam Lochoff in attendance at Daytona International Speedway. Olmedo, who is recovering from the complications of Guillain-Barré Syndrome and Lochoff, who badly injured his ankle a couple of years ago, were both in good spirits and hopeful to resume their road racing careers at some point in the future. Good luck, Kevin and Sam.

The Why and How Of Wyman

Kyle Wyman continues to rack up the race wins. His double-victory achievement in Mission King Of The Baggers at Daytona International Speedway brings his class wins total to 14, which, by a large margin, continues to make him the class leader in race victories. Also, the eldest of the three Wyman brothers now has a total of 20 all-time AMA race wins, which moves him up to eighth among current MotoAmerica riders in all-time AMA race wins. Congratulations and best wishes for continued success, Kyle.

The Curse Of The High Banks

Daytona International Speedway is an iconic racetrack that brings indescribable levels of happiness and success to a lot of motorcycle road racers. Riders achieve not only race wins, but also personal bests in lap times, finishing positions, and sometimes just finishing races at the 3.51-mile facility. But, for some, Daytona can be an exceedingly cruel racetrack. Counting 2020, the year that the Daytona 200, due to COVID-19, was canceled after qualifying had been completed and the starting grid was set, Josh Hayes has competed in 10 Daytona 200s. And yet, the all-time AMA race wins leader, who has taken the checkered flag in 88 races, has never won the Daytona 200. Hayes, who turns 49 years old next month, is not done yet. Despite the outcome, Hayes loves racing at Daytona. He’ll be back. In fact, he’ll be back in the 2024 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship if he can find the funding to put together a full season.

Ben Gloddy has also felt like he is cursed at Daytona International Speedway. The 18-year-old New Hampshire native had failed to finish races over the past two years at Daytona due to on-track incidents that were no fault of his own. And, last year, he suffered a gruesome and debilitating injury at Daytona from which he physically recovered in fairly short fashion, but emotionally, the recovery took the better part of last summer and ultimately left him with a decision as to whether or not to continue racing. He gave it a go at the season-ending New Jersey Motorsports Park round last September, and his fourth- and fifth-place finishes encouraged him to not give up.

He returned to Daytona last week and successfully exorcised the Daytona curse. Finishing sixth and fifth, respectively, in the two BellissiMoto Twins Cup races, Gloddy, like Hayes, is now hopeful that he can find the funding to return to racing for the rest of the MotoAmerica season, in Twins Cup or in any other race class, for that matter.

Anybody want to see a two-rider team with seasoned mentor Hayes and his teenage protégé Gloddy racing together under the same canopy? Yup, me, too.

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