By David Pingree, Steve Matthes and Jason Thomas
1. How different is the Daytona track from any other race on the supercross and motocross calendar?
David Pingree: Well, it’s in Daytona, so there’s that. The race used to be a very unique hybrid race that blended supercross and motocross into a nasty, hot race day that tested you and your team’s ability to find a good happy-medium setup. But since it’s gone to a night event and the space they have to work with has diminished, the track is much more cookie cutter than it used to be. It still gets rutted and the dirt is soft but the track is built much better than before so it’s easier to flow around the circuit. One thing that is definitely worse here than any other round is the lighting. The dirt is so dark it makes it tough to see ruts and holes that build as the night goes on. I raced this event once after it went to a night program and I wasn’t a fan. In summation: It’s a little different than a regular supercross but not nearly as outdoor-sy as it used to be. You can probably just run your supercross suspension a few clicks out and be fine. Back in the day that would get you killed.
Steve Matthes: I would say that Daytona is probably the most unique circuit of the series. It's rather jarring to throw the supercross riders into something like they find at the speedway but hey, it's a lot better than it used to be! It's more supercross-ey than ever before but still develops deep ruts, braking bumps and more square edges than a code writer’s convention. The teams used to develop "Daytona" settings for their suspension or even bolt on outdoor stuff but those days are past. The jumps there demand supercross settings with perhaps some clicks out on the compression front and rear.
Jason Thomas: It must be said, though, that Daytona has lost some of its difficulty. The modern day track is much more aimed at a standard supercross length and track design. The ‘80s and ‘90s era Daytona was a rough, nasty affair that had the meek peeing down their leg and suspension technicians spending long days in a psychiatrist's office. The sand whoops, potholes and G-out jumps were a staple for showing who was the strongest. Go back through the results in those years and the "tough" guys always won. Nowadays, it's more about raw speed than brute strength. I don't know if that is better or worse, but it's definitely different.
2. These days almost every rider is a "Florida guy" for six months a year. So what riders really have an advantage here?
Ping: Guys who excel in motocross or on soft, rutted tracks will excel in Daytona. If you are a hard pack guy who hates ruts you are going to be all aboard the struggle bus.
Matthes: Well, I would say that a rider like Cole Seely would be at a disadvantage at Daytona because he doesn't live in Florida, he's a SoCal guy, he's better at supercross than outdoors but then Cole goes and rips through the pack to get a fourth last year in a great ride. So there goes that theory. As I said, it's way different than it used to be but it's still more physically demanding than any other supercross so dudes that are not ready to do 20 laps on a normal supercross are going to be struggling here. I'm looking at you privateer dudes that struggle to do 20. The top guys, well, they all ride in Florida nowadays and they're all in shape so it's pretty equal. Eli Tomac could turn his season around here with a good finish, though.
Thomas: I still think, even with the changes listed above, that Daytona still favors the outdoor-savvy riders. Looking back over the last two years is a great example. Blake Baggett, a former Lucas Oil Pro Motocross champion, won the 250 Class in dominating fashion. He was a factor in many other races but nothing like we saw him at Daytona. The next year, 2015, Baggett scored his only podium of his rookie 450 season there. His strength is outdoor racing and we know that. Daytona fits his skill set better than any other round because of it. Look for the outdoor specialists to shine tomorrow. Jeremy Martin is another example of a rider who needs to capitalize on this round.
3. Give us a good Daytona story.
Ping: I think I’ve already told the story about damn near winning Daytona in 1997. I wasn’t even going to race because I broke my little finger the week before at Gainesville. Mitch Payton shamed me into racing and I pulled the holeshot and led for all but the last two laps. That was over twenty minutes in and it was so hot and humid that day it felt like I was racing on the equator. I ended up third behind Dowd and Ferry.
I went back to Daytona in 2004 for a road trip story for Racer X where I raced the Atlanta Supercross (I made the main), the Palatka GNCC (thought I was going to die but I finished) and it all culminated at the Daytona Supercross. Spoiler alert: I missed qualifying for the main by a spot or two. I was bummed but my ass was still raw from the three-hour suffer-fest in the Palatka sand so it was probably for the best. That ended up being the very last supercross race I ever competed it. Go ahead and insert a sad emoji face with a single tear right here.
Matthes: Ones that won't get me in trouble with my wife or the authorities? I'm out.
Thomas: 1997 was my rookie year and I raced both classes at Daytona. I had yet to make a main event in either class as it was the third round of the East series and therefore my third ever SX. I was hoping to break through. I ended up making both main events that day, making my first ever main event a two-fer. I didn't do all that much in the main events but it was a great day for my family and I in front of my hometown crowd.
The next morning, I can vividly remember being at breakfast just north of Daytona with my then roommate and thinking I could basically do anything in the world I wanted. See, I had just won $1,300 the day before at Daytona and still being in high school, I was basically a millionaire. Unfortunately, my dreams of world exploration had to be put on hold as I had to be back at school the next morning. I made good on that dream a few years later, though, and have raced in forty-four countries to date.
A note from Weege: Matthes and these boys won’t go there but I will. One night I was out really, really late, I swear Doc Wobbles (former mechanic) and I actually saw Michael Jordan in the men’s room at a, ahem, gentleman’s establishment. (Jordan ran a road racing team! He had to be in Daytona and c’mon he’s 6’6”, it’s hard to hide.) Things got blurrier and then my cell phone died, and then parts of our group started to break off, perhaps never to be seen again. I was road tripping with my GNCC buddy Tim, but he disappeared, I had no car, no phone, nothing. I heard some AMA people tell me they were renting a house nearby so I followed them and literally snuck in as they were going in the door. Everyone just kind of passed out, but then one of the AMA guys who wasn’t out late comes down for breakfast about an hour later—it was now morning. He’s sitting there eating a bowl of cereal and watching TV, and I just kind of meekly let out, “Hi.” He says “Weigandt?! What the hell are you doing here?” Later I found out my buddy Tim had slept in the rental car in a hotel parking lot. He threw up, then later went inside to recoup with some continental breakfast. Bike Week, ladies and gentleman!