Josh Herrin is ready for the 74th Annual Daytona 200
Historic event almost didn't happen for 2015.
Photo by: James Holland
DAYTONA BEACH – When Josh Herrin, winner of the Daytona 200 in 2010, first heard that there might not be a 2015 Daytona 500 due to an inability to reach a deal with the new sanctioning body, well, “It was bad news. It was a shock, because of how famous this race is. I got my first Superbike win here, I was on the podium with one of my heroes, Ben Bostrom, in 2008, then to win it two years later… When it sounded like we might not be coming back, I was really bummed out.”
But there will be a 2015 Daytona 200, and Josh Herrin will be going for his second victory on Saturday. But yes, it almost didn’t happen. The American Motorcycle Association essentially deeded over much of motorcycle road racing in America to the new KRAVE group, headed by former racer Wane Rainey.
And when that sanctioning body didn’t include Daytona on its 2015 MotoAmerica schedule, the chances for the race to continue, as it has since 1937, and since 1961 at Daytona International Speedway, were dim.
Revival
But DIS president Joie Chitwood decided that such a tradition wasn’t going to end on his watch. He struck a deal with the Championship Cup Series and their American Sportbike Racing Association to sanction the race, and at 1 p.m. Saturday, the green flag will fall on the 74th Annual Daytona 200.
And Josh Herrin, who plans a full season on a Yamaha in the MotoAmerica series, will be on the grid.
“It would be a dream to get a second victory,” said the 24-year-old racer from Glendale, California. “To join people like one of my heroes, Scott Russell, with more than one win in the Daytona 200 would be really cool. It would show that the first win wasn’t a fluke – that your name really does belong on that trophy.”
Tickets are available at Daytonainternationalspeedway.com, and the race will be shown live on Fanschoice.tv.
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