Danny Eslick Wins the Pole and Rolex Watch for Daytona 200, Jake Johnson Wins Daytona Short Track R2

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Danny Eslick #69-Now #1 in Daytona SportBike-while qualifying for the Mid Ohio round of AMA Formula Xtreme on his MPTracing.com GSX-R600 for the 2005 event. Eslick won the pole and the Rolex watch for the Daytona 200 late yesterday for tonight's running of the classic road race.
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'Jersey' Jake Johnson's #1-now #5 for 2010-American Suzuki/Parts Unlimited RMZ450 sits under the pit awning at Springfield for the Labor Day weekend running of the short track race in Sept. 2007. Johnson ran away and hid in last night's 2nd round short track at the new Daytona Short Track stadium while riding a Honda for this year's short track & TT campaign.
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Danny Eslick added further credibility to his '09 AMA Daytona SportBike Championship by winning the pole for tonight's Daytona 200. Qualifying ran last night for tonight's classic and Eslick qualified only .002 seconds ahead of Martin Cardenas, his last year'r rival for the championship. Both riders were GSX-R600-mounted for the DSB class pole session, Eslick being sponsored on the Richie Morris Racing machine by Geico Powersports and Cardenas by Monster Energy on his M4 Suzuki team.
Congrats to Danny and we look forward to tonight's race which will be shown tape delayed on Speed TV at 9:00 P.M. EST. You can read the official story here thanks to http://www.cyclenews.com/:
http://cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2010/03/04/eslick-wins-a-rolexd
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And just outside the legendary tri-oval, Jake Johnson, riding the #5 Zanotti Racing Honda CRF450 ran away and hid to win by 1.7 seconds-a half a lifetime in short track racing-to take his fifth Daytona Short Track win over Kenny Coolbeth and Jared Mees, both Honda mounted.
Although the AMA Live Timing and Scoring was still suffering the same sad, not available problems from the previous night's race, the Twitter feed as shown from Wednesday night's post was most effective in keeping up with the lap action for us land locked fans here in Indy. Several mentions of this over at the forum on http://www.flattrack.com/ brought the same type of reaction as would be expected, especially after it was stated from Wednesday at Daytona by Mike Kidd that they were working on the software issues. I guess that didn't pan out as planned, unfortunately.
We here at Stu's Shots hope that Mike and team AMA Flat Track now have plenty of time to get this issue dealt with before the next round in Arizona in May. One thing about the former National #7 (and before winning the '81 GNC title #72), Mr. Kidd will get it straightened around as he knows the importance of running a first class series and program, and he knows without a doubt what the fans need and want as well, whether you are at the track or not.
Congrats to Jake and the Zanotti Racing crew! This could be a great year for them as this is the team that took 1979 AMA Grand National Champion Steve Eklund to the title, and they have a good program lined up for this year.
You can read the official story here, again thanks to http://www.cyclenews.com/.
This event will be shown on Speed TV, as well, on Sunday, Mar. 7th at 6:00 P.M. EST and is supposed to be comprised of highlights from both events with some final action thrown in as well: http://cyclenews.com/articles/flat-track/2010/03/04/johnson-takes-fifth-daytona-win

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Thanks for dropping in, and if you can't catch tonight's tape delayed action of the Daytona 200 on Speed TV you can follow it 'Live' via the live timing and scoring link on the left side column from the AMA. The road race side DID get their software problems worked out as it worked great for all racing yesterday and was a great tool for those of us not in cold, but sunny Daytona.
Also, AMA Superbike race two is this afternoon at 4:00 P.M. EST and you can follow live on the timing link for it as well, and it will be shown with yesterday's first round action tomorrow on Speed TV beginning at 10:30 P.M. EST, providing the supercross race doesn't run over. I'm pretty sure it's delayed as well so shouldn't be a problem, but to be safe you might want to add in for overrun time in case you are tivoing the show.
Take care, and we'll have more on this afternoon's Superbike race and tonight's 200 before the weekend is done!
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Stu's Shots Previews the Daytona 200 and the 2010 AMA Daytona SportBike Season

With practice for the upcoming Daytona round of AMA Pro Road Racing only six days off, we can already smell the smoke and racing fuel in the air. As noted in the previous post, AMA Pro Racing and the AMA/DMG folks have been making wholesale changes to the series in the last several weeks, among them personnel changes and increased purses for the Daytona SportBike class premier Daytona 200 event, as well as adding a second Superbike round and increasing purse and place payouts for this event. We can only hope that these changes will help to bring public sentiment back around in their favor, and to give the series it's much needed bounce that was missing from last year's running of the series.

As of today's writing, there were 50 entries for the Daytona SportBike class for the Daytona round, so the that signals a very good sign considering just a little over a month ago less then 20 entries were showing. Today we will do a short profile on a few of those riders.

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Danny Eslick #1-'09 AMA Daytona SportBike Champion-Suzuki GSX-R600

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Richie Morris Racing's Geico-sponsored Danny Eslick set the world on fire during the '09 season riding the Buell 1125R. What many considered a bike that should never have been allowed in the class, Danny and the Buell won six races and clearly showed that talent and bike set-up were the key to the championship. Several other riders, among them Danny's teammate Michael Barnes, also raced the Buell last year, but not with near the results as young Mr. Eslick.

With Buell now defunct thanks to operations out of Milwaukee's 'finest' Harley Davidson, Eslick and the RMR team will be riding Suzuki GSX-R600's this year in their quest to retain the title.

With Danny having ridden Suzuki's in the past, the transition may not be as severe as what could be expected. The top shot shows Danny on the #69 Matsushima Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 while qualifying for the Barber round in Leeds, AL., for the April '07 round of the AMA SuperStock class.

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Geoff May #99-Vallely Racing/GMR Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 for 2010

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Geoff will be aboard his own equipment this year with help from Leo Vince, Ohlins and Dunlop, among others. Having raced for the M4 Emgo Suzuki team and Michael Jordan Motorsports over the course of the last five seasons, Geoff is going it on his own year, more a result of the lack of rides and sponsorship for the 2010 season then lack of effort. Having ridden Suzuki's with these teams as well can only help as well in his quest to run this class this year after having run AMA America/U.S. Superbike and AMA SuperStock and SuperSport the last 5-6 seasons. The second shot above shows Geoff in qualifying at Road America during the '06 event. Aboard the #99 M4 Emgo SuperStock Suzuki GSX-R1000, this was just coming out of turn 8.

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Martin Cardenas #36-Seven Time AMA Daytona SportBike Race Winner-Team M4 Emgo Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600

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In what will be his fourth year of riding in the States, Martin returns to the M4 Emgo Suzuki team and again will be Suzuki GSX-R600 mounted for the 2010 season. Martin won seven races and garnered 10 podiums in his debut in the Daytona SportBike class, and pretty much lost the title due to a late season crash that put him out of action at the last round. This year could be pivotal for Mr. Cardenas as he will be on like-equipment as his main adversary, Danny Eslick, and with four seasons of racing for M4 and on Suzuki's the transition shouldn't be too severe. Martin is shown in the third shot above at Road America in 2008 in the turn 10 area off of the carousel during rain practice for the AMA FX class.

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Steve Rapp #15-2007 Daytona 200 Winner-Team Latus Motors-Ducati 848 for 2010

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The senior member of the class, Steve Rapp has been throwing his leg over a racing motorcycle in the expert ranks now going on a decade and a half. Having won the Daytona 200 in '07, Steve has raced for Michael Jordan Motorsports, Vance and Hines Racing, and Valvoline Suzuki among others in his road racing career. With a new off-season deal with Latus Motors--the same folks who have sponsored 2000 AMA Flat Track Champion Joe Kopp for several years--the '10 season could be a new lease on racing life for Mr. Rapp. Having raced Ducati's for Vance and Hines and for HMC Racing back in the '00 and '01 seasons, adapting to the characteristics of the grunt from the twin shouldn't be a problem here. And with the Big Buell gone now, the 848 could prove to be a strong force in this class. Steve is shown in the fourth shot above on the Michael Jordan Motorsports GSX-R1000 during qualifying for the Road America SuperStock round in '08 coming out of the turn 8 area before heading under the bridge into the carousel.

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Jake Holden #23-Three Time AMA SuperStock Race Winner-Ducshop Racing Ducati 848 for '10

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Jake is another rider who has amassed a 'journeyman's' resume in AMA Road Racing over the course of the last several years. Michael Jordan Motorsports, Hypercycle Racing and Corona Honda Racing are among some of the teams he has raced for, and he won an AMA SuperStock race in '07 while with the Team Jordan Suzuki team and winning two rounds in '08 while riding for the Corona Honda Racing team. Jake will be on the #23 Ducshop Racing Ducati 848 in the Daytona SportBike class, and will be riding his own Honda CBR1000RR in the American Superbike class for the 2010 season. Jake is shown in the fifth shot above at Road America in 2006. As a team mate to Steve Rapp and Jason Pridmore, Jake was on the #59 Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 for the SuperStock class and is shown coming out of the turn 8 area during practice.

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Here's wishing not only the Daytona SportBike class but the entire field and all the entrants for Daytona, as well as the 2010 season, the best of luck. Keep in mind that the same-day tape-delayed Daytona 200 WILL be shown on SpeedTV on Friday, March 5th at 9 P.M Eastern Time. You can also follow it and all the racing 'live' via the AMA Live Wire timing/scoring link, which you can find on the left column side bar here as well. And the two Superbike races which are to run on Thursday March 4th at 3 P.M. Eastern and Friday March 5th at 4 P.M. Eastern are scheduled to be shown on SpeedTV on Saturday, March 6th at 10:30 P.M. Eastern as of this writing.

Thanks for coming by, and stay tuned and please come back in the next few days as we preview who will be coming back to the SpeedTV booth this year to help announce the races, and we will also do a preview on the AMA Flat Track rounds at Daytona scheduled for Wednesday March 3rd and Thursday March 4th. We will do our best to showcase the archives of Stu's Shots while we talk about the upcoming racing as well. Take care and we hope to see you back soon!

'09 AMA/DMG Daytona SportBike Champ Danny Eslick Set to Ride Suzuki for 2010....

As was reported over the weekend from the wonderful folks at http://www.cyclenews.com/ and http://www.roadracingworld.com/, Danny Eslick, the 2009 AMA Daytona Sportbike Champ, will
be riding a Suzuki GSXR600 in 2010 for the Richie Morris Racing team that he won the
championship with this year while riding the Buell 1125R. With Buell going the way of the
Edsel--other then strictly full race machines and support--RMR was looking to come up
with a program that would help them to sustain their championship run this year into the
2010 season. With Daytona now less then 3 1/2 months out, the time was now to get
their program in line for the upcoming season. This should make things quite exciting again
for 2010, as the Suzuki GSXR600 actually won more races then the Buell did in the '09
season, it just didn't get the overall job done to nail the championship from Mr. Eslick and
the Geico-sponsored team. Stay tuned for 2010 as it should be another barn burner in the
Daytona Sportbike class.

I added the official links below that you can get the full story as released to the racing press
the other day. While you are doing so you can check out Danny in action back in the '05 season
when he was also riding a GSXR600 in the 'old' 600 Super Sport class. Running the #69
back then as he did up until the '09 season, he was riding a Suzuki that year for MPTracing.com
with additional sponsorship from Teknic and Millenium Technologies.

In the top shot Danny leads #6 Damon Buckmaster on the Graves Motorsports R6 at Mid Ohio during the 600 Super Sport final in 2005. Following in the middle is Danny leading a pack of
riders consisting of #12 Ben Attard, #99 Geoff May, #8 Chris Peris and #152 Robert Jensen
into turn 14 at Road America during the 600 final in '05 as well. And bringing up the rear is Danny running down #59 Blake Young during qualifying for the Mid Ohio round, also in '05.


http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2009/11/21/eslick-to-suzuki

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=38753


Enjoy and thanks again for dropping in!

Danny Eslick, Buell, and Richie Morris Racing Follow Up

While over the w/e Danny Eslick romped the field in

both of the Fontana AMA Daytona Sportbike races, the

talk around the internet--and I am sure at the races as

well--has been the 'extra displacement' that the Buell

has been allowed compared to the 600cc inline-fours. As

a result of all this consternation, one--or two--things have been

overlooked.

One of those is the talents of Danny Eslick. While all the

nay-sayers seem to focus on the 1125cc +/- that the Buell

is allowed, the fact still remains even a sled has to have a great

rider. Not taking away anything from any of the other great

riders that have been running the class this year.

And the second, for sure, is the motorcycle. And I am here to present you

with some shots of the Bruce Rossmeyer/Richie Morris Racing-Geico sponsored

Buell. Now of course as these shots were taken in September 2008 at the

Indy MotoGP race, the make-up of the bike is most certainly different per the

difference in class rules from last to this year. And the paint job is definitely

a lot brighter and more eye-appealing overall. Just my opinion mind you.

But nonetheless, you get the idea of what the machine is like and looks like

that is setting the world-or at least the AMA Pro Racing Daytona

Sportbike-class world, on fire. And those like myself, and many of you,

who still follow it in spite of the way that the DMG group

has managed to put it on it's head.

There is also a link that I wanted to add to these shots as well, that the good people

over at http://www.roadracerx.com/ ran a story on the team today. And it is a VERY good

article with the outlook of the genius behind the bike on what his and their perceptions

are to all of the bruhaha---did I spell that right??---that has transformed this wonderful

world of U.S. or AMA Road Racing into a very intense discussion no matter the side you

chose to stand on. Mr. Morris also talks about their other rider, Michael Barnes, who has

been racing motorcycles on at least this continent for at least as long as I can remember it.

The guy has an intense enthusiasm about racing and can also ride just about darned anything,

and has, on two wheels. I posted the shot of Mr. Barnes on #34 M4 Suzuki GSXR-600 that

I took of him last year at Road America. This was during the rain practice on Friday that

w/e and back in turn 10. Also the same corner I shot the pic of Danny Eslick from the w/e

post. Here is the link to that story:

http://www.roadracerx.com/features/between-the-races/between-the-races-richie-morris/

....and another.....

http://www.roadracerx.com/features/tuesday-conversation/tuesday-conversation-michael-barnes/

So no matter which side you choose on the size of the displacement versus the amount of

cylinders you are allowed or the make of the motorcycle that you will be allowed to run in

any given class as designed, you at least have to take the time to enjoy and respect those

that can and will find the way to win. Be it the immense talents of Mr.'s Eslick, Barnes, and

Morris at this moment in time, or be it the lines between the rule book, the fact still remains

it all has to fit together perfectly before it becomes a true and complete puzzle.

Bombshell: Danny Eslick Wins Race 2 at Fontana

Just in moments ago Danny Eslick, who I posted about winning yesterday,
won race two at Fontana on the Buell 1125R in the new AMA Pro Racing
Daytona Sportbike Series. He bested Jamie Hacking, on the Attack
Kawasaki ZXR6 by .099 seconds. This was the second 1-2 of the
weekend for both Mr's. Eslick and Hacking. Great job guys.
It's going to be a different, but at least exciting year in this class!
Stay tuned!!

Danny Eslick Wins Fontana Race 1 AMA Sportbike

For those of you still following the DMG-operated AMA
Superbike....errrr........Pro Racing Series this year will be
hearing a lot of this name this year. Danny Eslick, aboard
the Richie Morris Racing Harley-based Buell 1125 just
minutes ago won race one at Fontana, CA., in the Daytona
Sportbike class. This is called such since the NasCrash heads
of the DMG-Daytona Motorsports Group-took over running
of our beloved AMA Superbike Series. But that is another story
for another time.

Danny Eslick is the reason for this little post. The above shot of him
was taken at Road America in June '08. He was aboard a Matsushima
Suzuki GSXR-600 at the time, and this was the old existing FX-formula
extreme-class under the old AMA-operated Superbike Series. The class was
for the most part mini-supersports-almost mini-superbikes on steroids.
But Mr. Eslick, who comes from a dirt track background, managed to win
the first Fontana round by over 2.5 seconds. On a Buell no less. Heck, he was
running right up at the front if not leading for the better part of the Daytona 200
until the insides of the Buell trying to run at 160+ on the banks at Daytona rattled
the radiator and fairing brackets loose. But that's another story altogether now as well....

Congrats to Danny Eslick, and to Buell, for being able to put together an impressive run
against some formidable talent. With the shorter races now for the remainder of
the schedule, we probably won't be seeing any other mechanicals because of vibration.
Which is good. This kid has talent and I think with this class structure being what it is
(please see AMA rules at http://www.amaproracing.com/ ) for that list to be better to understand it.
But that being said, keep an eye and ear out for more Danny Eslick sightings.
I'm sure they will be there!