Daytona 200

The Daytona 200 is an annual motorcycle road racing competition held in early spring at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 200-mile (320 km) race was founded in 1937 when it was sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). The original course used the beach itself before moving to a paved closed circuit in 1961. The Daytona 200 reached its zenith of worldwide popularity in the 1970s when the race attracted the largest crowds of any AMA race along with some of the top rated international motorcycle racers. The race is currently promoted by MotoAmerica and run in their middleweight Supersport Class. The race is typically held in early March.

The origins of the Daytona 200 began in 1932 when the Southeastern Motorcycle Dealers Association organized a 200-mile dirt track race held on the old Vanderbilt Cup course in Savannah, Georgia. Competitors raced on Class C motorcycles typically used in the AMA Grand National Championship. Following a second Savannah race held in 1933, the 1934 event was moved to the Camp Foster Work Camp located on the St. Johns River near Jacksonville, Florida. The competition quickly outgrew the narrow, Jacksonville course and after the 1935 race, the event returned to Savannah in 1936.

Daytona Beach had been used by land speed record competitors since 1902 however, by 1935 the rutted beach course began losing its appeal in favor of the Bonneville Salt Flats. In an effort to boost the local economy, race promoter Bill France Sr. arranged for the Savannah 200 to be moved to the 3.2-mile (5.1 km) Daytona Beach Road Course in 1937. There were no races held between 1942 and 1946 due to wartime restrictions during the Second World War. In 1948, a new beach course was used because of urban developments along the beach forced the race organizers to move the event further south, towards Ponce Inlet. The new course length was increased from the previous 3.2 miles to 4.1-mile (6.6 km). By the mid-1950s, it became increasingly complicated to run the race on the beach course due to the rapid urban growth of the Daytona Beach area.

France looked for alternatives and negotiated with the city of Daytona Beach to purchase a site near the Daytona airport. He arranged financing and in 1957, construction began on the Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) paved, oval-shaped circuit with steep bankings that permitted higher speeds. The track opened in 1959 and France convinced AMA officials to move the beach race to the Speedway in 1961. Competitors adapted to the new, paved track surface by switching from dirt track motorcycles to road racing motorcycles similar to those used in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Safety concerns kept motorcycle racers from using the daunting 31 degree banking at the Daytona International Speedway for the first three years so, a race course was created using most of the track infield along with the tri-oval section where the finish line is located in front of the spectator stands.

Initially, the traditionalists who favored the old beach race stayed away from the new race at the Speedway and attendance in the early years suffered. However, France continued to promote the race and by the early 1970s, the Daytona 200 attracted the largest crowds of any AMA race and the event took on international prominence. The race became the centerpiece of what became known as Daytona Beach Bike Week, featuring motorcycle competitions besides road racing such as motocross and dirt track racing. Attending the annual event became known as a rite of spring for thousands of motorcyclists seeking to escape the colder northern climes. At the peak of the event's popularity in the early 1970s, chartered airliners were used to bring European race fans to Daytona Beach.

In 1969 Yvon Duhamel riding a Yamaha TD3 rode a lap on the speedway oval (which at the time was used for qualifying) to become the first rider to lap the oval on a motorcycle in under one minute (average speed over 150 mph). Duhamel's pole position on the tiny 350cc Yamaha motorcycle against the larger 750cc four-strokes marked the beginning of the two-stroke era in AMA road racing competitions. Don Emde became the first competitor to win the Daytona 200 on a two stroke motorcycle when he won the 1972 event riding a Yamaha TR3. His victory marked the beginning of thirteen consecutive Yamaha victories at the Daytona 200 including nine consecutive victories by the dominant Yamaha TZ750. Emde's 1972 victory marked the first father and son winners of the Daytona 200 as his father, Floyd Emde won the 1948 Daytona 200 beach race on an Indian.

When the popularity of motocross surged in the United States in the late 1960s, France added a professional motocross race to the 1971 Daytona Beach Bike Week schedule. The 1972 race was held at Daytona International Speedway on an artificial track on the grass surface between the main grandstand and the pit lane. The event paved the way for artificial, stadium-based motocross events known as supercross to be held in major league sports stadiums across the United States and Canada.

In 1973, the reigning 250cc world champion, Jarno Saarinen, became the first European rider to win the Daytona 200. The 1974 victory by 15-time world champion Giacomo Agostini helped cement the Daytona 200's reputation as one of the world's most prestigious motorcycle races. In 1975, an unknown rookie rider named Johnny Cecotto accomplished one of the most impressive performances in the history of the event when, he rode from last place on the starting grid to finish the race in third place, passing half the field of competitors on the first lap alone. The success of the Daytona 200 spawned imitations in Europe such as the Imola 200 and the Paul Ricard 200.