Daytona 200 Lives On In 2015 With ASRA Sanctioning
Daytona International Speedway has reached a sanction agreement with the American SportBike Racing Association (ASRA) to hold the 74th Daytona 200 motorcycle race on Saturday, March 14, 1 p.m., at Daytona International Speedway, Track President Joie Chitwood announced today.
The historic race has seen a series of highs and lows in the past few months. Hopes were raised when it was announced in February that Superbikes would again be the feature race for the 200. Come September, however, the American roadracing landscape was turned upside down when Wayne Rainey and the KRAVE Group announced it would take over sanctioning of top level U.S. racing from DMG with its new series, MotoAmerica. While largely considered a move in the right direction for the sport as a whole, that left a question mark over the state of the Daytona 200, as it was not featured on MotoAmerica’s tentative 2015 schedule.
Now those question marks can be answered with the ASRA announcement made today. The Daytona 200 will be a 57-lap race on the 3.51-mile road course, held on Saturday, March 14. In the official press release, however, it was stated that the race will again feature 600cc machines, and not the 1000cc Superbikes as stated in February, when the race was still assumed to be under DMG sanctioning next year. Despite being sanctioned by ASRA, there’s still a relatively large purse up for grabs, with $175,000 on the line for the competitors and a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch awarded to the winner. Crucially, nowhere in the press release is a TV deal or web streaming package mentioned.
ASRA and the Championship Cup Series (CCS) will have a full complement of road races Thursday, March 12 through Sunday, March 15. DAYTONA 200 qualifying will take place on Friday, March 13 with the race going green the following day at 1 p.m.
In addition to the full road racing calendar and the DAYTONA 200, Daytona International Speedway will continue to be the driving force behind Bike Week hosting a wide range of activities.
On Saturday night, March 7, Daytona International Speedway will host the only Monster Energy AMA Supercross event in Florida – the prestigious Daytona Supercross. The tough and challenging course will once again be designed by Supercross legend Ricky Carmichael.
Following the Daytona Supercross will be the sixth annual Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross on Sunday, March 8 and Monday, March 9 where amateur Supercross racers will have an opportunity to test their skills on the same course used in the Daytona Supercross.
Daytona International Speedway will feature the AMA Pro Flat Track doubleheader on March 12-13 on the Daytona Flat Track, which is located outside Turns 1 and 2.
Tickets for all motorcycle racing events are available by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.
Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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