Danny Eslick is looking to start off a busy 2017 racing season by winning the Daytona 200, America’s biggest motorcycle road race, this coming Saturday, March 18 at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida. If Eslick, age 30, can win it will be his third Daytona 200 victory, making him only the eighth rider to win three or more times during the race’s 76-year history. And Eslick is already ahead of where he was this time last year.
In 2016, Eslick got caught up in the Bike Week nightlife in Daytona Beach, and ran afoul of the law. What started out as a felony charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor, for which Eslick was sentenced to probation. But Eslick was temporarily suspended from AMA-sanctioned competition and had to miss the 75th Daytona 200 and miss an opportunity to become the first rider ever to win three times in a row and to become the first rider ever to win three consecutive races on three different brands of motorcycles.
Eslick, however, says all of that is behind him now as the season-opening event approaches.
“I’m going to [approach] it like I do every race,” Eslick told Roadracingworld.com Tuesday. “I’m going to go out there to kick ass and win the race. Last year is way behind me, and now it’s all about going out there to do the best we can and hopefully come away with another win. It ought to be a pretty exciting race, I think, because there’s a few more guys in it this year.”
The four-time AMA National Champion road racer will ride the same TOBC racing Yamaha YZF-R6 he was slated to ride in 2016, and he will have the same crew of mechanics that he won with in 2015, which is an important element considering the Daytona 200 requires at least two pit stops to refuel and change tires.
“You’ve definitely got to worry about the pit stops,” said Eslick. “There’s always some guys who can hang in there from the start until the first pit stops, but in my eyes the race doesn’t start until after that first round of pit stops. We usually shake a few people during the first round of pit stops, if everything goes smooth and we don’t have any hiccups with our pit stop. Then we’ll see who’s still there and hammer down.”
One rider likely to still be there is 2016 Daytona 200 winner Michael Barnes, one of the most experienced riders to ever race in the Daytona 200 and one of Eslick’s closest friends.
What’s going to happen if the race comes down to a duel between Barnes and Eslick in the final stint?
“I think it will be a good clean race, but I’ll race Barney as hard as I’ll race Josh Herrin or anybody else for that matter,” said Eslick, referring to one of his career-long road racing rivals. “There’s a lot of money on the line, a lot of pride on the line. Having to sit out last year, I couldn’t have picked anybody better to win it than Barney. That was awesome for the sport and for him, but I’m the first guy who wants to beat him and take that title away.”
One thing will definitely be different for Eslick heading into this Daytona 200. This year, Eslick will be racing in the American Flat Track (AFT) event at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 16, ahead of the Daytona 200 weekend. Eslick will be riding a Harley-Davidson of Staten Island XG750R, which he will be racing at all AFT events that do not conflict with MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 races this season.
Another thing that will be different this year is Eslick says he will be staying in his hotel room at night and not going near the Bike Week nightlife.