Here are the highlights of race two for the AMA National Guard Superbikes.
The track is not as up to temperature as it could be, as the bikes are running a pace lap behind the safety car. Safety car is in. Ready for the start.
Taylor Knapp had a big wreck. But, he still makes it to the grid. He has to stay with his KTM team mate Chris Fillmore. The EBR's are also in development. Two of them, won't start. Cory West and Dustin Dominguez for RS Racecraft. Larry Pegram got a podium in yesterday's race, but feels he can do better on his new Yamaha R1. Robertino Pietri is running well on his Kawasaki (the #88 bike). Martin Cardenas is also looking to do well. Fifteen laps are scheduled once more for this race.
Tayler Knapp had a high side on his KTM, and has a backup bike. But, the bike won't start. What will he do? The start has been delayed so he can go to his grid spot. Aaron Yates also came in. He might have some issues. Knapp will start caboose on the field. Here we go. Everyone's set. Ready to race. Race two is on!
At the start, Josh Hayes and Martin Cardenas both get good starts. Josh Herrin and Larry Pegram are in this thing early, too. Hayes, Herrin, Cardenas, Pegram. Herrin stayed with Hayes yesterday. One wonders about race two. Herrin couldn't find the setup yesterday. He's still dealing with an imperfect setup on the bike. Hayes and Herrin use the curb in the chicane, while Martin Cardenas doesn't. He'll have to see what happens. Here comes Cardenas, pulling the Suzuki around the Yamaha. Right now, Danny Eslick is struggling, but he had a clean start. Eslick paused, and got swamped.
He's doing well running with Michael Jordan Motorsports, along with team mate Roger Hayden. The top four pull away from the rest of the pack. Will Herrin change his line? You've got to slow the bike in the middle of the corner, and stay off the edge of the tire. Watch the lean angle. Herrin runs a 1:37.5. Hayes and Herrin are a tad slower. Geoff May is running well on the EBR. Hayes and Herrin are glued together through the tri oval. Hayes runs a 1:37.63.
Four laps in the books. Josh Hayes and Josh Herrin continue leading, with Martin Cardenas falling back just a bit. Herrin looks to get by Hayes. Meanwhile, Aaron Yates is having trouble with the EBR. The tire balance is off, creating a vibration. He will continue, more than likely. You don't want a vibration on a bike at 200 miles an hour. Five laps done. Ten to go. Yoshimura Suzuki could not adjust Cardenas' bike between the races, because of the colder temperatures. He'll have to work around any handling issues with the motorcycle.
The rider makes the difference as to how the bike handles. Cardenas, Herrin, and Hayes all run in the 1:37s, within mere milliseconds of each other. Larry Pegram is finding his comfort zone, and has to keep things together He is going for points, riding his race. The race is half over. Cardenas closes up on the Yamaha's. Now, Martin Cardenas solidly moves into second, past Josh Herrin. Cardenas will hound Hayes in these last few laps. Herrin ran wide and Cardenas found an opening through the International Horseshoe. Martin Cardenas takes the lead.
Herrin might have an issue with his arm tensing up. It is hard to just relax and breathe when you are in close competition on these high powered motorcycles. The race is half over. Into the second half now. Maybe Herrin hit a false neutral in the gearbox. That's Hayes, not Herrin. Hayes runs a 1:38.6 for his last lap time. Martin Cardenas gets a good drive off of the corners on his Suzuki GSXR1000. Hayes stretches his lead as Herrin passes Cardenas. Can Cardenas pass? No. Herrin runs off the road! He goes wide into turn one on the road course.
Herrin went to shift, hit a false neutral, and had to stop the bike, and restart it. He is still third. Larry Pegram probably won't reel him in. Meanwhile, Hayes increases his lead, with just four laps left to run. Pegram has more speed than previously thought, and he could pass Herrin to get on the podium. Pegram went to Yamaha because of the tech support. He loves the bike. Hhe had a real issue with the BMW he ran last year because it was too fast. Uh oh. Hayes is in trouble. He pulls off the road. He's a retirement. The motor is gone!
The motor blew up. Smoke came out of the left side of the motor. Hopefully there is no oil down. Daytona has not been too friendly to Josh Hayes. He'll have to fight for the title this year. We'll see how the rest of the season develops. Martin Cardenas has to be consistent. He sems to be sailing. Geoff May and Cory West, as well as Tayler Knapp. Daytona eats motors alive. Pegram slides past Josh Herrin who slid a bit. Pegram is into second! Herrin has issues with his bike, too. What is happening? He may have a shifter issue.
Herrin is being pressed by Pegram. He will settle into third place. His arm is still bugging him, and he probably can't squeeze the brake lever as firmly as he wants to. Just a lap and a half remain in Superbike race two. Geoff May fried the clutch at the start of the race, and he didn't last long. Lots of horsepower through sticky, slick tires, can be stressful on the mechanical end of the motorcycle. It's the last lap now. Cardenas leads by eleven seconds. Herrin and Pegram battle for second. Roger Hayden and Danny Eslick run fourth and fifth on the Jordan Suzuki's.
Herrin is trying to pass Pegram. Meanwhile, Cardenas wins. But, Herrin beats Pegram. Hayden beats Eslick, and Chris Clark is sixth. So, Martin Cardenas wins race two.
#36 Martin Cardenas Suzuki GSXR1000
Round two for the Superbikes won't be until early June at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. So the riders will have a long time to regroup and test. It was thought there'd be a race inbetween Daytona and Road America. But, that isn't the case. So long, until June, AMA fans.
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