Daytona is Our New Year's Day

Not being a motorcycle person from birth, I did marry into it 40 years ago. This year, I asked Zzilla why Daytona seemed to be the start of the motorcycle racing season even though there are winter races in some warmer parts of the country. His answer was, because it just is. I needed more than that.

I hear other racers say that racing season starts in Daytona. It's the date they get their bikes ready for. The date they debut their new sponsors and leathers. All my years of being friends with Gary Nixon, he would start running and training in January to get ready for Daytona. Yes, even in his later years, it was important to him to be ready. 

Maybe its the winter thaw for so many of us, maybe its the coming together of all racing disciplines in one place during the same week, or maybe its just bragging rights to say you won Daytona.

The legend actually began in 1937 with the inaugural Daytona 200. Back then, the course was a grueling 3.2 mile loop that combined the hard-packed sand of the Atlantic beach and a narrow strip of paved highway. It wasn't 'dirt track' in the modern sense of today's ovals, but when Ed Kretz piloted his Indian Sport Scout to victory, a tradition was born. In 1961, the racing moved to the newly built Daytona International Speedway. There we saw racing evolve from the test of endurance on the brutal sand to a high speed aerodynamic battle. It's where Brad Andres dominated in the mid 50's on his Harley Davidson against the British BSAs and Triumphs. Its where the Japanese marked the first win on a two-stroke with Don Emde on a Yamaha 350 in 1972. The wins from "King Kenny" Roberts and the grit and excitement that bore the purpose built motorcycles like the Bultaco Astro. 

So while there are other events are going on, for us, it's the psychological reset button. And when the first green flag drops in the Florida sun, the vintage community collectively wakes up from its winter slumber.

1948 Daytona 200