Dirt track origins 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. The new course length was increased from the previous 3.2 miles to . He arranged financing and in 1957, construction began on the Daytona International Speedway, a paved, oval-shaped circuit with steep bankings that permitted higher speeds. 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. At the peak of the event's popularity in the early 1970s, chartered airliners were used to bring European race fans to Daytona Beach. 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. 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. 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 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. The success of the Daytona 200 spawned imitations in Europe such as the
Imola 200 and the
Paul Ricard 200. In an effort to slow the fastest bikes down and save on tire wear, a
chicane was added in 1973 at the end of the Daytona back straight. The dangers that motorcycle racers were exposed to was highlighted in 1975 when a documentary crew were filming as
Barry Sheene crashed on the banked track at over 170 mph when his rear tire failed. To keep Superbikes in the Daytona 200, the West Banking was eliminated to reduce the tire issues that had been plaguing the motorcycles. The changes left spectators confused as to why the most powerful motorcycles were replaced by a lesser class in the premier Daytona race.
Steve Rapp's 2007 victory was the first win for
Kawasaki since 1995 and the first win for a
privateer rider since John Ashmead won in 1989. The race was cancelled in 2020 for the first time since World War II because of the
COVID-19 pandemic after the
Rudy Gobert incident took place during the Wednesday of the race meeting, and officials moved the entire race meeting to
Biketoberfest with the Fall Cycle Scene at the Speedway. When the city cancelled Biketoberfest, the feature was cancelled, but not the remainder of the fall race meeting. Conducted despite the pandemic, the 2021 race saw a thrilling finish line victory by rising star, American Brandon Paasch. Coming out of the final pit stop six seconds behind race leader Sean Dylan Kelly, Paasch made a thrilling charge to catch the leader, with a daring pass at the line to win by .03 second. For the 2022 edition, MotoAmerica replaced ASRA as the sanctioning body, with the race becoming a non-points race under updated Supersport rules. The race will become a full championship round in 2026 with Supersport as the featured class that weekend, the only MotoAmerica meeting that will not feature Superbikes. The race has been one of the toughest in American motorcycling because of its endurance-like qualities of pit stops for tires and fuel, and safety car periods, and nine FIM world champions, including seven 500cc/MotoGP World Champions—six Americans and one Italian—have won the race. Of recent American world champions, only
Kenny Roberts Jr. did not win the Daytona 200. Finnish and Venezuelan FIM world champions in smaller classes have also won the 200.
Scott Russell and
Miguel Duhamel are tied for most Daytona 200 wins at five each. Russell, known by the nickname "Mr. Daytona" because of his achievements at the famed track, won all his Daytona races in the Superbike class (750-1000cc). Duhamel's fifth victory came in the Supersport-based classes beginning in 2005. ==Daytona 200 Winners==