Photo finish for Daytona 200 battle
Brandon Paasch secured his second consecutive Daytona 200 victory in a super-tight photo finish after what was a perfectly executed last lap manoeuvre in the legendary race.
The Triumph rider was fourth at the final chicane, but went low on the banking and slipped into third before setting his sights on Cameron Peterson and Sheridan Morais. Paasch got into their slipstream and used the resulting draft to pip them both to line – taking the chequered flag by 0.007s!
The 20-year-old was in a position to attack after opting to only take on new fuel at his final pit stop. Paasch averaged 113.162mph in winning the race and he also set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:49.959.
“This one is great, to be honest,” Paasch said. “Josh Herrin was on Instagram saying I’m not in his league, and then to come out here and beat him was really good for me. I’m stoked.
“Having all the Superbike guys out here is great. I know it’s not what they’re used to. They ride the big bikes and they’re really damn good at it. So, for them to jump back on the 600 and have a little fun with me is pretty cool. I feel lucky to be able to share the track with these guys. Hopefully, this summer I can learn a thing or two from Cam Petersen and the boys in Superbike.”
The result was Triumph’s fifth Daytona 200 victory and their first since 2014 with Danny Eslick.
Jeremy McWilliams won the Mission King of the Baggers race, whilst Hayden Schultz was the Twins Cup winner.
Turn to page 44 to see how Don Emde made Daytona 200 history