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Daytona Fall Cycle Scene Saturday Report

Posted by Kenn Stamp
Monday, 29 October 2007
Page 1 of 5 Daytona. Depending on what kind of things you enjoy, the name alone conjures visions of: A) The high pitched wail of inline 4 cylinder motorcycles offset by the melodious drone or bass rumble of high-performance 2 cylinder motorcycles as they race around the International Horseshoe. B) Driving on the beach and trying (not) to run over tourists C) Extended periods of idling in traffic just to feel the mad crush of bodies clad in leather on Main St. D) Stock cars side by side roaring through the tri-oval It was that first vision that brought me to the Daytona International Speedway for the CCS/ASRA/Moto-ST races this year during the Fall Cycle Scene in Daytona. I had been to the Speedway a couple of times before to watch the Daytona 200 race but I don't like watching a race when all you can see is a small slice of the track so I don't go that often. I just feel like I am missing so much of the action, so I end up wandering around to get a better vantage point. The problem is I end up doing more wandering than actual watching. This year would be different for one very important reason; I got a media pass and I wasn't afraid to use it! OK, I was slightly afraid. I had this vision in my head of getting in the way of some pit crew worker which caused him to not get to the pitted bike and rider in time, which made for a long pit stop which ultimately cost the team the race. Everyone would hate me and I'd be banned from any racing event for the rest of my life (did I mention that I have a vivid imagination and am slightly neurotic?). Actually, none of the above is true (except for the imagination part). My media pass would get me into just about everywhere on the track except for actually ON the track. I had to go up to Daytona early Sat morning to pick-up the media pass and go find Alan (of JTK Communications who was doing the videos for me) who had his trailer parked in the Owner/Team parking area of the infield. Alan had told me that his trailer backed right up to the area roped off and designated for media parking so he would be easy to find. Sure enough Alan and his trailer were right where he said they would be. After meeting Alan and Marc (the guy doing most of the interviews in the videos) and getting the introductions out of the way, I went to look around the pit garage area. Having never been in the pit garage area at a race before, I found it to be both exciting and confusing at the same time. Exciting because all the energy in the air was contagious as you had multiple teams getting trying to get their bikes ready to run basically flat-out for the next 8 hours. The confusing part came from watching all the people on scooters, mini-bikes, golf carts, and ATVs running around seemingly without any purpose except to go as fast as possible without hitting anyone. I think I witnessed more racing in the garage area than I did on the track! I quickly learned that the best survival technique was to GET OUT OF THE WAY! No matter how important you looked you would quickly get run over if you weren't watching your back, front, and both sides. Quite fun actually. << Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next > End >>

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