Hampered by a sticking brake, Team Suzuki Flat Track/Parts Unlimited-sponsored Kevin Varnes (89) finished 12th on night one of the two-night Short Track races at Daytona’s Municipal Stadium. He came back strong to win the next night. (Kinney Jones photo)

American Honda and Parts Unlimited-sponsored Jake Zemke is one of the most popular riders on the AMA roadrace circuit and his first-ever career victory of the 65th Annual Daytona 200 was well received by all.(Kinney Jones photo)

Travis Pastrana (199) and Chad Reed (22) both had painful rides at the Daytona Supercross. Pastrana crashed in his heat race, but bounced back for the Semi. Reed suffered a dislocated shoulder the day before, but delivered a gutsy performance in the race. (Kinney Jones photo)

There were two changes in the Ducati camp at Daytona this year. Parts Unlimited took on title sponsorship of the Superbike team, now operating as the Parts Unlimited Ducati Team. Also, Ben Bostrom replaced his brother Eric in the saddle for 2006. (Jen Emde photo)

The week started at the GNCC season opener with Travis just being Travis before the start of the race.

Turn one was a nightmare for the Suzuki GNCC team as Travis hit the ground along with teammates Rodney Smith (left) and Glenn Kearney (right), who remounted and finished in 7th place. Smith was slightly injured in the crash and Pastrana DNF’d with a damaged cooling system.

At the Supercross at the Daytona International Speedway, absolutely no one was as fast as Travis though the whoop section next to the roadrace track. Travis battled with Ivan Tedesco for the lead in his heat race until he and his Suzuki abruptly parted company.

When Travis crashes, it’s usually not a simple tip-over. His heat race “train wreck” in the whoops was very scary looking. He made contact with both bike and ground, but was soon up and attempting to restart his bike.

Kevin Varnes stands on the top step of the podium following his Daytona win. Fellow Parts Unlimited-sponsored riders joining him were runner-up Jake Johnson (left) and 3rd place finisher J.R. Schnabel. (Rick Menapace photo)

“Rev-in-Kevin” Varnes was fast both nights of the two-night Short Track action. He took the win on night two and left Daytona in 4th place in the National points. (Kinney Jones photo)

Team Suzuki and Moose-sponsored Australian Glenn Kearney went down in turn one, but rode as hard as he could to the finish and got all the way back up to 7th place.

Parts Unlimited and Moose are major supporters of GNCC and all other forms of off-road competition. Here’s the line for the pre-race dinner sponsored by Moose.

When the sun goes down, the mini-bikes come out. These guys were as serious as anyone at Bike Week and put on a great night of race action.

Hall of Fame legend Dick Burleson (middle) likes to show the people in the off-road community how much the Moose organization appreciates their support by having the Moose team participate in the annual pre-race Daytona dinner.

Rodney Smith sat out most of the 2005 season with a broken leg and was hoping to use the Daytona season opener to get his program back on track. Two first lap crashes took their toll and he was out of the race. He’ll be back for the next round.

After winning the 2005 GNCC championship in his first year here in the United States, KTM factory rider Juha Salminen served notice at Daytona that he intends to defend his title this year. He is seen here taking the checkers with an easy win.

One of the two large screen televisions makes a unique backdrop for the real thing, as Team Suzuki’s Ivan Tedesco flies through the air. Ivan won his heat race and was fast all night, but following a first turn crash could only muster a 7th place finish in the main event.

Team owner Mitch Payton of Team Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki offers some pre-race thoughts and encouragement to one of his riders, Chris Gosselaar.

Payton’s pep talk with Gosselaar must have worked, as Chris delivered an impressive 3rd place finish in the Lites class.

Little did Chad Reed know when he had this helmet painted up that he would be in for such a fight at Daytona. He crashed the day before the race while practicing and dislocated his shoulder. But he soldiered on in a race that many others would have sat out.

Chad Reed tries to keep his dislocated right arm loose prior to the start of the Semi. He went on to take the Semi win, then dug down deep and pulled off an incredible (considering his medical condition) runner up finish in the 20-lap Main Event.

Race of the night was the heat race battle between Ivan Tedesco (9) and Travis Pastrana. Tedesco had Pastrana covered around the track except for the whoop section where Travis would zoom right back up. Their battle ended when Pastrana went over the bars (see page 36) and Tedesco sped to victory.

Runner up Chad Reed (left) shares the podium with winner Ricky Carmichael and 3rd place finisher Michael Byrne.

Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Ben Spies (11) and Mat Mladin (1) were right together in the Superbike final when they got to the International Horseshoe in the infield on lap one. They weren’t much farther apart when they crossed the finish line at the end of the race, with Mladin ultimately taking the victory.

New Honda Race Manager Ron Heben shares a light moment during practice with Erion Honda rider Josh Hayes. Hayes went on to impress Heben (and everyone else) with his runner up finish in the Daytona 200.

Parts Unlimited and PJ1 are long-time sponsors of the Erion Honda race team. The team has yet to beat the Honda factory’s “A-team” in the Daytona 200, but as it has done in the past, delivered a podium finish this year, with Josh Hayes in the saddle.

Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking drafted past young teammate Jason DiSalvo at the finish line to win the Superstock final at Daytona. He is seen here leading Suzuki rider Geoff May.

Blue versus Red. The Daytona 200 saw a great early battle of Formula Xtreme machinery between rivals Yamaha and Honda. Eric Bostrom (32) leads here over five-time Daytona 200 winner Miguel Duhamel, Jason DiSalvo and eventual winner Jake Zemke.

You can usually tell how everyone on the podium finished in the race. Jake Zemke (middle) was overjoyed with the historic significance of his victory; runner up Josh Hayes (left) politely obliges the photographers, while Jason DiSalvo looks like he’d prefer to be anywhere else at this moment.

The all-new Buell XBRR Formula Xtreme race bike provided an element of controversy about their eligibility for use in the Daytona 200 this year. The XBRR was ruled to have an acceptable lineage to the Buell XB12 street machine and received the needed approval from the AMA to participate.
     After qualifying an impressive 8th fastest, Jeremy McWilliams kept his XBRR steadily in the top ten throughout the first half of the race until clutch malfunction put him out. Despite his early departure, McWilliams outlasted the three other Buells in the race and was named winner of the first-ever Cal Rayborn Award, a $10,000 cash prize to the highest placing rider of a Buell or Harley-Davidson-powered machine in the 200.
     The Cal Rayborn Award, named in honor of the last rider to win Daytona on a Harley-Davidson, was sponsored by Drag Specialties and Cycle World Magazine.

Jeremy McWilliams came all the way from Northern Ireland to ride one of four Buell XBRR machines in the Daytona 200. He is seen here pushing off for a practice run. (Don Emde photo)