Good luck you S.O.B's!!

[xb9racer]

To all headed to Daytona in a week or so. GOOD LUCK !! I'm so frickin' jealous!! 
I plan on packing up the Wife and Son and doing it next year.

Race hard, but race safe! ( safe enough to scare the hell out of yourselves!!)

[dylanfan53]

Looks like the Moto-ST races will have a star-studded cast also!  Scott Russell (Mr. Daytona), Doug Polen among others.  Good Luck!  

[spyderchick]

And Shawn Higbee will be there for MotoST as well. Awesome recovery!

Good luck everyone, ride smart, and bring back some wood! 

[steelcityracer]

Good luck to all.  Wish I could be there.  Stay Safe and as Matt Mladin says, ride smart.

[PJ]

Looks like the Moto-ST races will have a star-studded cast also!  Scott Russell (Mr. Daytona), Doug Polen among others.  Good Luck!  

In 1992, I remember watching in awe as Scott Russell and Doug Polen waged an epic battle that culminated in the closest ever finish in the Daytona 200.  Those guys were two of my early racing heroes, for sure.

And now we're racing against both of them in the GST class at the MOTO-ST 8 Hours at Daytona?! Holy crap!

If someone would have told me then that someday I'd get to (have to?) race Mr. Daytona at Daytona, I would have laughed in their face.

Now I just feel a little sick to my stomach...

[schmitty]

Hey PJ,

Give'em hell man!!  Don't think of it as a "holy crap" situation.  You should think of it more as an honor to race against these guys, and an even bigger honor that these guys think that the Moto-ST series is important enough for them to participate!!!  This can only mean good things for James Gang Racing and Moto-ST in general!

I know I'm jealous as hell, and I wish I could be there to help and cheer you guys on!! Maybe next year.

Good Luck fellas!!
Schmitty

[spyderchick]

In 1992, I remember watching in awe as Scott Russell and Doug Polen waged an epic battle that culminated in the closest ever finish in the Daytona 200.  Those guys were two of my early racing heroes, for sure.

And now we're racing against both of them in the GST class at the MOTO-ST 8 Hours at Daytona?! Holy crap!

If someone would have told me then that someday I'd get to (have to?) race Mr. Daytona at Daytona, I would have laughed in their face.

Now I just feel a little sick to my stomach...

Dude, just keep telling yourself that they are old and over the hill, plus Russell's been in more bar fights than you. 

Good luck and go kick some Daytona booty!

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

I thought part of Russell's medical insurance settlement agreement was that he had lost some degree of ability to race any longer so his injuries were deemed a 'career ending event', therefore his disability insurance settlement was substaintially higher than if he had been able to continue racing. I was very sure that part of that agreement was that he wouldn't be able to race motorcycles again, if what I read after he was injured was accurate.

Maybe I miss interpretted what I read and it just meant he couldn't race 'PRO' again, anyone know for sure?

[Ducmarc]

they're racing for money doesn't that make you pro.as usual start waving money around and a somewhat resonable series get blown out.

[Burt Munro]

I thought part of Russell's medical insurance settlement agreement was that he had lost some degree of ability to race any longer so his injuries were deemed a 'career ending event', therefore his disability insurance settlement was substaintially higher than if he had been able to continue racing. 

Mike,

I'm guessing that the settlement may have had a contingency that he could no longer race for money or stipulated an 'X' amount of money limiting a minimal amount that he was allowed to earn.

Not quite sure what the incentive would be for him to run Moto-ST if he couldn't make some money off of it.  Unless there might be some 'creative' way to compensate him!

[edrod68]

I read an interview with Russell last year and they went into a bit of the details that surrounded his career ending accident.  I believe the article was in the British Magazine "Performance Bikes" last fall or early this year... don't remember exactly.

The gist was that at the time of the injury they did not think he would be able to come back from the injury so he took the settlement from the insurance company.

From what I remember he cannot participate in certain types of sanctioned racing, though stuff like WERA, CCS and other types that do not include "professional" racing like AMA Pro Racing, Moto GP and World Superbike kind of level of racing. 

I know he participated in some WERA National Endurance stuff last year, but did not actually participate in the race at Road Atlanta last year, but who knows.. maybe he wil come back for some of the smaller stuff as he is able.

Either way, I will be at Daytona this week and hoepfully we will see him out there... good luck to all who are coming to Daytona as well... looks like this will be my last one for a while... a lot more expensive then I remember it being in the past....