INSIDE PASS
Daytona Debacle Part 1, The Saga of the NOLEX
Author: K3 Chris Onwiler
It ain't easy being a privateer at the Daytona 200
K3 Chris Onwiler
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Daytona is an incredibly unforgiving place. For 66 years now, riders and machines have pitted themselves against its high speeds and steep banking. In order to achieve success there, one first must learn Daytona’s lessons and nuances. Disappointment and heartbreak are the price of experience at the Big D, and in our first-ever attempt to qualify for the 200, the Lithium Motorsports/Trackdaymag.com team has discovered this for ourselves.
Our Daytona adventure started like most privateer efforts do, with a phone call. Just before Christmas, I heard from Rob Oliva, owner of Lithium Motorsports, and also my longtime friend and sponsor. “K3,” he said, “I’ve been thinking about running the 200 in 07. Being a competitor in that race would really move us to the next level of credibility with both our customers and our suppliers.”
“I’m in.” I replied. “What do you need?”
“Well, I’ll be running an 07 Honda 600 this year, but they won’t be available in time for the race. I’ve found a salvage 06 GSXR600 in Green Bay. Could you pick it up and prep it for the 200?”
Rob might as well have asked me if I wanted to win the lotto. How could I resist such a challenge? But if I’d known what lay ahead, I might have thought twice. We were about to fall straight into the Daytona learning curve, but like babes in the woods, we didn’t even know we were in trouble yet.
People in the know speak of the Daytona curse. A lot of harsh realities conspire to crush Daytona newcomers. I’d had a taste of this myself in 2002, when I went to Daytona for the CCS Race of Champions. My plan was to win three National Championships, but instead I came home with one fifth-place trophy. I had the fastest bike in the field, but she wasn’t ready for the extra stress that Daytona puts on any machine that runs there.
I thought that my 2002 trip had made me wise to the demands of Daytona, but I still had a lot to learn. You see, the Daytona 200 is a whole ‘nother animal, even when compared to CCS sprint racing at the big Tri-Oval. Two hundred miles is a long way for any racebike to have to travel without maintenance, and if that weren’t enough, we’d have to balance many factors in our attempt to make the show. It’s just not easy for a privateer effort to qualify for Daytona. Consider that to make the 200, you must come with a bike that will run fast enough to qualify within 110% of the pole time set by a paid, professional racer on a factory-built bike equipped with a qualifying engine, qualifying ignition map, qualifying tires, and qualifying fuel, yet that same machine you’ve brought must later be capable of surviving 200 miles of high-speed competition once the race starts. Oh, and did I mention that you’re probably trying to accomplish this for an amount of money that wouldn’t cover the promotional giveaway poster budget of one of the factory efforts?
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