Danny Eslick, the winner of the 2014 and 2015 Daytona 200 races, has been arrested in the days leading up this year’s race.
It’s a little unclear exactly how the incident started, but Eslick caught the eye of Daytona police late Monday night. According to their report, the cops were investigating a report of a scuffle, and Eslick was spotted running down a street close to the scene. An officer attempted to talk to him, but Eslick fled and then allegedly assaulted the officer when he tried to detain him.
Eslick ended up in jail as a result of the incident, but managed to get released on bail. He’s charged with Battery of a Law Enforcement Officer.
In theory, he’ll still race this weekend, which means he can possibly end up as the only man to win the prestigious road race three years in a row — although he likely has a bit more weighing on his mind this year. He sent an official apology to at least one magazine via text message. Some rumours say he’s facing sanctions for his alleged actions, but we certainly haven’t heard anything official yet, and it’s hard to see the AMA being angry enough to put one of their few remaining roadracing stars on the sidelines for what’s arguably their biggest race of the year.
[…] can read about the incident here; allegedly, Eslick tried to run from police while they answered a call, and then scuffled with a […]
I think Danny will be a spectator.
That sucks for him.
so much for a 3 peat
That’s fucking stupid he should be able to do whatever he wants when he’s not racing
Does anybody care any more about the Daytona 200 ?
Since they dumbed it down for 600cc sportbikes none of the top racers are included.
BTW, its sanctioned by the American SportBike Racing Association (ASRA), not the AMA although they are involved in some capacity.
http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Articles/2015/08/75th-Running-of-the-Daytona-200-Scheduled-for-March-12-2016.aspx
Oops, my bad – the AMA IS sanctioning the race this year:
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/american-motorcyclist-association-ama-sanctions-2016-daytona-200/
And Eslick is definitely suspended:
http://www.cycleworld.com/2016/03/10/ama-defending-daytona-200-champ-suspended-from-competition/
OOOOOOOH yeah he was still in when I wrote this. Bad news for him.
Eslick is suspended:
http://www.cycleworld.com/2016/03/10/ama-defending-daytona-200-champ-suspended-from-competition/
and my bad, the AMA is sanctioning the race this year….
It was Dunlop that forced them to abandon the superbikes for the 200 due to tire issues.
If Pirelli, Bridgestone an Michelin can build tires for WSBK and Moto-GP, then surely Dunlop has the ability to build a Daytona-proof tire now ?
And quit calling you ‘Surely’….