In some of the darker days of my career, I’ve written a few news releases. So I understand the demands of that craft.
An ethical publicist will not out-and-out lie in a news release, but rather present everything in the most favorable light, omitting inconvenient information. Because I’ve written a few news releases, I also know how to translate them. How to read between the lines finely crafted by a well paid public relations consultant and extract the truth. Basically, wiping the lipstick off the pig.
The Daytona International Speedway issued a press release today about the 2015 Daytona 200.
Their title:
Daytona International Speedway Enters Into Sanction Agreement for 74th Daytona 200 With American SportBike Racing Association
My translated title:
The 74th Daytona 200 Will be the Best-Funded Club Race Ever
Here’s the rest of the news release, plus my translation.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona International Speedway has reached a sanction agreement with the American SportBike Racing Association (ASRA) to hold the 74th DAYTONA 200 motorcycle race on Saturday, March 14, 1 p.m., at Daytona International Speedway, Track President Joie Chitwood announced today.
Translation: We’re no longer part of the AMA Superbike series because we could not come to terms with new series managers KRAVE Group. Why? Because they insisted on giving us what we’re worth and we insisted on getting what we think we’re worth. And because KRAVE realized that a one-off endurance-length race with pit stops featuring 600cc supersports did not fit into a series of sprint races featuring superbikes.
The DAYTONA 200 will be a 57-lap race on the 3.51-mile road course showcasing 600cc sportbikes battling for a purse of $175,000 with the race winner also being awarded a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona.
Translation: The Daytona 200 is now a club race, run by a quality organization, but still one that features amateur-level competition. But we’re willing to siphon off enough NASCAR money to try to lure a few recognizable names to participate. Plus, we’re going to ignore the fact that we said superbikes, not 600s, would be back for the 2015 Daytona 200.
ASRA and the Championship Cup Series (CCS) will have a full complement of road races Thursday, March 12 through Sunday, March 15. DAYTONA 200 qualifying will take place on Friday, March 13 with the race going green the following day at 1 p.m.
The DAYTONA 200 is America’s most historic motorcycle race with the inaugural event being held on the sands of Daytona Beach before the race moved to Daytona International Speedway in 1961.
“The tradition of the DAYTONA 200 spans both the sands of Daytona Beach and the high banks of the Speedway and we’re excited about continuing this historic event with the American Sportbike Racing Association,” Chitwood said. “With a competitive purse and a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona at stake, riders will have plenty of incentive as they compete for a coveted Daytona victory.”
Translation: We’re excited about continuing this historic event because for a while there it was looking deader than a Barack Obama fundraiser in Idaho. And since there’s no longer any prestige involved in winning this “historic” race, we’re trying to lure riders with money and a watch. We hope that ensures that this is not the first year that racers, their families and crew members outnumber the “fans.”
ASRA and CCS are traditionally part of the Fall Cycle Scene motorcycle schedule at Daytona International Speedway. CCS was founded in 1984 and has become the leader in sportsman level motorcycle road racing offering unrivalled competition at nationwide venues. ASRA started administering CCS in 2006.
“To say that ASRA is excited to be a part of the DAYTONA 200 is an understatement,” said Kevin Elliott, President of ASRA. “There is no other motorcycle event in the United States that comes close to the prestige of the DAYTONA 200 and we’re honored to keep the tradition alive in 2015.”
Translation: Of course we’re excited to be part of the DAYTONA IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS 200. Is America great, or what? Where else can a kid with a Yamaha YZF-R6 and some sponsorship money from his daddy’s machine shop in Muleshoe, Texas, compete in the road race that used to draw the likes of Giacomo Agostini, Kenny Roberts and Carl Fogarty?
In addition to the full road racing calendar and the DAYTONA 200, Daytona International Speedway will continue to be the driving force behind Bike Week hosting a wide range of activities.
Translation: In a survey of 100,000 Bike Week attendees at bars on Main Street, 37 percent of respondents thought the Daytona 200 was a truck race prior to the Daytona 500, 15 percent thought it was a 1970s-era Chrysler, 12 percent correctly identified the Daytona 200 as a motorcycle race, 4 percent said “more beer,” and the rest did not respond and may have been passed out. OK, I made up those statistics. But the Speedway folks made up that part about “Daytona International Speedway will continue to be the driving force behind Bike Week.” Most people at Bike Week don’t even know there’s a race going on.
On Saturday night, March 7, Daytona International Speedway will host the only Monster Energy AMA Supercross event in Florida – the prestigious Daytona Supercross. The tough and challenging course will once again be designed by Supercross legend Ricky Carmichael.
Following the Daytona Supercross will be the sixth annual Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross on Sunday, March 8 and Monday, March 9 where amateur Supercross racers will have an opportunity to test their skills on the same course used in the Daytona Supercross.
Translation: For several years now, as the Daytona Motorsports Group has gradually “managed” the AMA Superbike series into the ground, the “historic” Daytona 200 has been the second-most-important race during Bike Week, behind the Daytona Supercross.
Daytona International Speedway will feature the AMA Pro Flat Track doubleheader on March 12-13 on the Daytona Flat Track, which is located outside Turns 1 and 2.
Translation: In 2015, for the first time, the Daytona 200 may be the third-most-important race during Bike Week.
