Doug Polen

DOUG POLEN

THE PERFECT WEEK

DOUG POLEN RAN A PERFECT DAYTONA 200: HE FINished second.

Going into the race, Polen knew that if all went well with Kevin Schwantz, the best he could hope for was a second-place finish. Equipment alone put Polen at a disadvantage: He was riding one of Yoshimura's 1987 GSX-R750 racers, while Schwantz was on a slicker, quicker 1988 version.

But, Daytona history is littered with the failed hopes of pre-race favorites. The race goes not always to the swiftest, but to the rider who eludes crashing and whose equipment goes the distance. Polen knew this, and while Schwantz and Scott Gray were hobbling around the Yoshimura pits, the victims of practice crashes, he sat calmly in his lawn chair and surveyed the scene. While his pit crew cleaned splattered bugs from his bike’s windshield, the other Yoshimura bikes were in the middle of a wrench-spinning flurry, new front ends being installed and damaged bodywork being replaced.

Polen qualified third-fastest, unruffled by the Schwantz-Shobert shootout for pole position. “Everything’s fine,” he said. “I'd feel comfortable running my qualifying pace for the entire race.” He finished his heat race in second, beaten by Schwantz, but not by much, and his strategy for the 200 was set: “On Sunday, I'll just try to set the best pace I can and see what happens.”

What happened was that Shobert ran into problems, Schwantz didn’t, and Polen finished in second place, his best-ever showing in an AMA national. In addition, he was leading at the five-lap flag, meaning he pocketed $10,000 in Camel Challenge money. He had already placed third in the 600 Supersport race earlier in the day and would go on to win the 750 Supersport race held later. For a man who has set a goal of winning six national championships this year—AMA Superbike, 600 Supersport, 750 Supersport, 600 Suzuki Cup, 750 Suzuki Cup and 1 100 Suzuki Cup—before lining up a Grand Prix ride, Daytona 1988 was a very good show, indeed.

“I did everything I wanted to do,” said Polen, who left Florida about $30,000 richer. “My goal was to do the best that I realistically could do. I’m very satisfied with the results.”

David Edwards