Danny Eslick, who will ride in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 series this year for Ian Lougher’s ILR Kawsaki team, has taken victory in the 2014 Daytona 200 with British riders Luke Stapleford and Luke Mossey also in the top 15.

Eslick’s eturn to the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class couldn't have been more spectacular. The native of Broken Arrow, OK, and a two-time series champ won pole and then outlasted the competition to take the 73rd Daytona 200. Eslick, aboard a Riders Discount Racing Triumph, won Triumph's first Daytona 200 since 1967 by 10.975 seconds.

"That was a lot of fun. That first stint was pretty incredible. We were knockdown, drag-out like it was a sprint race. Even after the pit stop, me and Dane (Westby) and (Jason) DiSalvo hooked up and that was a lot of fun. The last stint seemed like forever, but that was literally like the shortest 200 miles of my life."

Eslick's ride survived a serious challenge along the way, but "Slick" had cleared away by the end. One of the most spectacular riders in the field avoided the pitfalls of 200 miles at Daytona International Speedway. The last few laps were classic Danny histrionics like waving to the crowd, spurring his bike like a horse, and riding wheelies, even while he expanded his lead. Then Eslick topped it off with the longest victory lap ever, one that saw him stop to celebrate with fans in the infield.

"Hats off to the crew. (Crew chief) Richard Stanboli is the guy I worked with like ten years ago in my first year in the AMA. So in a big, roundabout way, this is payback for that first year," said Eslick. "It's awesome. I've gotten the pole before and, my very first 200, I got fourth. So there's been a lot of hard work and a lot of years passed by to get this victory. It really means a lot. There's been a lot going on at home, losing people close to me. This one is for Tommy Aquino and some good friends from home. So it means a lot.

For Triumph, the British brand capitalized on their last chance to win Daytona for the immediate future with the Daytona 675. Next year, the class returns to the parlance of the SuperBike class. "It's been what? Since 1971 since they were on pole and (Gary) Nixon was the last one to win it," said Eslick. "That's pretty cool right there."

RoadRace Factory/Red Bull's Jake Gagne took second, earning his best Daytona result in the process. "To start off on the podium, especially at the Daytona 200... I'm stoked for the whole RoadRace Factory/Red Bull crew. These guys worked so hard in the offseason and to pay them back with a podium is great," said Gagne. "It was a pretty big pack like we expected, and I just wanted to stay there. I figured once we got to the first pit stop, it would separate a little bit. After the first pit stop, it was like five or six guys. I was definitely struggling in the infield, and it was everything I had all the time just to hang onto the back of these guys. Luckily, the boys built me a fast bike because I could pull with these guys on the banking."

Jake Lewis was third for Motosport.com Meen Yamaha. "There's nothing to be disappointed about, being in victory circle after 200 miles, 57 laps," Lewis said. "That was a really long race. I would have liked to have been holding up that big trophy, but Danny was riding great all weekend. I got off to a really great start. The whole pack was at the front at the beginning of the race, but I was just having a few issues, and I lost the draft."

Stapleford, also on a Triumph, finished in seventh while Luke Mossey ended the race in 13th place.

Results:

1 69 Danny Eslick 1:52.096 --.--- --.--- 1:50.288

2 32 Jake Gagne 1:53.176 10.975 10.975 1:50.253

3 85 Jake Lewis 1:54.417 37.230 26.255 1:50.564

4 50 Bobby Fong 1:53.733 48.659 11.429 1:50.254

5 8 Garrett Gerloff 1:51.487 1:11.456 22.797 1:50.110

6 33 Kyle Wyman 1:53.600 1:42.617 31.160 1:51.962

7 68 Luke Stapleford 1:53.571 1 lap 1 lap 1:50.879

8 98 Jake Zemke 1:55.981 1 lap 16.594 1:51.788

9 74 Bostjan Skubic 1:53.726 1 lap 26.014 1:51.710

10 15 Steve Rapp 1:53.899 1 lap 6.672 1:51.583

11 3 Joe Roberts 1:52.808 1 lap 0.097 1:52.808

12 52 Joey Pascarella 1:52.786 1 lap 1.322 1:52.475

13 41 Luke Mossey 1:55.689 1 lap 24.677 1:52.181

14 7 Fernando Amantini 1:54.549 2 laps 1 lap 1:53.005

15 42 Kenny Riedmann 1:56.438 2 laps 12.417 1:53.390

16 35 Benny Solis 1:54.018 2 laps 23.485 1:51.785

17 174 Bryce Prince 1:56.423 2 laps 30.502 1:54.352

18 141 Eric Pinson 1:57.358 3 laps 1 lap 1:55.698

19 20 Frank Babuska 1:57.364 3 laps 0.028 1:55.946

20 48 Chad Lewin 1:56.386 3 laps 42.715 1:54.009

21 31 Dustin Apgar 1:57.849 3 laps 21.328 1:55.349

22 112 Ricky Orlando 2:00.119 4 laps 1 lap 1:56.400

23 37 John Ashmead 2:01.201 4 laps 1:07.433 1:57.896

24 71 Lee Farmer 2:00.699 5 laps 1 lap 1:59.231

25 30 Donny Wright 2:02.015 5 laps 38.316 1:59.855

26 46 Roi Holster 2:03.347 5 laps 33.294 2:00.625