This panoramic view of the start of the 1985 Daytona 200 shows Fred Merkel leading the pack into the first turn. That year’s race marked the start of the Superbike era of the 200. Freddie Spencer went on to win the race over Wes Cooley and Jeff Haney, this on the weekend when Spencer won all three major road races at Daytona (Daytona 200, Daytona F-1 and Daytona 250 Grand Prix). It is an accomplishment that will likely never be matched. Visible in the first wave of riders are Merkel (1), Sam McDonald (2), Wes Cooley (9), Roberto Pietri (4), Freddie Spencer (19), Dave Busby (190), Reuben McMurter (3), Pat Hernon (11), Mike Harth (12), Todd Brubaker (399), Jeff Haney (15), John Ashmead (18), Ron Haslam (601), Glenn Barry (16), Peter Lusby (52), Jimmy Adamo (14), Gary Horton (26), Kevin Schwantz (289) and Scott Gray (31).

This panoramic view of the start of the 1985 Daytona 200 shows Fred Merkel leading the pack into the first turn. That year’s race marked the start of the Superbike era of the 200. (Courtesy DIS)