Daytona, Florida (March 4, 2009) -- Thursday’s AMA Pro SuperSport battle on the high banks of the Daytona International Speedway saw the LTD Racing teammates battle for the win Four LTD Racing teammates
finished in the top six, with Joey Pascarella and Jake Gagne finishing second and third. Tomas Puerta and Huntley Nash took fifth and sixth, respectively.

Much of the race saw seven riders battling for the lead and a pack of five riders fought for the win on the final lap.

Pascarella nearly won the race. Joey put together an excellent 12-lap event that showcased his skills and strategy and he led as the field came to the checkered flag. But Pascarella missed out on the win by
just 0.001 as Cameron Beaubier drafted past to take the victory, relegating Joey to second place in the SuperSport season-opener for the second year in a row.

The finish was so close it required the officials to call for the photo finish equipment to determine which rider crossed the line first.

“It was a good race and I really wanted to win it. I was hoping to break away in the early laps but that was some great racing out there,” said Pascarella, from Vacaville, California.

“I was leading at the start of the last lap but I let Cameron, who happened to be in second place, get ahead of me for the banking. That was my strategy, I’m not going to lie about it,” he laughed. “I was
hoping to draft past him and I did, but he was able to come back and get me. We didn’t know who won at first but congratulations to him. Maybe tomorrow we can come back and get the win. I’d like to thank LTD
Racing and all my sponsors.”

Jake Gagne earned third place with his strong run, crossing the line just 0.065 behind the winner. Gagne was never far from the lead, but he did misplay the chicane in the closing laps and dropped down to
fifth place. Excellent strategy and hard riding earned him a podium spot as the Ramona, California resident outfoxed J.D. Beach and Tomas Puerta by taking the perfect line on the final lap.

“It was a crazy race,” said Jake. “On the last lap, I got a good draft and kept my head down. My strategy was to wait until the end and make my move and I wasn’t ever very far from the front. I made the one
mistake where I ran wide but I was able to make up the ground to the leaders.” The result was Gagne’s first AMA podium finish.

Colombian Tomas Puerta led the event and was disappointed not to finish on the podium after earning the top five once again. Tomy lists Daytona as one of his favorite circuits and has a great history at Daytona. “I wanted to win the race but the last lap did not go my way. I liked the race, I just did not like the last lap. I was trying to run a smart race and I was battling J.D. (Beach) for fourth place. I passed him but Gagne got both of us and he took the good line got the drive. Then J.D. passed me again. We’ll get them tomorrow!” Puerta was 0.0267 back at the finish.

Huntley Nash gained sixth place on the day and improved his lap times during the event while battling with the top competitors. “That was a really fun race and the most fun I have had in a while. It was
awesome,” said the Marietta, Georgia native. “On the start, I got behind a couple of riders and lost some ground. I knew I couldn’t afford to lose too much to the leaders, so  I made a charge. About four laps into it, I got back up to fifth and right there with the leaders. I used up a lot of the tire making up ground, and I lost a little time in the last couple of laps as the grip went off. We made some progress and we’re looking to improve some more tomorrow.” Huntley was just 4.882 off the lead at the checkered flag.

Sam Nash had a good run going and looked to accomplish his goal of finishing in the top ten of an AMA National. He was inside the top ten when his bike developed a problem with his bike's shifter that forced
him to retire. “It was going well for me out there and I looked back to see the rider I had been battling with had crashed out. I had a good lead on the next rider, but then we had a problem and I had to pull in the pits. We’ve got another shot at it and I plan to take full advantage of it. This weekend has been a lot of fun and I have a good challenge in front of me for tomorrow.”

The final AMA Pro SuperSport race of the weekend will be held tomorrow, March 5th at 3 PM.