This year's Daytona 200 is shaping up to be deja-vu of the 1994 Indy 500. The American Buells, with engines 339cc over the maximum allowable size for AMA Superbike, will be racing against Japanese bikes that are 300cc below the minimum size for Superbike.

The 2006 Daytona 200 has all the makings of being one of the most memorable races in the 65 times the race has been held—and for all the wrong reasons.

The 150 horspower Buell XBRR, with a pair of four-inch cannon barrels for cylinders, is in a class above the Honda CBR600 and Yamaha R6 samurai 600cc sportbikes set to do battle in the 200 mile Formula Xtreme farce.

"We are confident the (Buell)'s inclusion will enhance the sport of motorcycle road racing," said the AMA in their February 10 press release confirming the eligibility of Buell bringing a gun to a knife fight. Others are not so confident.

History is full of instances where sports fans loudly disapproved of fiascos and farces. Curiously, there seems to be some correlation suggesting that the bigger the event, the bigger the screw-ups.

The most recent mega-farce was last year's Formula 1 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race was marred when the 14 cars on Michelin tires withdrew on the warm-up lap before the race, leaving just six cars—four of which where the slowest in Formula 1—on the grid for the start. "Bullshit!" Cries and beer bottles flew from the fans, and the race ended in front of a near empty grandstand.

It was the second time in four years where race fans did not get to see the race they paid good money to see. In 2002 Ferrari's Michael Schumacher handed victory to teammate Rubens Barrichello by slowing down on the final lap and pulling over. It was out of appreciation for Barrichello doing the same earlier in the year in the Austrian Grand Prix to help Shumacher build an insurmountable points lead. At Indy 170,000 fans paid to watch the world champion intentionally lose a race.

Big debacles have occurred in the Indianapolis 500 as well. In 1994 Roger Penske showed up with Mercedes-Benz motors engineered to exploit a gap in the rulebook. In those days the Indy 500 ran under a rulebook unique to the event. Overhead cam engines that were legal at other races were restricted to 45 inches of turbo boost, pushrod engines that were favored by teams that only competed in the Indy 500 were allowed 55 inches of boost. Before 1994 the pushrod motors were Buick boat anchors. But for the 1994 race Penske had Mercedes-Benz secretly build purpose-built pushrod engines. With a 100 horsepower-plus advantage on the field, the Penske cars of Al Unser, Jr and Emerson Fittipaldi ran away from the field. Of course, the rulebook was changed following the race.

This year's Daytona 200 is shaping up to be deja-vu of the 1994 Indy 500. The American Buells, with engines 339cc over the maximum allowable size for AMA Superbike, will be racing against Japanese bikes that are 300cc below the minimum size for Superbike.

To match the Buells for horsepower will require Honda and Yamaha to tune their 600cc motors to specific output levels equal to that of a MotoGP bike. On top of that, the Daytona 200 is about three times longer than a MotoGP race. The Daytona 200 is Buell's race to lose.

Those contracted to either Honda or Yamaha have claimed that the Buells are blatantly illegal because of rule E2h1: "Formula Xtreme competition is restricted to motorcycles (engines and frames) produced for US street use and available in the US through retail dealers." And rule C: "AMA Formula Xtreme motorcycles are based on production fourstroke street motorcycles." (Pdf of the AMA rulebook is available here)

Because this rule requires that the engine be originally produced for street use and the Buell XBRR features an engine that was originally manufactured for racing, the Buell is illegal, they say.

Not so according to Buell—look at rule C3: "Twin-cylinder air-cooled motorcycles: Engine modifications are unlimited."

Given the conflict in rules, which rule applies?

In the AMA's February 10 press release the AMA apparently felt that rule C3 trumps E2h1. I disagree.

The rules in section E of the rulebook define, for lack of a better description, a set of values that the AMA apply toward road racing in general and individual classes in particular. When the AMA conceived of the Formula Xtreme class, the intention was that the motorcycles—engine and frame—would be based on U.S. street legal motorcycles. Section C implements this intention. In my opinion, section E of the rulebook is higher up on the hierarchy of rules than section C.

Suppose an owner of a Buell XBRR wanted to modify his engine for more power. As section C of the rulebook states that air-cooled twins under 1350cc are allowed unlimited engine modifications, could this owner supercharge his XBRR and race Formula Xtreme? No. Rule E4c, "Supercharging and turbocharging are prohibited," should take precedence over rule C3.

Suppose an owner of a Buell XBRR wanted to change the side covers on his engine from aluminum to magnesium to reduce weight under rule C3. Could this owner change the side covers to magnesium and race Formula Xtreme? No. Rule E4i, "Replacement covers must be made of cast or machined aluminum," should take precedence over rule C3.

How will the appeals board decide if the XBRR engine is a modified street engine or a purpose built racing engine? The same way former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart did in 1964 deciding if something was pornographic or not with his immortal statement: "I know it when I see it."

Suppose an owner of a Buell XBRR wanted to replace the muffler on his engine's exhaust with a megaphone to increase power under rule C3. Could this owner remove the muffler, install a megaphone, and race Formula Xtreme? No. Rule E6a, "All motorcycles must meet sound limits of 105 dB/A measured on the "A" scale at 0.5 meters (20 inches)," should take precedence over rule C3.

Similarly, rule E2h1 should take precedence over rule C3. Unfortunately, the AMA rulebook is not clear on what constitutes "an engine produced for U.S. street use."

Because the Daytona 200 is the biggest paying road race in the AMA series, one should expect that any Buell XBRR that wins pole position or finishes in the points will get protested by non-Buell riders. In all likelihood the AMA will disallow the protest. It is just as likely that the protesting rider will appeal. Per the rulebook, the AMA would need to convene an appeals board comprising of three neutral and competent individuals. How will the appeals board decide if the XBRR engine is a modified street engine or a purpose built racing engine? The same way former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart did in 1964 deciding if something was pornographic or not with his immortal statement: "I know it when I see it."

But I think there is another argument against the Buell XBRR, and this one is black and white.

Per the AMA rulebook, four-stroke twin cylinder motorcycles between 850cc and 1350cc must be air-cooled. Buell's own press release openly admits that the XBRR engine is not purely air-cooled: "The Buell XBRR features a modified XB Thunderstorm 1339cc (103.6mm bore x 79.4mm stroke) air/oil-cooled V-Twin motor rated at 150-hp (measured at the crankshaft)." (Link to press release)

On Buell's web site there is one page with technical specifications of the XBRR. There the cooling system is described as "Forced Air/Oil." (Link to Buell web site)

Oil cooling on the XBRR is provided primarily by a large oil cooler mounted on the left side of the engine. Like Buell streetbikes, the XBRR also uses the inside of the aluminum swingarm as a reservoir for engine oil. As the design of the swingarm appears to have been driven primarily by suspension-related objectives it would be hard to argue that it is clearly an oil cooler.

But saying that the oil cooler is not an oil cooler is like trying to call a horse a cow.

Turning to the AMA rulebook, there is no clear guidance on whether or not air-cooled engines can be fitted with oil coolers. The rulebook only distinguishes between air-cooled and liquid-cooled engines.

Of course, all engines require oil. But engines do not require oil coolers. It is possible to design an air-cooled engine that does not have an oil cooler. Such an engine may need de-tuning for reliability, but it is possible.

Once one starts heading down the path of fitting bigger and bigger oil coolers one can start approaching the performance levels of traditional water-cooled engines. Suzuki won numerous races and championships with oil-cooled GSX-R superbikes of like engine displacement as their water-cooled rivals.

Thus it is a cut-and-dried case: air-cooled means air-cooled. Oil coolers should be prohibited.

The irony in all this is too rich: the approval of the Buell XBRR by AMA Pro Racing smelled oily from the beginning.

While I doubt the AMA will reverse its eligibility decision in light of this argument, I believe the appeals board will vacate the eligibility of oil-cooled Buell XBRRs to compete under air-cooled rules. As they say in NASCAR, just because the rulebook says you can't do something doesn't mean that you can do it.

What if I am wrong? Then what?

If Buell are allowed to convert air-cooled engines to air/oil-cooled engines, Honda and Yamaha should be allowed to convert liquid-cooled engines to air/oil-cooled engines.

If I were American Honda I would take the RC51 superbikes out of mothballs, drain the water out of the engines, and fill it back up with engine oil. Use the cylinder blocks as oil reservoirs like Buell uses the swingarms as oil reservoirs. Change the name of the radiator to oil cooler. Issue a press release and say that it is an air/oil cooled engine. And for good measure, I would then call HRC and commission an engine kit to bump the displacement from 1000cc to 1340cc.

If I were Yamaha I would probably boycott the class.

Of course the AMA would never allow Honda to race 1340cc air/oil-cooled RC51s in Formula Xtreme. And it's too late to change the AMA rulebook. Though the AMA rulebook, like anything in this world, has room for improvement, as it stands right now it is clear enough to disallow the Buell XBRR on grounds of having a non-street based engine and having an oil-cooler.

My personal favorite option is to let Formula Xtreme become a Buell-XBRR spec class. Buell sportbikes are popular and there should be a place for them to race in AMA. Mixing Harleys with non-Harleys on the race track has never worked, it has always required one set of rules for Harleys and another for all the rest. So let Buell have Formula Xtreme and see if it can build a fan base with the Harley faithful. Without the Buell there is no reason for Harley rider to come to an AMA roadrace. At least I've never seen a Harley rider cheer for a Honda racer.

I suspect an ugly legal situation down the road if the Buell wins the Daytona 200 and is later stripped of the win by the appeals board. Erik Buell will probably become incandescent with the AMA when the amended race results show that all of his bikes were disqualified. I'm sure it is not the way he wants to be remembered in the history books. Sad.