Motosport.com Motul Fly Racing's David Anthony finds himself ranked eighth in the points with 8th and 14th-place results, while Spaniard Bernat Martinez is right behind him with impressive 12th- and 10th-place runs.

New KTM/HMC Racing pilot Taylor Knapp and Team AMSOIL/Hero's big name addition, Aaron Yates, battled through difficult openers. Knapp finished ninth on Friday after battling for position with teammate Fillmore and Yates, but crashed in the warm-up on Saturday and was forced to start from the back of the pack after struggling to start his back-up machine. A clutch issue later knocked him out of the race altogether.

Meanwhile, Yates' close Friday 11th was followed up with a DNF as well on Saturday.

Daytona isn't the friendliest track on the tour to the KTM or the EBR, which should both shine later in the season.

"I am bummed about not finishing this race," commented Knapp. "But I am lucky I wasn't injured (in the warm-up), and I am happy that my teammate was able to get a good result. Daytona is known for being really rough on bikes. There were six of us who didn't finish today and that is not typical for a normal SuperBike race. I am really looking forward to the next round at Road America where I think we can shoot closer to a top five."

Can Herrin, Cardenas, and company take advantage of the opportunity, or will the champ prove that he's still the man to beat despite his points deficit? Barring the addition of another round, the reshuffled SuperBike class will resume action on May 31-June 2 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

About GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing:

GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing is the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America and is universally regarded as one of the most competitive road racing organizations in the world. The 2012 schedule consists of 12 rounds of competition on the country's finest road courses. The Series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series. Learn more about GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing at www.amaproracing.com/rr/.

About AMA Pro Racing:

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.