Well put. Your first sentence says it all...Daytona is so hard on equipment, has unique pit stop situations, and is the first race of the season. All bets are off, even though you can have favorites to root for.
That said, if you look at past Daytonas and include 600 Supersport victories along with Superbike wins, Duhamel is the true Mr.Daytona- not Ru$$ell!