The race's roots trace to 1932, when the Southeastern Motorcycle Dealers Association organised a 200-mile dirt track event at the old Vanderbilt Cup course in Savannah, Georgia. A second Savannah race followed in 1933 and the event moved to a work camp near Jacksonville in 1934, before returning to Savannah in 1936.
Promoter Bill France Sr. relocated the event to Daytona Beach in 1937, establishing what became known as the Daytona 200 on the 3.2-mile (5.1 km) Daytona Beach Road Course. Racing was suspended between 1942 and 1946 because of wartime restrictions. In 1948 the course moved further south toward Ponce Inlet and was extended to 4.1 miles (6.6 km) because of urban development along the original beach stretch. Floyd Emde won the 1948 beach race on an Indian.
By the mid-1950s rapid urban growth around Daytona Beach made the beach course increasingly difficult to use. France negotiated with the city and began construction of Daytona International Speedway in 1957 on a site near the Daytona airport. The 2.5-mile (4.0 km) paved oval with steep bankings opened in 1959. France persuaded AMA officials to move the Daytona 200 to the Speedway in 1961, at which point competitors switched from dirt track machinery to road racing motorcycles. Safety concerns prevented the use of the 31-degree banking for the first three years; the race used the infield road course alongside the tri-oval section.
Through the 1960s attendance rebuilt after initial resistance from traditionalists. By the early 1970s the Daytona 200 drew the largest crowds of any AMA race and had become a centrepiece of the wider Daytona Beach Bike Week gathering. In 1969 Yvon Duhamel lapped the oval on a 350 cc Yamaha TD3 in under one minute — the first rider to average over 150 mph on a motorcycle there — signalling the rise of two-stroke machinery.
Don Emde won the 1972 Daytona 200 on a Yamaha TR3, becoming the first rider to win the event on a two-stroke and beginning thirteen consecutive Yamaha victories, including nine by the dominant Yamaha TZ750. His victory also made him and his father Floyd the first father-and-son winners in the race's history.
In 1973 Jarno Saarinen, the reigning 250 cc world champion, became the first European to win the Daytona 200. The following year 15-time world champion Giacomo Agostini claimed victory, cementing the event's international reputation. In 1975 Venezuelan rookie Johnny Cecotto finished third despite starting last, reportedly passing half the field on the opening lap. The event's prestige inspired European equivalents including the Imola 200 and the Paul Ricard 200.
A chicane was added in 1973 at the end of the back straight to reduce speeds as two-stroke engine power outpaced tyre technology. The dangers were vividly illustrated in 1975 when documentary cameras filmed Barry Sheene crashing at over 170 mph on the banking after a rear tyre failure.
As two-stroke Grand Prix machinery pushed horsepower beyond 100 bhp, organisers replaced it with the Superbike Production class in 1985. This aligned with a global trend toward Superbike racing and contributed to the formation of the FIM Superbike World Championship in 1988. The shift to production-based machinery reduced international entries and marked the beginning of a long decline in the event's prestige. By the late 1990s even Superbikes were overheating tyres on the banking and the West Banking was eliminated. After 2004 the race moved to a Supersport-based class and restored both bankings, though the change confused spectators accustomed to seeing the most powerful machines in the feature race. Steve Rapp's 2007 Kawasaki victory was the first for that manufacturer since 1995 and the first privateer win since 1989.
MotoAmerica took over promotion of the Daytona 200 in 2022 after earlier disputes had at points left the race off the national schedule. The 2020 race was cancelled — the first cancellation since World War II — because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the event moved and ultimately cancelled when the city cancelled Biketoberfest. The 2021 race produced a dramatic finish with Brandon Paasch overtaking Sean Dylan Kelly at the line by 0.03 seconds. For 2026 the race is scheduled to become a full MotoAmerica championship round under updated Supersport rules.
Scott Russell and Miguel Duhamel share the record with five Daytona 200 victories each. Russell, known as "Mr. Daytona," won all five in the Superbike class. Nine FIM world champions have won the race, including seven 500 cc or MotoGP World Champions.