DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(March 5, 2026) –
The 2026 Progressive
American Flat Track
season, sanctioned by
AMA Pro Racing,
kicked off in truly
unforgettable fashion in
Thursday night’s
season-opening Royal
Enfield Short Track at
DAYTONA I as
Kody Kopp
(No. 12 Latus Motors Racing
Harley-Davidson XG750R)
became the only rider in
Mission AFT
SuperTwins history
to claim victory in their
very first attempt.
While widely expected to
contend as a rookie, Kopp’s
unprecedented achievement at
the DAYTONA Flat
Track still served
to put the established
powers of the Grand
National Championship
on notice. Perhaps
most impressively, Kopp’s
triumph didn’t even come as
an upset by the time the
Main Event rolled around, as
the triple KICKER
AFT Singles king
was in in dominant form much
of the night; Kopp posted
the fastest time in
qualifying, won his heat
with relative ease, and then
took the checkered flag in
the Mission
#2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
Despite that stirring
lead-up performance,
however, the Main Event
itself proved a brutally
tense affair.
Reigning class champion
Dallas Daniels
(No. 1 Estenson Racing
Yamaha MT-07) entered the
opener as the pre-event
favorite, having won five of
the last six races in
Daytona Beach (incidentally,
a record mirrored by Kopp in
450cc action). But the
Estenson Racing superstar
found himself nearly two
seconds adrift of Kopp less
than halfway into the Main
after getting caught up
between Trent Lowe
(No. 48 American
Honda/Mission Foods Honda
CB750 Hornet) and
Sammy Halbert (No.
69 Martin
Trucking/OnlyFans/Castrol
Yamaha MT-07) as the race
took its shape.
Daniels certainly fought
back like a champion,
however, slowly chipping
away at that deficit once he
established himself in
second. He slashed the gap
to 0.500 with a
minute-and-a-half to go and
then closed right on the
Latus Motors Racing pilot’s
rear wheel as they stormed
past the two-laps-to-go
flags while negotiating
lapped traffic.
Despite coming under immense
pressure, Kopp appeared set
to hold strong when he took
the white flag. Moments
later, however, the race was
stopped after third-place
runner Lowe crashed, and his
bike went up in flames.
By rule, the race was called
complete at that point,
locking up Kopp’s place in
the record books. Daniels
was awarded second,
officially 0.150 seconds
back, while Henry
Wiles (No. 911 J&M
Logging/Ray C’s
Harley-Davidson Kawasaki
Ninja 650) – who finished
third in this same race a
year ago – was elevated to
the final spot on the podium
due to Lowe’s misfortune.
Wiles put himself in a
position to earn that
distinction after passing
fellow series part-timer and
ST ace Sammy Halbert
(No. 69 Martin
Trucking/OnlyFans/Castrol
Yamaha MT-07) with less than
a minute on the clock.
Afterward, Kopp said, “I’ve
dreamed of this since I was
five years old, ever since I
knew what flat track racing
really was and understood
it. By no means is this how
I wanted to win my first
national though – I want to
come back tomorrow night and
prove it with an actual
checkered flag. Dallas kept
me honest. It’s no joke
racing against him – I
haven’t raced against him
really since my rookie year.
I know the task at hand – or
at least, I’m starting to
learn it – because he’s a
real challenge out there,
for sure.”
While Kopp gave the
Harley-Davidson XG750R its
tenth-ever premier-class
victory, the bike’s usual
standard-bearers endured
significantly more difficult
outings.
Two-time Grand National
Champion Briar
Bauman (No. 3
RWR/Jacob Construction/Parts
Plus Harley-Davidson XG750R)
crashed after being run up
into the wall moments after
the original start, forcing
an immediate stoppage.
Despite then restarting from
the back of the pack, Bauman
snaked his way forward to an
eventual seventh.
That was one position behind
Brandon Robinson
(No. 44 Mission Roof Systems
Harley-Davidson XG750R), who
had to work his way into the
Main via the LCQ after
encountering mechanical
issues in his heat. Like
Bauman, Robinson charged up
through the field but fell
0.150 seconds short of a
top-five result, ending his
race just behind fifth-place
finisher Davis
Fisher (No. 67
Rackley Racing/Bob
Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM
790 Duke).
Dan Bromley
(No. 62 Memphis Shades/Lisa
Niner Racing Suzuki GSX-8S)
came home eighth, while
Ben Lowe
(No. 25 Rackley Racing/Roof
Systems KTM 790 Duke) and
Dalton Gauthier
(No. 79 Parts
Bros/D&D Cycles/Fairway Ford
Aprilia Tuareg 660) rounded
out the top ten.
Kopp won’t just have a
chance to get that Main
Event checkered flag
tomorrow – he’ll have three
as Friday’s Royal
Enfield Short Track at
DAYTONA II Mission
AFT SuperTwins rematch will
be waged under the
Mission Triple Challenge
format.
KICKER AFT Singles
Tom Drane
(No. 1 Estenson Racing
Yamaha YZ450F) opened his
2026 KICKER AFT
Singles title
defense in the same
victorious fashion by which
he closed out the 2025
season to secure his shiny
new #1 plate.
The Australian picked up
right where he left off,
carrying over his
season-ending four-race win
streak and upping it to five
– but the fifth did not come
easily.
A chaotic opening several
laps saw Drane, archrival
Chase Saathoff
(No. 88 1st
Impressions Race Team
Husqvarna FC450), an on-form
Logan Eisenhard
(No. 66 Eisenhard
Racing/Pags Powersports KTM
450 SX-F), and ‘15 DAYTONA
winner Justin Jones
(No. 91 Fairway Ford Chevy
GMC Yamaha YZ450F) swap
positions relentlessly as
they jockeyed for position.
And when Drane finally
settled into the lead and
stretched out nearly a
second at the front, all
that effort was erased as
due to a red flag that flew
in response to an incident
involving Tarren
Santero (No. 75
Roof Systems/Vinson
Construction Honda CRF450R)
and Kage Tadman
(No. 28 American
Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R).
Saathoff made the most of
the do-over, immediately
jumping on Drane and
snatching away the lead with
just over two minutes and
two laps remaining to
determine the winner.
The Aussie then sought long
and hard for a way to claw
back past and at last found
it with only a half-minute
to go.
“I wasn’t sure what was
going to happen with the
restart,” Drane admitted. “I
got a decent start, but
Chase put up a helluva
battle. It’s great to get
the win. This is a great way
to start the season, and I
couldn’t have done it
without my whole Estenson
Racing Monster Energy Yamaha
team. They put in an awesome
effort in the offseason, and
we’re here to do the job.”
The ever-present
Trevor Brunner (No.
21 KMA Racing/March
Equipment Yamaha YZ450F)
made his way up the order to
grab the final spot on the
box. Behind the usual
suspects came rookie
Jack Brucks (No.
113 1st Impressions Race
Team Husqvarna FC450), who
made a head-turning class
debut in fourth.
Eisenhard worked back past
Jones with just over one lap
remaining to earn the final
spot in the top five.
Canadian Jordan
Beaulac (No. 156
Picotte Motosport/Dofralex
GASGAS MC 450F) finished
seventh, followed by
Bradon Pfanders
(No. 83 Memphis
Shades/Corbin Seats Yamaha
YZ450F), Tadman, and
Ryder Reese (No. 41
Fairway Ford/JMC/Roof
Systems KTM 450 SX-F).
AFT ProSport 450
Sam Drane
(No. 7 Estenson Racing
Yamaha YZ450F) joined his
older brother in taking a
win on the night by claiming
the first victory of the
AFT ProSport 450
era.
Drane overhauled
Ryder Bitz-Hay (No.
14 Bitz-Hay Racing KTM 450
SX-F) to earn the
Road to AFT Amateur
Invitational
victory after finishing
second to him in Wednesday's
450 Road to AFT
Main at the
Mission Foods CTR Showcase
Event, a contest
which earned the riders
their place on Thursday’s
entry list.
Jed Fyffe
(No. 23 Thriller
Motorsports/Yamaha Australia
YZ450F) and Jett
Katarzy (No. 17 1st
Impressions Husqvarna FC450)
finished just behind
Bitz-Hay in third and
fourth, respectively, while
Brody Hanson
(No. 99 Hanson Racing KTM
450 SX-F) completed the top
five.
Drane said, “I had to work
hard for that one. Ryder
didn’t make a mistake the
whole time until that one
time, and I got through. It
was a great race and very
good fun.”
Royal Enfield Build.
Train. Race. (BTR)
Emma Gottsch
(No. 5 Royal Enfield/Parts
Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars)
repeated her season-opening
feat of a year ago, once
again securing the first win
of the Royal Enfield
Build. Train. Race. (BTR)
season. Goottsch
leapt out into the lead from
the start and put her head
down en route to a lopsided
win.
She was followed to the
checkered flag by BTR rookie
Julia Heess
(No. 13 Royal Enfield/Parts
Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars),
who just managed to keep
second-year rider
Madicela Rodriguez
(No. 113 Royal Enfield/Parts
Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars)
at bay.
The class, which is
showcasing the efforts of
women in racing for a
seventh season in 2026, will
be back in action tomorrow
night.
Next Up
The world's premier dirt
track motorcycle racing
series will be back in
action tomorrow night for
the second half of the
season-opening Royal
Enfield Short Track at
DAYTONA
doubleheader. Visit
https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/2026-daytona-short-track-ii-150638
to secure your tickets
today.
How to Watch
FloRacing
For those that can’t catch
the live action at the
track, FloRacing is the live
streaming home of
Progressive American Flat
Track. Motorsports fans can
subscribe to FloRacing to
enjoy over 1,000 live
motorsports events in 2026.
FloSports is available by
visiting
https://flosports.link/AFT2026
or by downloading the
FloSports app on iOS,
Android, Apple TV, Roku,
Amazon Fire and Chromecast.
FS1
FOX Sports coverage of the
Royal Enfield Short Track at
DAYTONA I, featuring
in-depth features and
thrilling onboard cameras,
will premiere on FS1 on
Saturday, March 14, at 8:30
a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. PT), with
the Royal Enfield Short
Track at DAYTONA II set to
air on Saturday, March 21,
at 12:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m.
PT). The full listing of
American Flat Track’s
television premieres can be
found at
https://www.americanflattrack.com/events-foxsports.
