DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(March 6, 2025) – The
first Progressive
American Flat Track,
sanctioned by AMA Pro
Racing, round of the
post-Jared Mees
era saw preseason
Mission AFT SuperTwins
title favorite Dallas
Daniels (No. 32
Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT)
do what many expected and claim
victory under the lights of the
Flat Track at Daytona
International Speedway
in Thursday’s season-opening
Royal Enfield Short
Track at DAYTONA I.
How it was achieved, however,
came as a genuine surprise.
In fact, it was anything but a
day of domination for Daniels,
despite the fact that he’d won
three of the previous four Main
Events at the venue. If
anything, the Estenson Racing
ace was relatively quiet
throughout practice and
qualifying, starting the Main
Event from Row 2 after failing
to qualify for the Mission
#2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
Instead, the star of the show
for all but the final minute of
the Main Event was Briar
Bauman (No. 3 RWR/Parts
Plus/Latus Motors
Harley-Davidson XG750R), who
appeared on the verge of guiding
the Harley-Davidson XG750R to
its maiden premier-class
victory.
New to the bike but reunited
with crew chief Dave Zanotti and
mechanic Michelle Disalvo at
Rick Ware Racing, Bauman was
smooth and in control on a very
tricky track. He put his name
atop the charts during practice,
qualifying, and the Mission
#2Fast2Tasty Challenge, before
storming off into the lead at
the start of the Main.
Daniels showed renewed signs of
life as soon as the race that
mattered most got underway,
diving under front-row
qualifiers Davis Fisher
(No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob
Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790
Duke), Henry Wiles
(No. 911 J&M Logging/Ray C’s
Harley-Davidson Kawasaki Ninja
650), and Brandon
Robinson (No. 44
Mission Roof Systems
Harley-Davidson XG750R) in rapid
succession to move into second
However, even with clear air in
front of him, Daniels didn’t
appear to have the measure of
Bauman, who stretched the gap
out to over a second deep into
the contest. That all changed as
the two encountered lapped
traffic, which allowed the
Yamaha pilot to erase the
distance and then execute a pass
for the lead with just 35
seconds remaining on the clock.
A rare bobble on Bauman’s part
then provided Daniels with the
breathing space he needed to
make it four wins in his last
five tries in Daytona Beach.
The victory also marked Daniels
first win since before the
training accident that ended his
title chances a season ago.
He said, “I hate that everybody
has to hear my sob story again,
‘I broke my leg leading the
championship (last year).’ I
mean, it sucked. It sucked so
bad. It sucked so bad for me,
but even more for the team. It’s
one of those things when you’re
lying at home, and you wonder if
you’ll ever be able to do it
again. Even though I was on the
podium those last three races,
you still wonder.
“And then I show up here at
Daytona – a place that I love
and do well at usually – and I
was just on the struggle bus all
day long. No matter what changes
we made, I just could not get
comfortable. But my team… this
win is because of the team. They
just kept working and kept
working. When I went out there
for that warm-up lap, I knew I
had something for them. But how
impressive was Briar? The dude
gets on a different bike that
has never won, and he was the
toughest competition. He’s going
to be tough all year.”
Third place went to 40-year-old
Wiles, who was brandishing the
unfamiliar #911 instead of his
usual #17, which was unavailable
to him due to not competing last
season. The time away didn’t
steal any of his speed or
aggression, a fact he proved
convincingly while overcoming
Fisher in an intense mid-race
scrap for the final podium
position.
Still, Fisher held on for a
strong fourth-place debut on the
KTM, while Robinson made it two
XGs in the top five.
Brandon Price
(No. 92 Memphis Shades/Vinson
Construction/OTBR Yamaha MT-07),
who finished as the runner-up in
last year’s opener, came home
sixth. Meanwhile, Jarod
VanDerKooi (No. 20
Fastrack Racing/Wally Brown
Racing KTM 790 Duke),
Trent Lowe (No. 48
American Honda/Progressive
Insurance Honda Transalp),
Max Whale (No.
18 Moto Anatomy X Powered by
Royal Enfield 650), and
James Ott (No. 19 G&G
Racing Yamaha MT-07) finished
seventh through tenth,
respectively.
Those results meant that six
different makes of equipment
(Yamaha, Harley-Davidson,
Kawasaki, KTM, Honda, and Royal
Enfield) were represented in the
top ten in the first race
featuring the new all-production
based ruleset. A seventh
(Suzuki), clocked the second
fastest time in practice before
a promising event met a
premature end for Dan
Bromley (No. 62 Memphis
Shades/Vinson Construction
Suzuki GSX-8S), who was unable
to compete after suffering a
deep cut that required medical
attention.
AFT Singles presented by
KICKER
Not that any of them needed it,
but three-time AFT
Singles presented by KICKER
king Kody Kopp
(No. 1 Bob Lanphere/KTM/Fastrack
Racing KTM 450 SX-F) provided
the class’ current crop of
championship hopefuls a reminder
of exactly whose #1 plate they
were chasing.
While Kopp is committed to
proving himself a
national-caliber roadracer this
season, his talents on dirt
remain elite. With an open
weekend in his preseason
pavement prep, Kopp pulled
together a last-minute effort to
participate in the Progressive
AFT opener and didn’t miss a
beat.
A less-than-ideal start allowed
Kopp to underline that message
as he worked his way past the
up-and-coming Tarren
Santero (No. 75 Mission
Roof Systems Honda CRF450R), ‘24
title rival Tom Drane
(No. 59 Estenson Racing
Yamaha YZ450F), and finally ‘19
class champ Dalton
Gauthier (No. 79 D&D
Certified Racing KTM 450 SX-F)
on his way to the front.
Once there, Kopp set sail en
route to his fourth career
triumph in Daytona. However, his
eventual trip to the top step of
the podium was momentarily
delayed due to a late-race red
flag.
That stoppage could be traced
all the way back to a disastrous
start saw title hopeful
Chase Saathoff (No. 88
RWR/Parts Plus Honda CRF450R)
left standing still at the green
light with his arms waving while
the rest of the grid powered by.
His subsequent charge up through
the field eventually saw him
clash with Chad Cose
(No. 49 1st Impressions
Race Team Husqvarna FC450),
leaving both riders on the
ground.
Kopp survived the staggered
restart without suffering any
unwanted drama, while Drane
managed to steal second from
Gauthier in the shuffle.
After the race, Kopp said, “It
feels awesome. I just can’t stay
away from it. I’m transitioning
to roadracing, and it’s a big
step. It’s challenging, and I’m
really excited about the
challenge. But I couldn’t stay
away. I live 15 minutes away
from here now, and Bob Lanphere
wanted to put this thing
together, and we got it done.
Huge thanks to Bob, and Kenny
(Roberts) and Arney (Wick) from
my roadrace program for giving
me the go ahead to do this.”
Fourth was taken by the
returning Trevor Brunner
(No. 21 American
Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R),
who edged young Bradon
Pfanders (No. 83
Hannum’s HD/Pfanders Racing KTM
450 SX-F) and Santero for the
position.
Evan Renshaw
(No. 65 1st Impressions Race
Team Husqvarna FC450) finished
seventh in his first race with
1st Impressions Husqvarna while
Saathoff managed to slash his
way up to eighth to salvage a
decent result after being forced
to restart from the back of the
grid.
Aidan RoosEvans
(No. 26 FRA Trust/ATV’s and More
Yamaha YZ450F) and Jared
Lowe (No. 63
BigR/Little Debbie Racing Honda
CRF450R) rounded out the top
ten.
Earlier in the evening,
Emma Gottsch (No. 5
Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited)
opened the Main Event program
with a victorious performance in
her Royal Enfield Build.
Train. Race. debut. She
was flanked on the podium by
Taia Little
(No. 11 Royal Enfield/Parts
Unlimited) and Mallory
McGill (No. 58 Royal
Enfield/Parts Unlimited).
Next Up:
The world's premier dirt track
motorcycle racing series will
return to the track 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/daytona-short-track-ii-119108
to secure your tickets today.
For those that can’t catch the
live action from the circuit,
FloRacing is
the live streaming home of
Progressive AFT. Sign up now and
catch every second of on-track
action starting with Practice &
Qualifying and ending with the
Victory Podium at the end of the
night at
https://flosports.link/aft.
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 15,
at 12:00 p.m. ET
(9:00 a.m. PT), with the
Royal Enfield Short Track at
DAYTONA II set to air
the following day, Sunday, March
16, at 1:00 p.m. ET
(10:00 a.m. PT).
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com.
