DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(March 7, 2024) – The
opening Mission
SuperTwins victory of
the 2024 Progressive
American Flat Track,
sanctioned by AMA Pro
Racing, season went to
Dallas Daniels
(No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha
MT-07 DT) in a Royal
Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA
I that contained far
more drama than Daniels’ final
3.769-second margin of victory
would seem to indicate.
For much of the night –
including the opening half of
the Main Event – the fans that
packed the Daytona
International Speedway Flat
Track grandstands
thought they just might just
witness Sammy Halbert
(No. 69 Dodge Bros.
Racing/Castrol Harley-Davidson
XR750) give the iconic
Harley-Davidson XR750 its 503rd
Grand National
Championship race win
more than five decades after its
first.
In fact, Halbert topped a
session in both practice and
qualifying, won his heat race,
and then proved victorious in
the Mission #2Fast2Tasty
Challenge aboard the venerable
machine. He followed that up by
grabbing the holeshot in the
Main Event and then stretching
open more than a second’s worth
of padding at the front.
That advantage was further aided
by the stiff fight
Brandon Price (No. 92
Memphis Shades/Corbin/OTBR
Yamaha MT-07) provided all
comers while running second
despite the likes of Daniels,
Brandon Robinson
(No. 44 Mission Roof Systems
Indian FTR750), and
Briar Bauman (No. 3
Rick Ware Racing/KTM/Parts Plus
KTM 790 Duke) all seeking a way
through.
Daniels finally managed to make
a pass that stuck a little over
six minutes remaining on the
clock and immediately went about
eating up the gap to Halbert.
However, what promised to be a
thrilling dogfight for victory
was spoiled when Halbert’s
machine began to smoke heavily
with half of the race still
remaining.
The Estenson Racing Yamaha ace
dove through to steal away
first. Moments later, the black
flag was (first) shown to
Halbert, who continued to push
for several laps before finally
heeding the instruction.
Halbert’s misfortune saw Price
move back up into second with
Bauman third, while Daniels
weaved his way through traffic
out front en route to victory.
After the contest, Daniels – who
will now look to equal last
year’s season-opening double
victory at the venue – said,
“This track was so technical.
It was nothing like last year
where you could just kinda go in
and get it on. What a ride for
the team. We kind of struggled
all day, and I was just chipping
away. I started catching up to
Sammy, and he started to blow up
and coolant was getting in my
face. (Once in front), I started
looking back a lot. For some
reason I got nervous, but the
last five laps, I really buckled
down and those were my fastest
laps of the race.
“After Springfield, we left a
little bitter. It didn’t feel
good. That whole offseason we
worked hard. To get three in a
row at Daytona feels good. That
Main Event, I had so much fun
plugging away. I would prefer to
get the holeshot and be out
front but being able to come
through and dig my way to the
front felt good.”
Price held on for a most welcome
runner-up finish in his all-new
team’s maiden outing, while
Robinson moved through on a
fading Bauman to earn the final
spot on the podium.
In fact, Bauman’s tumble down
the order wouldn’t end there, as
he was also displaced by
Davis Fisher (No. 67
Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s
BMC Racing Indian FTR750),
nine-time Grand National
Champion Jared Mees
(No. 1 Rogers Racing/SDI
Racing/Indian Motorcycle
FTR750), and Jarod
Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC
Motorsports/Fairway Ford Ohio
Indian FTR750) before finishing
seventh in the end.
Cameron Smith
(No. 34 RVR/KTM/Schaefer’s
Motorsport KTM 790 Duke) picked
up eighth, one spot ahead of
Dan Bromley (No.
62 Big Red Super Twins/Al Lamb’s
Dallas Honda Transalp), who took
ninth in the new Honda-powered
effort’s debut. Mission
SuperTwins rookie Trevor
Brunner (No. 21 Mission
Foods/Zanotti Racing KTM 790
Duke) completed the top ten.
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER
Double defending Parts
Unlimited AFT Singles presented
by KICKER champion
Kody Kopp (No.
1 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus
KTM 450 SX-F) opened his quest
for an unprecedented third class
crown in near-perfect fashion,
walking away with the Main Event
after earlier winning both his
heat and the Al Lamb’s Dallas
Honda Challenge.
It was a fine way to not just
start his title defense but also
an all-new partnership after
joining the Rick Ware Racing
outfit just days prior to the
opener.
While Kopp claimed the checkered
flag running alone in the end,
it wasn’t quite that simple in
the doing. Despite grabbing the
holeshot, he was actually
overhauled by former class champ
Dalton Gauthier (No.
79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450
SX-F) before completing the
first lap.
Gauthier then pulled some space
at the front while Kopp had his
hands full with projected title
rivals Tom Drane (No.
59 Estenson Racing Yamaha
YZ450F) and Chase
Saathoff (No. 88 JPG
Motorsports Honda CRF450R).
But Kopp found his groove at
mid-distance, putting in a
charge that allowed him to
reclaim the lead and power
forward to secure the victory by
1.502 seconds over Gauthier.
“We just kept our heads on
straight the whole offseason,”
said Kopp. “I love this track,
and I love Daytona. Huge shout
out to Rick Ware for coming on
the program a little over a week
ago. We pulled it together, and
we got a win tonight. Wally
Brown built one heck of a KTM
450 – arguably even better than
the factory bikes I might say.”
Meanwhile, the final spot on the
box went to neither Drane – who
crashed on the last lap and was
ultimately credited in 15th –
nor Saathoff. Rather it was
Trent Lowe (No.
48 American Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R), who finished third by
battling his way back through
the pack after being pushed wide
and well down the order in the
early stages of the Main.
Saathoff finished fourth another
0.309 seconds back with
Justin Jones (No. 91
J&H Racing Husqvarna FC 450)
rounding out the top five.
Tyler Raggio
(No. 55 Raggio Racing/Sluggo
Racing KTM 450 SX-F),
James Ott (No. 19 1st
Impressions/Media HT Husqvarna
FC450), Travis Petton IV
(No. 82 ECG Racing/A.M Ortega
KTM 450 SX-F), Jared
Lowe (No. 63
BigR/Little Debbie Racing Honda
CRF450R), and Logan
Eisenhard (No. 66
Hannum’s Harley-Davidson KTM 450
SX-F) finished sixth through
tenth, respectively.
Earlier in the evening,
Taia Little (No. 11
Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited)
kicked off the Main Event
program by winning the
Royal Enfield Build. Train.
Race. season opener in
runaway fashion.
Next Up:
The world's premier dirt track
motorcycle racing series will
return to action tomorrow night
with the second half of the
double opener, the Royal
Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA
II. Visit
https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/daytona-short-track-ii-86992
to secure your
tickets now.
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
http://flosports.link/aft.
FOX Sports
coverage of the Royal
Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I
will premiere on FS1
on Saturday, March 16,
at 9:30 a.m. ET
(6:30 a.m. PT), while the
Royal Enfield Short
Track at DAYTONA II will
air the following day,
Sunday, March 17, at
12:00 p.m. ET
(9:00 a.m. PT).
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com.