DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(March 24, 2024) – Reigning
Mission SuperTwins champion
Jared Mees (No.
1 Rogers Racing/SDI
Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750)
turned to his successful ‘23
script, once again rebounding
from a quiet season opener with
a statement performance in the
Yamaha Senoia Short
Track at Senoia
Raceway in Senoia,
Georgia, Round 3 of the 2024
Progressive American
Flat Track season,
sanctioned by AMA Pro
Racing.
That said, Sunday’s ride didn’t
exactly get underway as he’d
originally envisioned. The
factory Indian star was involved
in a minor pre-race dispute and
was forced to line up on the far
outside of Row 1 after believing
he could select the slot at the
bottom. Even if it went against
his wishes, the swap either
gifted him the ideal position or
the motivation required to make
it work, as Mees promptly
blasted into the lead once the
race got underway.
Even with the benefit of that
prime launch, Dallas
Daniels (No. 32
Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT)
was quickly looking for a way by
and slid underneath to steal
away first less than a minute
into the Main Event. But Mees
had an answer, reclaiming the
position a short two laps later
and then went about steadily
working his way to what proved
to be a 1.591-second margin of
victory.
Afterward Mees said, “I fast
qualified earlier in the day,
but I didn’t really feel good. I
was making some decent laps but
also making a lot of mistakes.
In the (Mission #2Fast2Tasty
Challenge), Dallas ate my lunch
– I was really worried about
him; he and his team were
rolling really good. He was
really consistent and could get
the bike turned, and that’s
where I was struggling all day.
We made some changes and went a
direction we’ve never gone
before with some things. And the
motorcycle was phenomenal. It
turned great and rolled good.
Everything I needed it to do all
day, it finally came to me.”
The fight for third was a
hard-fought three-way affair for
much of the race, led for a long
spell by Johnny Lewis
(No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered
by Royal Enfield 650) with
Brandon Robinson
(No. 44 Mission Roof Systems
Indian FTR750) and Briar
Bauman (No. 3 Rick Ware
Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790
Duke) jammed up close behind.
Lewis did well to keep Robinson
and Bauman corralled behind him
for the majority of the contest,
but their superior pace
ultimately won out – at least
once Bauman showed they could
tap into the high line to find a
path through.
Free of the Royal Enfield
runner, Robinson then managed to
keep two-time champion Bauman at
bay by just over a
tenth-of-a-second at the flag.
Lewis, meanwhile, found himself
also overtaken by a charging
Jarod Vanderkooi (No.
20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford
Ohio Indian FTR750), who secured
the final spot in the top five
after circulating as low as
ninth in the early going.
The remainder of the top ten
consisted of a pair of
premier-class veterans –
Brandon Price (No. 92
Memphis Shades/Corbin/OTBR
Yamaha MT-07) and Davis
Fisher (No. 67 Rackley
Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing
Indian FTR750) – and class
rookies – Trevor Brunner
(No. 21 Mission Foods/Zanotti
Racing KTM 790 Duke) and
Max Whale (No. 18 Latus
Motors Racing/Liqui Moly
Harley-Davidson XG750R).
Mees’ triumph elevated him from
sixth to third in the points
(54), but he continues to trail
Daniels (64) and Robinson (61),
the duo having upped their
respective ‘24 podium streaks to
a perfect three for three.
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER
Reigning two-time Parts
Unlimited AFT Singles presented
by KICKER king
Kody Kopp (No. 1 Rick
Ware Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450
SX-F) continued to build his
case as the most accomplished
rider in class history, earning
a record-tying sixth career
Short Track win on Sunday
afternoon.
While in the end, the victory
proved a lonely one, that order
first had to be forged in chaos.
Former class champion
Dalton Gauthier (No. 79
D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450
SX-F) grabbed the holeshot with
title fighters Tom
Drane (No. 59 Estenson
Racing Yamaha YZ450F),
Chase Saathoff (No. 88
JPG Motorsports Honda CRF450R),
and Kopp running alongside while
sorting out second in shadow.
In one fell swoop, that fight
for second became one for the
lead as Drane and Saathoff both
went under Gauthier at the same
moment Kopp ringed around the
outside, all despite no obvious
mistake on Gauthier’s part.
Kopp continued to work the high
line, using it to both overhaul
Drane and make his escape in
relatively short order.
At that point, the top three
broke apart, while Gauthier lost
one final position to
Aiden RoosEvans (No. 26
FRA Trust/ATV’s and More Yamaha
YZ450F), who ran just removed
from the lead pack for the
entirety of the race.
“I’m happy to be up here and be
able to spin laps like that,”
Kopp said. “Hats off to Tom,
Chase, and Dalton – those first
few laps were chaos. I got a
terrible start and tried to roll
‘em around the outside. Huge
shout out to my Rick Ware Racing
team and everybody that’s behind
me. We’re ready to get on a roll
now.”
2023 Senoia Short Track podium
finisher James Ott (No.
19 1st Impressions Race Team
Husqvarna FC450) took sixth,
followed by Hunter Bauer
(No. 24 Vinson
Construction/American
Harley-Davidson, Yamaha YZ450F),
Trent Lowe (No.
48 American Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R), and Travis
Petton IV (No. 82 ECG
Racing/A.M Ortega KTM 450 SX-F).
The final spot in the top ten
was earned by Bradon
Pfanders (No. 288
Pfanders Racing/Scott
Powersports KTM 450 SX-F), who
made an extremely impressive
Progressive AFT debut
immediately after becoming
eligible by turning 16.
Kopp already boasts an early
17-point advantage over Gauthier
(71-54) with Drane (51) and
Saathoff (50) placed third and
fourth and desperate to prevent
the double defending champ from
executing another championship
runaway.
Next Up:
The Progressive American Flat
Track tour will compete on a
Half-Mile for the first time
this season with the
Mission Texas
Half-Mile presented by Al Lamb’s
Dallas Honda and Roof Systems of
Dallas at Texas Motor
Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas,
on Saturday, April 27. Please
visit
https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/texas-half-mile-86387
to secure your tickets today.
For those who can’t catch the
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 Yamaha Senoia
Short Track, featuring
in-depth features and thrilling
onboard cameras, will premiere
on FS1 on
Sunday, March 31,
at 12:30 p.m. ET
(9:30 a.m. PT).
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com