Third Time’s a Charm? Gear Up for Round 3 at Yamaha Senoia Short Track, Where Past Visits Foretold Grand National Championship Battles

(Pictured: Briar Bauman #3, Dallas Daniels #32, Brandon Robinson #44; Photo Credit: American Flat Track/Tim Lester)

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 25, 2025) – The 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, resumes this Saturday, March 29, with the third annual Yamaha Senoia Short Track at Senoia Raceway in Senoia, Georgia. 

  

Third Time’s a Charm? 

 

The two prior stops at Senoia Raceway served as microcosmic previews of the Grand National Championship battles to come. 

 

On both of those occasions – just as he will again this year – Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) came into Yamaha’s home round riding high after a spectacular Daytona double opener. 

 

In 2023, Daniels fought back and forth with reigning Mission AFT SupertTwins king Jared Mees throughout only to be edged at the stripe. And in the 2024 rematch, Daniels claimed the early advantage only to see Mees take control and pull free by the end. 

 

While those battles also served as neat little summaries of their respective ‘23 and ‘24 title clashes, it remains to be seen if the Yamaha Senoia Short Track will retain its predictive powers in Mees’ absence. 

 

Daniels no doubt hopes it does, only this time in overwhelming favor. 

 

Title sponsor Yamaha is still seeking its first victory in either class at Senoia. However, that’s not to suggest the manufacturer hasn’t been able to protect its home turf altogether since Yamaha Motor Corporation relocated its USA headquarters from California to the greater Atlanta area in late 2018. 

 

While shut out from the podium in the 2019 Yamaha Atlanta Short Track at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Georgia, Yamaha fared considerably better in the 2020 doubleheader return, where Daniels doubled up in AFT Singles presented by KICKER competition and  claimed top honors in the second AFT Production Twins Main. 

 

That was only a taste of what was to come in 2021; Yamaha cleaned up at the Yamaha Atlanta Super TT in a manner rarely seen at a single round. Armed with two of the modern era’s greatest TT riders, Yamaha won all three Main Events courtesy of maestros JD Beach (Mission AFT SuperTwins) and Daniels (AFT Singles and AFT Production Twins). 

 

If that wasn’t enough, Mikey Rush made it an Estenson Racing Yamaha 1-2 in 450cc action while then Yamaha-mounted Dan Bromley joined Daniels on the AFT Production Twins podium. 

 

Yamaha comes into this weekend’s Senoia Short Track with similar potential, boasting last year’s race and championship runners-up in both classes with parallel goals of claiming vacated thrones. 

 

So now it’s up to Daniels and teammate Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) to properly set the tone for the season in the friendly confines of Senoia Raceway. 

 

Read the full story HERE.

AFT Singles presented by KICKER Showdown Set for Yamaha Senoia Short Track: Rising Stars Look to Take Charge in Round 3

(Pictured: Bradon Pfanders #83, Evan Renshaw #65, Tom Drane #59, Dalton Gauthier #79, Kody Kopp #1; Photo Credit: American Flat Track/Scott Hunter)

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 25, 2025) – The AFT Singles presented by KICKER class comes into this weekend’s Yamaha Senoia Short Track, Round 3 of the 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, just waiting for a rider to take charge. 

 

The early title fight is compressed at the top among the season-long contenders as exiting triple champion Kody Kopp (No. 1 Bob Lanphere/KTM/Fastrack Racing KTM 450 SX-F) stole away maximum points in his sensational one-off ride in the Daytona double opener.  

 

Kopp’s performance leaves the full-time field unsettled and motivated as it arrives at Senoia Raceway in Senoia, Georgia, this Saturday, March 29. 

Moving On, Moving Forward 

Preseason title favorites Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) and Chase Saathoff (No. 88 RWR/Parts Plus Honda CRF450R) came into the ‘25 season more than ready to take the mantle from Kopp. 

 

And the archrivals had done well to prove they had earned their positions atop the class's remade hierarchy, kicking the three-time champion to the pavement (literally) with three consecutive 1-2 finishes to end the 2024 season. 

 

Or so they thought. Kopp returned to one of his best tracks and did the business. But there’s little time to lick their wounds; Drane and Saathoff will need to immediately put Daytona behind them and refocus on the larger fight ahead. 

 

Mirror, Mirror… 

 

We’ve previously pointed out how eerily similar the situation Drane finds himself in now is to that of his Estenson Racing Yamaha teammate, Dallas Daniels, albeit in different classes. 

 

In brief: both riders are seeking redemption after losing out on potential title runs a year ago due largely to misfortune. And both riders are left to do so without the opportunity to at last overcome the reigning champion they long strove to defeat. 

 

And here’s yet another way in which they are similar. While Daniels broke the record for most consecutive Mission AFT SuperTwins podiums in the sport’s modern era at the ‘25 season opener, Drane is poised to pull off the same feat in AFT Singles competition this weekend. 

 

Here’s the list of 5+ race podium streaks in AFT Singles history: 
 

Tom Drane: 8 (2024-2025 ACTIVE) 

Kody Kopp: 8 (2024) 

Chase Saathoff: 7 (2023) 

Dallas Daniels: 7 (2020) 

Davis Fisher: 7 (2014) 

Brad Baker: 7 (2009) 

Kody Kopp: 6 (2023-2024) 

Dalton Gauthier: 6 (2022-2023) 

Chase Saathoff: 5 (2023) 

Trevor Brunner: 5 (2022) 

Dalton Gauthier: 6 (2016-2017) 

Davis Fisher: 5 (2015) 

Jeffrey Carver, Jr.: 5 (2010) 

Brad Baker: 5 (2010) 

 

Drane’s tremendous form predates the streak; just as impressively, he’s claimed 15 podiums in his last 17 attempts. 

 

You can expect the Aussie to pull out all the stops in order to break the record in style at Yamaha’s home round this weekend.  

 

Read the full story HERE.

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Media Contact:

Ashley Robinson

AMA Pro Racing

Director, Marketing & Communications

(386) 944-7679
arobinson@amaproracing.com

 

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