DAYTONA
BEACH, Fla. (April
25, 2026) – Briar
Bauman (No. 3
RWR/Jacob
Construction/Parts
Plus Harley-Davidson
XG750R) formally
announced his
arrival as a 2026
Grand National
Championship
contender with a
dominant performance
in Saturday’s
Memphis Shades
Ventura Short Track
presented by 805
Beer.
Even after
a somewhat-slower-than-expected
start to his ‘26
Mission
AFT SuperTwins campaign,
Bauman's one-sided
victory at Ventura
Raceway came as
little surprise. The
win was his third
straight at the
ocean-side venue and
served as a stark
reminder to the rest
of the field the
type of performance
the two-time
premier-class
champion is capable
of when on his
game.
Bauman blasted into
the lead from the
start and soon
after eliminated the
threat of all but
fellow
Harley-Davidson ace
Kody Kopp (No. 12
Latus Motors Racing
Harley-Davidson
XG750R).
The rookie points
leader did all he
could just to
keep Bauman in sight
as they raced away
from the pack. But
despite his best
efforts,
Bauman ultimately
proved too strong.
Kopp was given a
glimmer of hope late
when Bauman got hung
up behind a
three-rider group
waging fifth
position as
he lapped his way up
the order. However,
Bauman’s hard work
and big lead paid
off, as he held on
to grab the
checkered flag with
a 1.373-second
margin of victory.
After earning his
first win of the
season, Bauman
admitted, “I got a
little
bit greedy the first
three rounds. I kind
of led the team in a
difficult direction.
We wanted to bite
off more than we
could chew, and we
got a little ahead
of
ourselves. So apologies
to Rick Ware Racing
and the whole
family, but this is
where we belong.
“I love coming here.
I see my friends. I
see my family where
I grew up. I'm a
pretty good Short
Tracker, so I enjoy
riding this track in
general… I'm so
proud of my guys. We
did something
massive tonight.”
Dallas Daniels (No.
1 Estenson Racing
Yamaha MT-07)
finished third but
required a good deal
of luck to claim his
usual spot on the
podium.
Earlier, the
reigning class king
engaged in a
bar-banging battle
with a motivated
Davis Fisher (No. 67
Rackley Racing/Bob
Lanphere’s BMC
Racing KTM 790
Duke). But just as
Fisher looked to
have gotten the
better of Daniels,
he was dealt a cruel
hand of mechanical
misfortune with less
than
a minute remaining
on the clock.
Fisher’s
disappointment also
elevated part-timer
Bronson Bauman (No.
37 Dick Ford
Racing/Mission/Roof
Systems Yamaha
MT-07) to a hugely
impressive fourth in
his 2026 debut.
Fisher’s teammate,
Ben Lowe (No. 25
Rackley Racing/Roof
Systems KTM 790
Duke), rounded out
the top five,
finishing just ahead
of Aidan RoosEvans
(No. 26 FRA Trust
Advisors
Harley-Davidson
XG750R) and Trent
Lowe (No. 48
American
Honda/Mission Foods
Honda CB750
Hornet).
Logan Mcgrane (No.
14
Schaffers MotorSports/Ryan
Varnes Racing KTM
790 Duke), Jacob
Lehmann (No. 16
Weirbach Racing
Kawasaki Ninja 650),
and Evan Renshaw
(No. 95 Moto Anatomy
X Powered by Royal
Enfield 650)
finished eighth
through tenth,
respectively.
Four races into his
Mission
AFT SuperTwins career,
Kopp continues to
lead the Grand
National
Championship with 84
points courtesy of
two wins and two
runners-up. Daniels
is second at 77,
followed by Bauman
with 62.
KICKER AFT
Singles
Kage Tadman (No. 28
American
Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R) did it
again, scoring a
scintillating KICKER
AFT Singles victory
in the return to the
scene of his shock
maiden win at
Ventura Raceway one
year ago.
This one
was arguably even
more tense than the
first if possible,
coming by just 0.034
seconds following a
race-long showdown
with reigning class
champion Tom Drane
(No. 1 Estenson
Racing Yamaha
YZ450F).
However, it was an
on-form Jared Lowe
(No. 63 Big R
Racing/Vinson
Construction Honda
CRF450R)
who actually
grabbed the holeshot.
Lowe led in the
opening stages
before Tadman came
railing around the
outside. Soon after,
Drane pushed his way
up the inside of
Lowe, desperate to
keep the Californian
from running away at
the front. The
Australian
then proceeded to
apply heavy
pressure, taking
full advantage of
the fact that
Tadman’s high line
kept the door open
for an inside lunge
throughout.
The Estenson Racing
Yamaha star finally
made a go with just
over a minute to go,
but Tadman countered
by crossing up his
line
and immediately reclaiming
the position.
Drane’s bike bucked
and weaved as
he attempted to
mount another
charge, but he never
got quite close
enough to edge ahead
again. The closest
he came was on the
final lap, coming up
a wheel short as the
two stormed past
the stripe.
Tadman’s victory
makes him the fourth
different KICKER AFT
Singles winner in
four races this
season. He said,
“It's been a roller
coaster.
I can't thank the
Turner Racing team
enough for
everything they do
for me. We had
a couple bad
rounds; I've been
struggling with some
things, but we got
it figured out when
it mattered. Right
now, this is a dream
come true – again.”
Prior to the Main,
Senoia winner
Brunner thought he
had another win
coming his way. A
less-than-ideal
start dropped him
from realistic
contention for the
win, but he still
managed to track
down Lowe in order
to collect third.
Despite narrowly
missing out on the
box, Lowe equaled
his career-best
result in fourth.
Tarren Santero (No.
75 Roof
Systems/Vinson
Construction Honda
CRF450R) fought his
way up to fifth
after starting from
the back of the pack
due to earning his
way via the Last
Chance Qualifier.
Chase Saathoff (No.
88 1st Impressions
Race Team Husqvarna
FC450), who had
factored into
previous podium
fights at Ventura,
was an
uncharacteristically
quiet sixth.
Meanwhile,
Tadman’s teammate,
Walker Porter (No.
10 American
Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R) came home
seventh, with Justin
Jones (No. 91
Fairway Ford Chevy
GMC Yamaha YZ450F
450), Justin Anselmi
(No. 15 Team
TDR/Leblanc Family
Farms Yamaha
YZ450F), and Skylar
Sentell (No. 60
Hoffer
Performance/Stauffer
Motors KTM 450
SX-F) rounding out
the top ten.
Drane now leads
Brunner, 75-66, with
Tadman right there
in third with 61
points following his
Ventura Short Track
heroics.
AFT ProSport
450
Californian
Jett Katarzy (No. 17
1st Impressions
Husqvarna FC450)
secured a popular
first-career
AFT ProSport victory
in front of his home
fans with a
wire-to-wire
victory.
The
AFT ProSport 450’s
West Coast debut
brought out a number
of new contenders to
race against the
established
frontrunners who
made the trip out to
Ventura. However,
none of the talented
amateurs who
qualified for the
event by way of the
450 Road to AFT Main
Event in Friday’s
AMA-sanctioned
Mission Foods CTR
Showcase Event had
anything for
home-state
hero Katarzy.
Prior to Ventura,
the 1st Impressions
Husqvarna had twice
finished inside the
top five but was yet
to stand on the
podium. The highly
rated prospect
rectified that by
bolting out into the
lead off the line
and going
unchallenged from
that point
forward.
“It just feels so
good,” Katarzy said. ”I know
I get good starts,
and I knew if I got
out front, I could
just stay calm and
hold it for the
win.”
Behind Katarzy, a
frenetic,
multi-rider brawl
broke out
for second. While a
revolving collection
of challengers took
their shot at
displacing Bayne
Nantz (No. 313 Nantz
Bros Racing KTM 450
SX-F) from second,
no one managed to
make a move stick.
Meanwhile, Ryder
Bitz-Hay (No. 14
Bitz-Hay Racing KTM
450 SX-F) finished
close behind Nantz
in third to up his
perfect
AFT ProSport 450
podium record to
three-for-three.
Adam Costan-Wood
(No. 88 Turner
Racing Honda
CRF450R) and Kensei
Matsudaira (No. 74
Team Roberts
Husqvarna FC 450)
registered
with top-five debuts,
finishing fourth and
fifth,
respectively.
Royal
Enfield
Build.Train.Race.
(BTR)
Emma Gottsch (No. 5
Royal Enfield/Parts
Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars)
extended her 2026
Royal
Enfield Build.Train.Race.
win streak to three
following an early
back-and-forth
battle with top
qualifier
Julia Heess (No. 13
Royal Enfield/Parts
Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars).
Despite the
determined challenge
from Heess, Gottsch
shook free to grab
control of the race
shortly before a red
flag reset things.
Burdened with a
renewed potential
for upset, Gottsch
shrugged it off, got
away clean, and
carried
on to pick up a
convincing
victory.
While Gottsch
and Heess went 1-2
for the third
consecutive race,
Hanna Brewer (No. 39
Royal Enfield/Parts
Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars)
broke Madicela Rodriguez’s
(No. 113
Royal Enfield/Parts
Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars)
stranglehold over
third by edging her
to claim the final
spot on the box.
Next Up
Progressive American
Flat Track will
round out its
back-to-back
California swing in
Chico next Saturday,
May 2, with the
Silver Dollar Short
Track.
Visit https://www.americanflattrack.com/events/2026/view/silver-dollar-short-track-2026 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
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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 Memphis
Shades Ventura Short
Track, featuring
in-depth features
and thrilling
onboard cameras,
will premiere on FS1
on Saturday, May 2,
at 10:30 a.m. ET
(7:30 a.m. PT). The
full listing of
American Flat
Track’s television
premieres can be
found at
https://www.americanflattrack.com/events-foxsports.
