Mission AFT SuperTwins riders at
the start of the Main Event in
Ventura; Dallas Daniels (32),
Briar Bauman (3), Max Whale
(18), Brandon Robinson (44)
[Photo: American Flat Track/Tim
Lester]
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(April 26, 2025) – It
took the Harley-Davidson XG750R
more than eight
Progressive American Flat Track
seasons, sanctioned by
AMA Pro Racing,
to at last earn its maiden
Mission AFT SuperTwins
victory. It took just one more
race to get its second. Both
wins came courtesy of two-time
Grand National Champion
Briar Bauman
(No. 3 RWR/Parts Plus/Latus
Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R),
who was again in spectacular
form at Ventura Raceway
en route to a second consecutive
victory in the Memphis
Shades Ventura Short Track
presented by Law Tigers.
While Bauman ended the night in
glory, the spotlight panned back
and forth throughout the day.
Dallas Daniels
(No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha
MT-07 DT) held the upper hand
for the bulk of the event with
his stiffest challenge arguably
coming from Suzuki-mounted
Dan Bromley
(No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson
Construction Suzuki GSX-8S), who
actually came out on top of the
Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
Meanwhile, the likes of
Max Whale (No. 18 Moto
Anatomy X Powered by Royal
Enfield 650), Logan
McGrane (No. 14
Schaeffer's Motorsports/Rick
Canode KTM 790 Duke), and
James Ott (No.
19 G&G Racing Yamaha MT-07)
jockeyed for podium positions in
the early going of the Main
after Daniels took the holeshot,
but the genuine shape of the
race would quickly be made
evident.
Despite demonstrating largely
pedestrian speed in the lead-up
to the Main, once there Bauman
pounced on Daniels in the
opening handful of laps. While
the Estenson Racing star
attempted to work out a way in
which to counter, he also had to
contend with the charging
Jarod VanDerKooi
(No. 20 Fastrack
Racing/Wally Brown Racing KTM
790 Duke), who powered his way
into third where he set his
sights past Daniels and on
Bauman.
A red flag provided both Daniels
and VanDerKooi with a second
chance at corralling Bauman, but
neither were able to take
advantage. Little changed after
the restart, and the checkered
flag eventually saw Bauman sail
by with a 0.881-second margin of
victory, while Daniels came out
on top of a seesawing fight with
VanDerKooi for second.
Brandon Robinson
(No. 44 Mission Roof Systems
Harley-Davidson XG750R) found
his way into contention as he so
often does to claim fourth,
while Bromley closed out a
standout day with a top-five
Main Event showing.
Whale was also rewarded with a
strong sixth, while
Davis Fisher (No. 67
Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s
BMC Racing KTM 790 Duke), Ott,
Trent Lowe (No.
48 American Honda/Progressive
Insurance Honda Transalp), and
McGrane rounded out the top
ten.
Bauman’s back-to-back victories
not only put him level with
Daniels in terms of wins on the
season, it also catapulted him
past the preseason title rival
favorite in the early-season
championship chase (84-81).
Bauman said, “I’m just proud of
everyone on this Rick Ware
Racing team. We’re just digging
on this thing. I don’t know if
it's a renaissance or a fairy
tale, but we’re just doing our
thing. I’m still so green on the
bike – and when I show up and
qualify ninth or tenth or
whatever it was – it’s tough to
think (that we’re the
championship favorite).
“We’re still putting one foot in
front of the other, and Dallas
has an incredible motorcycle and
he’s an incredible racer. He’s
got an insane team, and right
now I think he’s going to win
this championship. He’s heir to
the throne, but I have worn the
crown a few times, and I’m going
to do my job and try to get it
back.”
Final Results can be
found
HERE.
AFT Singles presented by
KICKER
The AFT Singles
presented by KICKER
class has a long and illustrious
history of generating new stars
for the sport. And yet, it has
perhaps never done so as
immediately nor so convincingly
as it did on Saturday night at
Ventura Raceway.
Making his professional debut on
the evening, Kage Tadman
(No. 288 Old Oak Ranch/Roof
Systems KTM 450 SX-F) came in
with the admirable goal of
simply making the Main Event.
Remarkably, the 17-year-old
Californian managed to
accomplish that goal by setting
the pace in qualifying, winning
his heat, taking top honors in
AFT Singles 1st Impressions
Challenge, and then dominating
the Main Event. And he did it
all in extreme style, running an
ultra-wide line throughout with
his front and rear wheels
appearing desperate to break
free of his control all the
while.
Chase Saathoff
(No. 88 RWR/Parts Plus Honda
CRF450R), who carried the
momentum of his first-career
Short Track win into Ventura
Raceway, did everything in his
power to prevent Tadman from
pulling off the stunner.
The RWR ace combated Tadman’s
wide and wild line with a more
controlled and conservative
inside tour of the beach-side
circuit. That strategy allowed
Saathoff to make the occasional
inroad, but Tadman’s sheer pace
ultimately proved too much as
the rookie pulled to a near
one-second margin of victory to
open his career with a perfect
100% winning percentage.
He said, “It all starts in
practice. I felt really good in
practice. I knew there were a
few things we needed to work on
to get a little bit quicker.
After practice, qualifying
rolled around and we did super
well there, and then heats,
dash, and especially the Main…
this is a dream night. I would
never have thought this could
have happened in my rookie
debut.”
Tarren Santero
(No. 75 Mission Roof Systems
Honda CRF450R) made it two
Californians on the podium in
third. Santero, who was in need
of a strong result after getting
his ‘25 campaign off to a
slower-than-anticipated start,
worked his way past and then
shook free of points leader
Tom Drane (No.
59 Estenson Racing Yamaha
YZ450F) to grab his second
career AFT Singles top three.
And thus the Australian’s
record-setting podium streak
came to an end at nine with his
fourth-place finish. However, it
was good enough to maintain his
place atop the championship
order, albeit by a slim
two-point margin over rival
Saathoff (68-66).
Trevor Brunner
(No. 21 American Honda/Mission
Foods CRF450R) completed the top
five after battling with the
hungry Jared Lowe
(No. 63 Big R/Little Debbie
Racing Honda CRF450R) and
Aidan RoosEvans
(No. 26 FRA Trust/ATV’s and More
Yamaha YZ450F).
Justin Anselmi
(No. 15 Leblanc Family Farms
Yamaha YZ450F), Evan
Renshaw (No. 65 1st
Impressions Race Team Husqvarna
FC450), and Reece
Pottorf (No. 46 Diamond
Auto Body Honda CRF450R)
completed the top ten.
Earlier in the evening,
Madicela
Rodriguez (No. 113
Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited)
held off a charging
Emma Gottsch (No. 5
Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited)
to secure her first-career
Royal Enfield Build.
Train. Race. Main Event
victory. Taia Little
(No. 11 Royal
Enfield/Parts Unlimited) grabbed
the final spot on the podium.
Next Up:
The world's premier dirt track
motorcycle racing series closes
out its back-to-back West Coast
swing with next week’s visit to
Chico, California, for the
Silver Dollar Short
Track at Silver
Dollar Speedway on
Saturday, May 3. Visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com/events/2025/view/silver-dollar-short-track-2025
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 Memphis
Shades Ventura Short Track
presented by Law Tigers,
featuring in-depth features and
thrilling onboard cameras, will
premiere on FS1
on Sunday, May 4,
at 1:00 p.m. ET
(10:00 a.m. PT).
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com.
