DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May
11, 2024) – Briar Bauman
(No. 3 Rick Ware
Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790
Duke) scored his first victory
of the 2024 Progressive
American Flat Track season,
sanctioned by AMA Pro
Racing, with an utterly
dominant performance in Saturday
night’s Memphis Shades
Ventura Short Track at
Ventura Raceway in
Ventura, California.
The two-time Grand
National Champion came
into the weekend seeking not
just his first Mission
AFT SuperTwins win of
the year but his first podium of
any kind. He ended that
uncharacteristic drought in most
convincing fashion, backing up a
stirring win in the Mission
#2Fast2Tasty Challenge with a
wire-to-wire runaway in the Main
Event.
Bauman’s superiority finally
brought order to what had been a
chaotic affair in the early
going. A red flag flew moments
after the initial start due to a
terrifying incident that saw
Johnny Lewis
(No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered
by Royal Enfield 650) carom off
the wall and crash back into the
pack that had not yet separated.
That triggered a chain reaction
that also collected Ben
Lowe (No. 25 Rackley
Racing/Mission Foods KTM 790
Duke), Declan Bender
(No. 70
GOMR/BriggsAuto.com/Martin
Trucking Indian FTR750), and
Morgen Mischler
(No. 13 Big Red Super Twins/Al
Lamb’s Dallas Honda Transalp),
who completed a full forward
flip in the air after contacting
the downed Lewis and his
machine. Miraculously, all four
returned to their feet with Lowe
managing to return for the
staggered restart.
A second red was issued just as
quickly following a spill by
hometown hero Kayl
Kolkman (No. 98 Yamaha
MT-07), who would also return
for the subsequent restart.
A third red flag was narrowly
avoided when Davis
Fisher (No. 67 Rackley
Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing
Indian FTR750) bounced back up
from a crash and immediately
remounted, allowing the race to
continue and at last find its
rhythm.
And the beat it drummed up was a
victory march for Bauman, who
was never challenged on his way
to a 4.613-second margin of
victory.
Bauman, who lapped his way
inside the top ten, said, “First
and foremost, I can’t thank
Shayna (Texter-Bauman) and Kenny
Coolbeth enough, along with
everyone else with Rick Ware
Racing. We could write a novel
about what’s gone on this
season. We had quite the
offseason, let me tell you. This
might have been a bigger change
for me, going to a new group of
guys, than it was going from an
Indian to a KTM last year. It
was so big. I kept telling
myself all week long that no one
understands how long I’ve been
waiting on this, and my team
deserves it more than I do.”
The only rider who could even
pretend to keep Bauman in sight
on this evening was title
hopeful Dallas Daniels
(No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha
MT-07 DT). The Estenson Racing
pilot actually started his push
from fifth, slicing underneath
Brandon Robinson
(No. 44 Mission Roof Systems
Indian FTR750), Jared
Mees (No. 1 Rogers
Racing/SDI Racing/Indian
Motorcycle FTR750), and
Jarod Vanderkooi (No.
20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford
Ohio Indian FTR750) before
putting himself in a position to
make an honest try at reeling in
Bauman.
After that challenge proved
insurmountable, Daniels had to
be content to solidify his grip
on second while Vanderkooi,
Mees, and Robinson disputed the
final spot on the box behind.
Reigning champ Mees raced his
way to that honor as he so often
does, with Vanderkooi and
Robinson completing the top
five.
Sixth and seventh went to twin
chargers Bronson Bauman
(No. 37 Fastrack Racing Mission
Foods KTM 790 Duke) and Kolkman,
who battled their way up from
15th and 16th, respectively.
Meanwhile, 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)
finished eighth and tenth, with
Honda-mounted Dan
Bromley (No. 62 Memphis
Shades/Vinson/Al Lamb’s Dallas
Honda Transalp) splitting the
two up by claiming the new
machine’s second top ten in
ninth.
Daniels now leads the Mission
AFT SuperTwins title fight by
two points over Robinson
(103-101) with Mees third at 93
and Bauman closing to within
striking distance at 84.
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER
Tom Drane (No.
59 Estenson Racing Yamaha
YZ450F) secured his second
victory of the ‘24 season in an
action-packed Parts
Unlimited AFT Singles presented
by KICKER Main Event
that saw the tables turned more
than once.
Polesitter, points leader, and
double defending champion
Kody Kopp (No.
1 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus
KTM 450 SX-F) was immediately
shuffled back to fifth off the
line while Chase
Saathoff (No. 88 JPG
Motorsports Honda CRF450R)
jumped at the opportunity to
potentially run away with a
second career victory after
finally earning his maiden win
last time out in Texas.
While Saathoff built up an early
second-plus advantage at the
front, Drane, Dalton
Gauthier (No. 79 D&D
Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F),
Trent Lowe (No.
48 American Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R), Kopp, and
Logan Eisenhard (No. 66
Hannum’s Harley-Davidson KTM 450
SX-F) formed a big second group,
each one trying to find a way to
respond to the leader’s
immediate pace.
Gauthier was the first to find
it, slowly closing the gap to
first, taking back approximately
a tenth each time around the
tight circuit. But by the time
he found his way onto the Honda
pilot’s rear wheel, he found
himself under assault by a
charging Drane.
Gauthier was unable to provide
much resistance, giving way to
the Australian ace in short
order, a fate Saathoff would
suffer himself moments later
with Drane slamming through to
grab the lead.
Saathoff attempted to counter
but Drane rebuffed the attempt
and then proceeded to make his
escape; the Yamaha runner
ultimately worked up a
1.394-second margin by the time
he took the checkered flag.
“At the start of the race, I had
to really work hard and figure a
few things out,” Drane said.
“Toward the end I started
finding some lines that really
worked. (Once in front) I wasn’t
letting (Saathoff) him back
through. I was making sure I was
making that move happen. I can’t
thank my whole team enough. We
had that bike dialed from the
start of the day. We continued
to chip away at it and got it
better and better. The team put
in a really big effort and we’re
here now.”
While Drane cleared off,
Gauthier jumped on Saathoff and
promptly created his own
separation on the way to second.
Lowe and Kopp piled on from
there with the Turner Honda
rider stealing away the final
spot on the box and Rick Ware
Racing star pushing his title
rival down to the fifth in the
final order.
As a result, Kopp continues to
lead the championship chase, now
by 14 points over Drane (108-94)
with Saathoff now far behind in
third (90).
Next Up:
Progressive American Flat Track
will complete its run of five
early-season Short Tracks next
weekend with the inaugural
Silver Dollar Short
Track at Silver Dollar
Speedway in Chico, California,
on Saturday, May 18. Visit
https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/silver-dollar-short-track-89147
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 the the weekend’s
on-track action, from the first
practice to the victory podium,
at
https://flosports.link/aft.
FOX Sports coverage
of the Memphis Shades
Ventura Short Track,
featuring in-depth features and
thrilling onboard cameras, will
premiere on FS1
on Sunday, May 19,
at 12:00 p.m. ET
(9:00 a.m. PT).
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com.
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