DAYTONA
BEACH, Fla. (May 16,
2026) – The
rolling Briar Bauman
(No. 3 Super.com/RWR
Harley-Davidson
XG750R) upped his
win streak to three
with yet another
dominant outing, the
latest coming at the
Budds Creek
Half-Mile in the
inaugural Parts
Unlimited
ThrottleFest
presented by Carter
CAT, Round 6 of the
2026 Progressive
American Flat Track
season, sanctioned
by AMA Pro Racing.
The Main Event of
the four-day event
hosted by Budds
Creek Motocross Park
in Mechanicsville,
Maryland, was
expected to be a
showdown involving
Bauman, reigning
Grand National
Champion Dallas
Daniels (No. 1
Estenson Racing
Yamaha MT-07), and
Mission AFT
SuperTwins points
leader Kody Kopp
(No. 12 Latus Motors
Racing
Harley-Davidson
XG750R).
And arguably it was,
in a sense, albeit
one effectively
decided in the
opening seconds of
the race.
Bauman and Daniels
went elbow-to-elbow
as they disputed the
holeshot. Bauman
ultimately had the
superior positioning
aboard his Rick Ware
Racing
Harley-Davidson
XG750R, which not
only forced Daniels
to accept second but
resulted in him
getting shuffled
back to third by an
opportunistic Chad
Cose (No. 49 PRO
Roofing/Parker
Racing Yamaha
MT-07).
The Estenson Racing
Yamaha ace would
spend the next six
minutes attempting
to uncover a path
back around Cose.
And by the time he
finally managed to
do so, Bauman was
more than three
seconds clear at the
front.
Bauman negotiated
his way through
heavy traffic over
the final couple of
laps, allowing
Daniels to slash the
deficit down to
2.208 seconds, but
the outcome was
never truly put in
doubt.
After Daniels worked
his way past and
disappeared in
second, Cose shifted
his attention to
Kopp, who was
creeping up from
fourth. Despite
Kopp’s late push,
the Californian held
on to the spot by a
nerve-wracking 0.210
seconds, securing
Cose’s first
premier-class podium
in eight seasons.
Hunter Bauer (No. 24
G&G Racing Yamaha
MT-07) and Aidan
RoosEvans (No. 26
FRA Trust Advisors
Harley-Davidson
XG750R) joined Kopp
to put rookies
fourth, fifth, and
sixth.
Meanwhile, Trent
Lowe (No. 48
American
Honda/Mission Foods
Honda CB750 Hornet),
Morgen Mischler (No.
13 IFS Waste
Services/D&D Cycles
Aprilia Tuareg 660),
Cameron Smith (No.
34 Fredericktown
Yamaha/Thee Kathy
Gray Yamaha MT-07),
and Declan Bender
(No. 70 Memphis
Shades/Vinson
Construction Yamaha
MT-07) closed out
the top ten.
Bauman’s surge has
shifted the Grand
National
Championship
outlook, closing the
margin separating
the top three
dramatically in
recent weeks.
While Kopp continues
to lead with 117
points, Daniels
(110) and Bauman
(108) are now both
well within striking
distance in second
and third.
After scoring the
37th Mission AFT
SuperTwins win of
his career, the
two-time Grand
National Champion
said, “There’s
something about
doing it with a crew
you thoroughly enjoy
doing it with… We
just work at it. We
weren’t the quickest
all day. We were a
bit off. But they
turned that thing
upside down. I’ll be
upfront – we didn’t
change a clicker on
the motorcycle the
last two Nationals
except for gearing.
And today we threw
the toolbox at that
thing, and we found
it. I’m just proud
of my whole Rick
Ware Racing team.”
KICKER AFT
Singles
It took three starts
to make it happen,
but Kage Tadman (No.
28 American
Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R) ultimately
ripped into the lead
from pole position
and powered his way
to his fourth-career
KICKER AFT Singles
victory.
The two prior starts
were quickly
nullified by
early-race red flags
– both times
removing Chase
Saathoff (No. 88 1st
Impressions Race
Team Husqvarna
FC450) from the lead
and erasing
less-than-ideal
launches for the
otherwise on-form Tadman.
The second of those
reds was thrown
following a lowside
crash on the part of
Tarren Santero (No.
75 Roof
Systems/Vinson
Construction Honda
CRF450R), a fall
that sparked a chain
reaction that also
claimed Evan
Kelleher (No. 31
Schaeffer's
Motorsports KTM 450
SX-F) and Logan
Eisenhard (No. 66
Eisenhard
Racing/Pags
Powersports KTM 450
SX-F).
Tadman finally
nailed the third
start and was
further blessed with
the added good
fortune of teammate
Walker Porter (No.
10 American
Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R) slotting
into second behind
him.
Saathoff, meanwhile,
was fourth off the
line, stashed behind
both Turner Hondas
and the cagey Trevor
Brunner (No. 21 KMA
Racing/March
Equipment Yamaha
YZ450F).
The race’s drama
largely unfolded
behind Tadman, who
pulled clear at the
front.
Saathoff fought his
way by Brunner
into third and then
moved Porter out of
the way to seize
control of second
with just over a
minute remaining on
the clock. He was
then, however – and
incredibly –
overhauled by
Santero, who somehow
managed to slash his
way up through the
field after being
forced to the back
of the grid due to
his earlier crash.
In fact, Santero
nearly did the
unthinkable, reeling
in Tadman from
multiple seconds
back before at last
crossing the stripe
only 0.377-seconds
off the victory.
A visibly frustrated
Saathoff finished
third, while Porter
regrouped from being
punted up the track
to claim his second
consecutive
fourth-place
finish.
The triumph marked
Tadman’s first to
come outside his
home state and away
from a Short Track
venue. He said, “We
came out of the
trailer perfect. We
haven’t really made
many changes to the
bike today, and
we’ve been P1 all
day. I can’t thank
the team enough –
the bike was
perfect. The track
was so sick too.
This definitely
feels good. I’m
excited.”
Reigning champion
Tom Drane (No. 1
Estenson Racing
Yamaha YZ450F) was
unusually quiet en
route to fifth.
He was followed by
Jack Brucks (No. 113
1st Impressions Race
Team Husqvarna
FC450), Ryder Reese
(No. 41
Fasthouse/Smoking
Butcher Coffee KTM
450 SX-F FE),
Brunner, Dylan
Cunningham (No. 252
Scott Stump/Joel
Laub KTM 450 SX-F),
and Jared Lowe (No.
63 Big R
Racing/Vinson
Construction Honda
CRF450R), as they
rounded out the back
half of the top ten
in that order.
Despite registering
his worst result of
the season, Drane
still holds a
sizable 16-point
advantage over
Tadman (111-95),
with Saathoff and
Brunner right there
in third (94) and
fourth (92),
respectively.
AFT ProSport
450
Bayne Nantz (No. 313
Nantz Bros Racing
KTM 450 SX-F) became
the fourth different
rider to claim
victory in AFT
ProSport 450 action
with a wire-to-wire
win at Budds Creek.
The AFT ProSport 450
Main packed in
significantly more
excitement than that
brief summary may
suggest. Nantz was
hounded early by
Camlin Durelle (No.
27 Durelle Racing
Yamaha YZ450F), who
didn’t even plan to
enter the qualifying
Road to AFT class in
Friday’s
AMA-sanctioned
Mission Foods CTR
Showcase Event, and
only finished 11th
when he did.
But Durelle found
his form on
Saturday, looking
like an early
contender for the
win before making
contact with Nantz’s
rear-end. That
incident sent him up
the track and down
the order.
Loic Nadeau (No. 21
Racine Racing KTM
450 SX-F), Adam
Costan-Wood (No. 88
Turner Racing Honda
CRF450R), and Brody
Hanson (No. 99
Hanson Racing KTM
450 SX-F) picked up
the chase in
Durelle’s absence,
transforming the
race into a tight
four-way scrap for
the win.
Silver Dollar winner
Costan-Wood dove
under Nadeau for
second and then
attempted to
displace Nantz on
the final lap with
the same maneuver –
a plot that came up
0.163 seconds short
of success at the
checkered flag.
14-year-old Nantz
said, “The track
changed a lot since
the heat. It got a
lot more moisture.
When I first got on
it (for the Main),
it was a totally
different track. It
was tricky at first,
but I got it down
towards the end.”
Nadeau held on to
earn a close third,
while Hanson and
Matéo Racine (No.
23X Picotte
Motosport KTM 450
SX-F) came home
fourth and fifth,
respectively.
Next Up
Progressive American
Flat Track will
leave
Mechanicsville,
Maryland, and go
directly to
Mechanicsburg,
Pennsylvania, for
the Appalachian
Harley-Davidson
Williams Grove
Half-Mile at
Williams Grove
Speedway on
Saturday, May 23.
Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/2026-williams-grove-half-mile-185952 to
purchase 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 available by
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 Parts Unlimited
ThrottleFest,
featuring in-depth
features and
thrilling onboard
cameras, will
premiere on FS1 on
Sunday, May 24, at
11:30 a.m. ET (8:30
a.m. PT). The full
listing of American
Flat Track’s
television premieres
can be found at https://www.americanflattrack.com/events-foxsports.
