DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(June 11, 2024) – The
2024 Progressive
American Flat Track season,
sanctioned by AMA Pro
Racing, resumes with
this Father’s Day weekend’s
Orange County Half-Mile in
Middletown, New York, on
Saturday, June 15.
The Grand National
Championship made its
triumphant return to
Orange County Fair Speedway
last season after being absent
from the fabled venue for more
than three decades. It proved
worth the wait as
Mission AFT SuperTwins
legend Jared Mees
(No. 1 Rogers Racing/SDI
Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750)
made history, becoming the
sport’s all-time winningest
Half-Miler on that occasion with
Briar Bauman
(No. 3 Rick Ware
Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790
Duke), Brandon Robinson
(No. 44 Mission Roof Systems
Indian FTR750), and
Dallas Daniels (No. 32
Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT)
all in close contention for the
checkered flag.
Those same four riders enter
this weekend’s rematch under the
spotlight, having combined for
all six race wins in 2024. And
for the first time this season,
last year’s primary championship
protagonists, Daniels and Mees,
stand 1-2 in the points
standings.
While Daniels holds down the top
spot thanks to his trademark
podium-caliber consistency, Mees
has momentum on his side having
garnered two wins in four
podiums in his last four
outings.
Robinson remains right there,
only seven points back of
Daniels and one off Mees, as he
seeks his third win of the young
season. Bauman, too, remains
within single-race striking
distance even while continuing
the adaptation to his
KTM-powered racebike that was
overhauled in the offseason.
The torrid pace at the front has
forced the remainder of a
talent-laden field to raise
their game in order to keep
pace. They’ve responded well as
a collective, with
Brandon Price (No. 92
Memphis Shades/Corbin/OTBR
Yamaha MT-07) earning a
runner-up finish and
Jarod Vanderkooi (No.
20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford
Ohio Indian FTR750) and
Davis Fisher (No. 67
Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s
BMC Racing Indian FTR750) each
earning multiple top fives.
Johnny Lewis
(No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered
by Royal Enfield 650) was one of
the standout performers in last
year’s Orange County Half-Mile,
posting the fastest time in
qualifying, winning his heat,
and then claiming victory in the
Mission #2Fast2Tasty
Challenge.
Unfortunately, Lewis will be out
of action this weekend as he
recovers from injury. However,
he’ll still be on site and
managing the team as the
skillful Dalton
Gauthier (No. 79 Moto
Anatomy X Powered by Royal
Enfield 650) steps in to
substitute on the official Royal
Enfield entry.
Another storyline to track is
the progress of this year’s
impressive crop of rookies –
Max Whale (No.
18 Latus Motors Racing/Liqui
Moly Harley-Davidson XG750R),
Trevor Brunner
(No. 21 Mission Foods/Zanotti
Racing 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) –
particularly after having some
time to refocus and regroup.
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER
Last season saw reigning
Parts Unlimited AFT Singles
presented by KICKER champion Kody
Kopp (No. 1 Rick Ware
Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450 SX-F)
stand victorious at Orange
County, flanked by challengers
Chase Saathoff (No.
88 JPG Motorsports Honda
CRF450R) and Tom Drane (No.
59 Estenson Racing Yamaha
YZ450F) during that night’s
podium ceremony.
The three return ranked in that
same order and as the
overwhelming favorites to battle
up front once again this
weekend.
Kopp is well on his way to
completely rewriting the class
record books and he’ll look to
continue that trend this
weekend. However, Saathoff and
Drane have each shown the
capacity to not only push the
double defending class champion
to the absolute limits, but come
out on top on occasion.
Similar to the situation in the
premier-class, the next group
has been put on notice that they
need to meet the standard of the
top three in order to fight for
victory. Riders such as
Trent Lowe (No. 48
American Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R), James Ott (No.
19 1st Impressions Race Team
Husqvarna FC450), Tarren
Santero (No. 75 Vinson
Construction/P&M Motorcycles
Honda CRF450R), Travis
Petton IV (No. 82 ECG
Racing/A.M Ortega KTM 450 SX-F),
Logan Eisenhard
(No. 66 Hannum’s Harley-Davidson
KTM 450 SX-F), and Evan
Renshaw (No. 265
American Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R) have all either
demonstrated the ability or
potential to do exactly that,
setting the stage for some
thrilling scraps from this point
forward.
There will be plenty to keep
spectators entertained off the
track as well, including
numerous vendors, plenty of food
and beverage options, live
music, extensive motorcycle
parking, and a fireworks display
to cap things off at the end of
the evening.
General Admission
Grandstand tickets are
just $50 (kids 12 and under $10)
or $99 for the Family 4-Pack.
Reserved Grandstand
tickets ($60, all ages),
Party Deck tickets
($355 for up to four
individuals), and Indoor
Suite Reservation
tickets ($100 for one
individual, $965 for up to eight
individuals) offer premium
viewing experiences for fans.
The Pit Pass Upgrade grants
access to the pit area for $50
(included free with Party Deck
and Indoor Suite Reservation
tickets). Drive-In
Parking is available
for motorcycles for $10 and cars
for $30. Fans also have the
option to purchase
Multi-Day Camping Passes
for $115 (no hook-up) and $255
(with hook-up).
Visit
https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/orange-county-half-mile-94110
to reserve your seats today.
Gates will open for fans at 3:00
p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT) with
Opening Ceremonies scheduled to
begin at 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m.
PT). You can catch the
livestream of all the weekend’s
racing activities on
FloRacing. Motorsports
fans can subscribe to FloRacing
to enjoy over 1,000 live
motorsports events in 2024.
FloSports is available by
visiting
https://flosports.link/aft
or by downloading the FloSports
app on iOS, Android, Apple TV,
Roku, Amazon Fire and
Chromecast.
FOX Sports coverage
of the Orange County
Half-Mile, featuring
in-depth features and thrilling
onboard cameras, will premiere
on FS1 on
Sunday, June 23,
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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