DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(June 18, 2024) –
Progressive American
Flat Track, sanctioned
by AMA Pro Racing,
picks right back up this weekend
with the second-ever running of
the Bridgeport Half-Mile
at Bridgeport Speedway in
Swedesboro, New Jersey, on
Saturday, June 22.
Last season’s stop marked the
first-ever motorcycle race in
the history of the half-century
old venue and was rewarded with
an epic Mission AFT
SuperTwins showdown
that saw Dallas Daniels
(No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha
MT-07 DT) overcome reigning
Grand National Champion
Jared Mees (No.
1 Rogers Racing/SDI
Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750)
by 0.095 seconds to secure his
first-career Half-Mile victory.
Daniels returns with the
momentum of a freight train
after earning his second-career
Half-Mile victory in this past
weekend’s Orange County
Half-Mile and doing so in
utterly dominant fashion.
The circumstances might invite
overconfidence if not for the
reminder that rival Mees was in
the exact same situation –
having won both the season’s
previous race and last year’s
race at Orange County – before
encountering an
uncharacteristically difficult
round. Buried outside the top
ten early, Mees fought his way
up to fifth to limit the damage
done to his title chances, which
he’ll no doubt look to bolster
with a bounce-back ride this
weekend.
While fellow title hopefuls
Briar Bauman
(No. 3 Rick Ware
Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790
Duke) and Brandon
Robinson (No. 44
Mission Roof Systems Indian
FTR750) continued to race near
the front of the field and
expect to do so again at
Bridgeport, the final results
underlined the incredible
diversity and competitiveness of
the premier class.
Five different manufacturers
finished inside the top five
thanks to the impressive ‘24
Mission SuperTwins debuts of
Dalton Gauthier
(No. 79 Moto Anatomy X Powered
by Royal Enfield 650) and
Billy Ross (No.
29 Mission Foods/Digitale
Kawasaki Ninja 650).
Meanwhile, a big crop of veteran
frontrunners will be looking to
make their presence felt in New
Jersey, a crew that consists of
Jarod Vanderkooi (No.
20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford
Ohio Indian FTR750),
Brandon Price (No. 92
Memphis Shades/Corbin/OTBR
Yamaha MT-07), Davis
Fisher (No. 67 Rackley
Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing
Indian FTR750), and Dan
Bromley (No. 62 Memphis
Shades/Vinson/Al Lamb’s Dallas
Honda Transalp) among others.
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER
Double defending Parts
Unlimited AFT Singles presented
by KICKER champ
Kody Kopp (No. 1 Rick
Ware Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450
SX-F) rewrites the history books
seemingly every time he throws a
leg over his KTM, and this
weekend has the potential for
yet another revision.
With a win this weekend, Kopp
will break a tie with
Shayna Texter-Bauman
(No. 52 Rick Ware Racing/Parts
Plus KTM 450 SX-F) to take sole
possession of first on the
all-time class wins list at 20,
while moving into a tie with
Texter-Bauman for most career
Half-Mile wins at 11. However,
he’ll have to overcome recent
history to make history for a
change considering he finished
outside the top five following
an uncharacteristically quiet
day in last season’s inaugural
Bridgeport Half-Mile.
Instead, it was rising star
Tom Drane (No.
59 Estenson Racing Yamaha
YZ450F) who ruled the day. He’ll
look to do so again this year,
and his cause may be aided by
the fact that both riders who
joined him on the podium last
year – Max Whale (No.
18 Latus Motors Racing/Liqui
Moly Harley-Davidson XG750R) and
Trevor Brunner
(No. 21 Mission Foods/Zanotti
Racing Indian FTR750) – have
since graduated to premier-class
duty.
Fourth- and fifth place,
however, went to Chase
Saathoff (No. 88 JPG
Motorsports Honda CRF450R) and
Trent Lowe (No.
48 American Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R), a pair of riders with
the talent and motivation to
push for the checkered flag this
weekend.
The deep field of challengers is
again fronted by the California
trio of James Ott (No.
19 1st Impressions Race Team
Husqvarna FC450), Tarren
Santero (No. 75 Vinson
Construction/P&M Motorcycles
Honda CRF450R), and
Travis Petton IV (No.
82 ECG Racing/A.M Ortega KTM 450
SX-F), while rookie Evan
Renshaw (No. 265
American Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R) feels due for a
breakthrough performance.
Along with the incredible action
on track, the Bridgeport
Half-Mile will also feature live
music courtesy of acclaimed
Southern New Jersey cover band
Poor Mouth Henry,
the Kids Zone, designated
motorcycle parking, numerous
vendors, and a variety of food
and beverage options.
General Admission
Grandstand tickets are
just $40 (kids 12 and under $5),
while Reserved
Grandstand tickets are
only $10 more (All Ages). A
Pit Pass Upgrade provides
all-day access to the pit area
where fans can scope out the
world’s fastest dirt track
motorcycles and get up close and
personal with the stars of the
sport is also available.
Multi-day camping passes are
available to purchase for $95.
New for 2024 is the
Opening Ceremonies Trackside Fan
Experience ($150 all
ages). This ticket option
provides reserved seating with
Pit Pass access, a guided tour
of, and photo opportunities at,
the infield podium and
start/finish line, infield
viewing of Opening Ceremonies
and the heat races, and a track
talk and photo opportunity with
2016 Grand National Champion
Bryan Smith.
Visit
https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/bridgeport-half-mile-86133
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 Bridgeport
Half-Mile, featuring
in-depth features and thrilling
onboard cameras, will premiere
on FS1 on
Saturday, June 29,
at 2:00 p.m. ET
(11:00 a.m. PT).
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com.
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