Mission AFT SuperTwins riders
Briar Bauman (3), Dan Bromley
(62), Davis Fisher (67), Trent
Lowe (48), and others race
during the Main Event at Lucas
Oil Speedway Friday night.
[Photo: American Flat Track/Tim
Lester]
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(July 18, 2025) – The
world’s elite motorcycle dirt
trackers put on quite the show
in the inaugural Short
Track at Lucas Oil Speedway
in Wheatland,
Missouri, to open the second
half of an intense 2025
Progressive American Flat Track
season, sanctioned by
AMA Pro Racing.
The “Diamond of Dirt Tracks” was
properly introduced to
two-wheeled action on the night,
playing witness to the two best
riders in the world performing
at the top of their games. In
the end, Briar Bauman
(No. 3 RWR/Parts Plus/Latus
Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R)
overcame the valiant effort of a
relentless Dallas
Daniels (No. 32
Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT)
to score his fifth victory of
the season and break their
points tie atop of the
Mission AFT SuperTwins
standings.
Prior to the race, Bauman’s
victory felt nearly preordained
considering both his form on the
season and throughout the day.
That seemed especially true once
he got the holeshot and Daniels
languished down near tenth after
struggling uncharacteristically
and qualifying on the third
row.
However, Daniels locked onto an
extreme low line and made it
work, leaping up to fifth in
short order and then sitting on
the back of a fight for third
waged by Davis Fisher
(No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob
Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790
Duke) and Trent Lowe
(No. 48 American
Honda/Progressive Insurance
Honda Transalp).
That became a four-rider dispute
for second once Brandon
Robinson (No. 44
Mission Roof Systems
Harley-Davidson XG750R) dropped
his pursuit of Bauman and fell
into the clutches of Fisher,
Lowe, and Daniels as the contest
approached half-distance.
A minute later, Daniels used
that ultra-low route to dive
past all three and jump up from
fifth to second in one extended
swoop. By that point, however,
Bauman held an advantage of
1.354 seconds and seemed safe on
his way to victory.
Daniels made it less and less
safe, however, ultimately
closing to within 0.329 seconds
by the time they arrived at the
checkered flag.
Bauman’s triumph was his
ninth-ever Short Track win,
elevating him into a four-way
tie with Chris Carr,
Henry Wiles,
and Jared Mees
for the career lead in the
discipline. It was also his 31st
overall premier-class win,
moving him into the all-time top
ten in terms of career
victories.
Bauman said, “(Daniels) just
figured it out halfway through
the Main Event and was clicking
laps. I thought I was hitting my
marks, but he’s so good and this
is so tight, that I’m just numb
to it at this point…
“I’m fired up. When Jared Mees
stepped away, I said I need to
be the guy to fill his shoes. I
know there are a lot of people
who want to see us succeed, and
I can feel that. That gets me
fired up. Once again, Rick Ware
Racing, Parts Plus, Latus
Motors… Rick (Ware) and George
(Latus) came together to put
this thing together. I never
thought I’d have five wins. This
Harley-Davidson XG750R is
working really good.”
Meanwhile, Fisher held off the
impressive Lowe to get his
season back on track with a
third podium result of ‘25.
Unfortunately for Robinson, he
was a non-finisher; he pulled
off with a mechanical issue just
as Lowe overtook him for fourth
with under a minute-and-a-half
remaining on the clock.
Jarod VanDerKooi
(No. 20 Fastrack
Racing/Wally Brown Racing KTM
790 Duke) won out in a scrap for
sixth with James Ott
(No. 19 G&G Racing
Yamaha MT-07) and Declan
Bender (No. 70 Memphis
Shades/Luczak Racing Yamaha
MT-07).
Max Whale (No.
18 Moto Anatomy X Powered by
Royal Enfield 650),
Bronson Bauman (No. 37
Mission Foods/Roof Systems
Yamaha MT-07), and Billy
Ross (No. 29 Racing
Unlimited/Bel Ray Kawasaki Ninja
650) rounded out the top ten.
Bauman now leads Daniels 185-181
in what’s truly taken shape as a
two-rider battle for the
Grand National Championship.
Despite his misfortune on the
evening, Robinson remains ranked
third, albeit 66 points back of
the lead at 119.
AFT Singles presented by
KICKER
Trevor Brunner
(No. 21 American Honda/Mission
Foods CRF450R) pulled off an
epic final-lap, final-corner
pass on AFT Singles
presented by KICKER
title leader Tom Drane
(No. 59 Estenson Racing
Yamaha YZ450F) to claim his
first victory of the season.
After Drane made quick work of
the fast-starting Bradon
Pfanders (No. 83
Hannum’s HD/Pfanders Racing KTM
450 SX-F), it looked as if the
Australian might simply march
off to his fourth consecutive
victory.
And Drane did in fact open up a
second-plus advantage before
championship rival Chase
Saathoff (No. 88
RWR/Parts Plus Honda CRF450R)
and Brunner finally made their
way into second and third with
right around three minutes
remaining on the clock.
From that point forward,
Saathoff and Brunner couldn’t
decide who should lead the
charge in their joint attempt to
track down Drane. Instead, they
battled it out all non-stop but
somehow continued to reel in the
Estenson Racing ace all the
while.
The two finally moved to within
striking distance as the clocks
hit zero; Brunner and Saathoff
flanked Drane from close behind
with the Turner Honda pilot
perched on his right shoulder
and the RWR rider there on his
left.
Just when it looked like it was
all too little, too late,
Brunner threw in a last-gasp
Hail Mary maneuver and was
rewarded for his audaciousness,
stealing the checkered flag from
Drane by a scant 0.069 seconds.
“It feels amazing,” Brunner
said. “I feel like I’ve got like
300 pounds lifted off my chest.
I knew I could get it done, but
we were just missing the little
things, and I think it’s a lot
mentally from myself. But, man,
this facility is awesome, the
fans are awesome, the whole
experience here at Lucas Oil
Speedway has been awesome.”
Three seconds behind Brunner,
Drane, and Saathoff,
Jared Lowe (No. 63 Big
R/Little Debbie Racing Honda
CRF450R) completed a charge of
his own to fight his way into
fourth.
Early leader Pfanders equaled
his career-best finish of fifth,
while car track expert
Aidan RoosEvans (No. 26
FRA Trust/ATV’s and More Yamaha
YZ450F) came home sixth.
Chad Cose (No.
49 1st Impressions Race Team
Husqvarna FC450), Tarren
Santero (No. 75 Mission
Roof Systems Honda CRF450R),
Walker Porter
(No. 100 American Honda/Mission
Foods CRF450R), and Evan
Kelleher (No. 31
Schaeffer's Motorsports KTM 450
SX-F) finished seventh through
tenth, respectively.
Despite the narrow defeat on the
night, Drane actually extended
his points lead. He now leads
Saathoff by 23 points (172-149),
while Brunner closed in just a
bit, upping his tally to 137.
Next Up:
Progressive American Flat Track
will make its way to the 85th
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for the
Jackpine Gypsies Short Track I &
II on Monday, August 4 and
Tuesday, August 5.
To purchase Jackpine Gypsies
Short Track I & II tickets,
visit:
https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/2025-jackpine-gypsies-short-track-i-144070
and
https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/2025-jackpine-gypsies-short-track-ii-144071.
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 Short
Track at Lucas Oil Speedway,
featuring in-depth features and
thrilling onboard cameras, will
premiere on FS1
on Sunday, August 10,
at 11:00 a.m. ET
(8:00 a.m. PT).
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com.
