Briar Bauman (3) leads the field
during the Mission AFT
SuperTwins Main Event at Lucas
Oil Speedway on July 18. [Photo:
American Flat Track/Tim Lester]
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(July 30, 2025) – The
superstars of
Progressive American Flat Track,
sanctioned by AMA Pro
Racing, are preparing
to undertake a full-scale
invasion of the 85th
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally,
with three rounds to be
contested in a five-day span.
The first two of those three
come in the form of the
Jackpine Gypsies Short Track I &
II doubleheader, which
will take place at the
Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club
in Sturgis, South
Dakota on Monday, August 4, and
Tuesday, August 5.
History Lesson
Over the decades, the Sturgis
Motorcycle Rally has grown to
become a cultural phenomenon of
global proportions, attracting
some half-million two-wheeled
enthusiasts on an annual basis.
Somewhat obscured in that rise,
however, is the rally's
intrinsic, founding relationship
to racing.
Progressive AFT has done much to
reconnect the rally to those
roots in recent years, and
reconnecting with the Jackpine
Gypsies Motorcycle Club is an
important step in furthering
that mission.
The rally was first launched in
1938 by local racer, dealer, and
race promoter J.C. "Pappy" Hoel
by way of the Jackpine Gypsies
Motorcycle Club which he’d
founded just a couple years
prior. The rally was based
around a Half-Mile dirt track
race that was won by Johnny
Spiegelhoff, who would later go
on to win the Daytona 200 and
earn himself a slot in the AMA
Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Approximately two hundred people
attended that first year, which
was enough to convince Hoel and
the Jackpine Gypsies that it was
an event worth continuing.
The Grand National
Championship too, has
important historical ties to
Sturgis. The series raced in
Sturgis in its first two years
as a season-long endeavor. The
victory in ‘54 was taken by
six-time Grand National race
winner Al Gunter on a BSA, while
Bob Tindall rode his
Harley-Davidson to the ‘55 win –
the first and only triumph of
his premier-class career.
Of course, there was much racing
history made between 1938 and
1954, with even more added
since, especially in recent
years.
Who will be the next to add
their name to Sturgis racing
immortality?
Moving Triple Time
Don’t forget, this week’s
Sturgis triple will kick off
with the second-ever
Mission Triple Challenge,
which will be featured
in the Jackpine Gypsies
Short Track I.
The format – which ramps up the
intensity, pressure, and drama
via three increasingly lengthy
and important Main Events to
determine the night’s ultimate
victor – proved a smashing
success in its Lima debut.
Can you imagine just how intense
it’ll be when utilized in the
close confines of a Short
Track?
Well, we won’t have to imagine
for much longer.
Standing Tall at Short
Tracks
Briar Bauman
(No. 3 RWR/Parts Plus/Latus
Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R)
comes into the week with a
narrow Mission AFT
SuperTwins title lead
built in large part on his Short
Track prowess.
Bauman has stated that Rick Ware
Racing elected to field the
Harley-Davidson XR750R in 2025
in part due to their estimation
that it would prove a strong
mount for this year’s Short
Track-heavy calendar. They’ve
been proven prescient in that
regard, with the team racking up
four ST victories already this
season.
Those wins have shot Bauman’s
career tally up to nine Short
Track wins (earned at seven
different venues, by the way),
putting him equal with ST
masters Chris Carr,
Henry Wiles,
and Jared Mees
for most all time in the
discipline.
Considering his current form and
the fact that he has two cracks
at it in Sturgis, it would
almost be an upset if Bauman
leaves this year’s rally not
standing alone atop that
particular career leaderboard.
While career achievements are
nice, Bauman’s focus is
obviously on the championship
fight at hand. Fortunately,
those two go hand-in-hand, as
the three-race run in Sturgis
will no doubt have massive title
implications.
And if he doesn’t take those
wins, it’s a pretty strong bet
they’ll instead go to the rider
currently four points behind
him.
Roller Reversal
Between them, Bauman and
Dallas Daniels (No. 32
Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT)
have accounted for all nine wins
in 2025.
The most recent went to Bauman
by 0.329 seconds over Daniels,
although that short summary does
a poor job of conveying how
things actually played out at
Lucas Oil Speedway.
Over the past two-and-a
half-seasons, it’s been Bauman
who has endured more than his
fair share of roller-coaster
days, struggling to find pace
only to pull it all together at
the last minute and salvage
whatever he might in the Main
Event (note: he’s salvaged
outright victory on more than
one of those occasions).
Daniels, meanwhile, has
traditionally been historically
steady, at or near the front
throughout. On his good days, he
wins. On his bad days, he
finishes second, or… (gasp…)
third, with little indication
the result will be anything less
than that in the lead up to the
Main.
In fact, almost all of his
race-related drama took place
out of sight when a training
accident most likely cost him
the 2024 Grand National
Championship.
Ignoring the races missed to
injury, he’s racked up a nearly
unthinkable 22-race podium
streak.
Even if you don’t like being
charitable and consider that
streak null and void due to the
rounds him missed while healing
up, it still splits into a
ten-race streak (which would
rank as the fifth longest of the
reunification era
(2010-present)), and an active
twelve-race streak (which would
be third best and just two short
of Mees’ alt-history record of
14).
However, Daniels saw that streak
(whichever one you view as
legitimate, 22 or 12) put in
serious jeopardy at Lucas Oil
Speedway. There he was well off
his usual pace, hovering around
tenth throughout qualifying,
finishing fifth in his heat, and
opening the Main Event from Row
3.
Daniels pulled a Bauman,
however, slicing and dicing his
way to the front and very nearly
running Bauman down at the
checkered flag.
While he’d likely want to avoid
a repeat of that day, he also
probably feels comforted knowing
that he and his Estenson Racing
crew can pull it off if
necessary.
As he said after the race, “The
way I look at it is, we took a
day where we should have been
probably 9th or 10th, and we put
it on the podium. That's what
teams like ours do.”
H.O.G. Wild
The once-maligned
Harley-Davidson XG750R now leads
the 2025 Grand National
Championship fight with five
victories in nine races.
Of course, all have come
courtesy of Bauman, while
Brandon Robinson
(No. 44 Mission Roof Systems
Harley-Davidson XG750R), who has
an extensive history with the
machine, is still gunning for a
first on the bike.
He’s come awfully close, but now
he’s starting to feel the rounds
tick away as he aims to finally
accomplish a goal nine years in
the making.
Robinson, who has scored two or
more wins in five of the
previous six seasons, has no
intention of going winless in
2025. And a victory in Sturgis
would be hugely popular with the
droves of Harley faithful
expected to arrive in town,
generally, and at the racetrack,
specifically.
A win or two would also do the
Mission Roof Systems pilot quite
a bit of good in the battle for
third in the championship
standings, a struggle that
tightened up considerably after
he ran into mechanical issues
last time out.
He’s now just seven points clear
of Davis Fisher
(No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob
Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790
Duke), and 15 points up on
Jarod VanDerKooi
(No. 20 Fastrack
Racing/Wally Brown Racing KTM
790 Duke) after the KTM-mounted
duo enjoyed bounce-back weekends
at Lucas Oil Speedway.
Breakthrough Breakdown
Mission AFT SuperTwins rookie
James Ott (No.
19 G&G Racing Yamaha MT-07) and
sophomore Declan Bender
(No. 70 Memphis Shades/Luczak
Racing Yamaha MT-07) enjoyed
simultaneous breakthroughs when
they flanked fellow Yamaha ace
Dallas Daniels to earn their
first-career premier-class
podiums together at DuQuoin.
Now the two seek to really make
their mark in the record books,
each still on the quest to
secure their maiden Progressive
AFT wins in any class.
They’re not alone in hunting for
milestones.
Trent Lowe (No.
48 American Honda/Progressive
Insurance Honda Transalp), who
finished fourth at Lucas Oil
Speedway, is zeroing in on both
his first-career Mission AFT
SuperTwins podium and Honda’s
first premier-class
twin-cylinder podium since
Rich King rode
the RS750 to the box in ‘98.
Dan Bromley
(No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson
Construction Suzuki GSX-8S), who
finished fourth at the Lima
Half-Mile I, could earn his
first-ever Mission AFT
SuperTwins podium and give
Suzuki its first premier-class
twin-cylinder podium since Briar
Bauman got his first-ever
premier-class podium on the
SV1000 in 2013.
And Max Whale
(No. 18 Moto Anatomy X Powered
by Royal Enfield 650), who
finished fifth at the Lima
Half-Mile I, could earn his
first-ever Mission AFT
SuperTwins podium and take Royal
Enfield to the premier-class
podium for just the second time
in its history.
A Party Inside a Party
Inside a Party
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has
a well-earned reputation for
nonstop fun and excitement and
both days at the track will
prove no exception.
The Fan Party –
complete with a Rider
Q&A session – will take
place leading up to Opening
Ceremonies each night.
And those in attendance will
also be able to enjoy big-screen
coverage of all the race action,
the Kids Zone with a bounce
house and face painting, DJ’d
music, designated motorcycle
parking and a variety of food
and beverage options.
Get Your Tickets Now
General Admission
Grandstand tickets for
the Jackpine Gypsies
Short Track are just
$25 (kids 12 and under free with
a paid adult ticket) each day,
while Reserved
Grandstand tickets are
available for $40 (all ages).
Students can purchase a
GA Grandstand ticket
for just $20 at the gate the day
of the event with a valid ID.
H.O.G. members can purchase a
H.O.G. Membership Ticket
for $45 (all ages), which grants
access to both a dedicated
parking area and reserved
seating.
Fans also have the option to
select Portable Stadium
Chair Seating for $70
(all ages), which includes a
complimentary stadium chair
complete with the event logo
that can be used in a tiered
seating area along the front
stretch of the track.
Finally, the VIP Ticket
($99 all ages) provides
access to a tented area that
overlooks the track,
complimentary snacks and
non-alcoholic beverages, beer
for purchase, and Reserved
Grandstand seating.
Click
HERE
to reserve your seats for the
Jackpine Gypsies Short
Track I.
Click
HERE to reserve your seats
for the Jackpine Gypsies
Short Track II.
You can also take advantage of a
discounted rate by purchasing
tickets for both days together
HERE.
Both days will see the gates
open for fans at 6:30 p.m.
ET/3:30 p.m. PT with Opening
Ceremonies scheduled to begin at
10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
How to Watch
FloRacing
For those that can’t catch the
live action from the circuit,
FloRacing is
the live streaming home of
Progressive AFT. Motorsports
fans can subscribe to FloRacing
to enjoy over 1,000 live
motorsports events in 2025.
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.
FS1
FOX Sports
coverage of the Jackpine
Gypsies Short Track I,
featuring in-depth features and
thrilling onboard cameras, will
premiere on FS1
on Saturday, August 16,
at 10:00 a.m. ET
(7:00 a.m. PT), with the
Jackpine Gypsies Short Track II
set to air the following day,
Sunday, August 17,
at 1:00 p.m. ET
(10:00 a.m. PT).
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com.
