DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(August 2, 2024) – Progressive
American Flat Track,
sanctioned by AMA Pro
Racing, will open its
84th Sturgis Motorcycle
Rally doubleheader with
the Black Hills
Harley-Davidson Black Hills
Half-Mile presented by The City
of Sturgis at
Black Hills Speedway in
Rapid City, South Dakota, on
Tuesday, August 6.
Black Hills Speedway has
traditionally been the domain of
flat track royalty, with 11 of
the 15 Mission AFT
SuperTwins victories at
the venue split up amongst seven
different Grand National
Champions.
Last year’s runner-up – both in
the championship and at Black
Hills – Dallas Daniels
(No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha
MT-07 DT) might have hoped to
add his name to both lists in
‘24. And while the efforts of
JD Beach (No.
95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07
DT) at Peoria have the injured
Daniels still holding the top
spot in the title race, that
position is fleeting and soon to
be handed over.
Reigning champion Jared
Mees (No. 1 Rogers
Racing/SDI Racing/Indian
Motorcycle FTR750) is now just a
single point back and poised to
seize control at Black Hills
Speedway where he has previously
won on four separate occasions,
including one year ago.
With Daniels out indefinitely,
the biggest obstacle now
standing in Mees’ way of
securing a record-setting tenth
Grand National Championship is
Brandon Robinson
(No. 44 Mission Roof Systems
Indian FTR750). Robinson has
five rounds to claw 14 points
back from Mees, a task that will
likely require him to overcome
history starting this weekend at
a track where he has twice
finished fourth but never on the
podium, let alone won.
Mees’ other remaining title
threat, however, has.
Briar Bauman (No. 3
Rick Ware Racing/KTM/Parts Plus
KTM 790 Duke) was victorious
here in 2019 and then won the
Mission #2Fast2Tasty
Challenge before the
Main Event was rained out. While
admittedly uneven in his oval
efforts this season, Bauman
comes in fresh off his Peoria TT
triumph and with the potential
to string together a win streak
in search of a third career
title.
Davis Fisher
(No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob
Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian
FTR750) and Cameron
Smith (No. 34
RVR/KTM/Schaefer’s Motorsport
KTM 790 Duke) are the only other
riders to have finished inside
the top five in the
premier-class here, although
Jarod Vanderkooi (No.
20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford
Ohio Indian FTR750),
Brandon Price (No. 92
Memphis Shades/Sody Ent/OTBR
Yamaha MT-07), Dan
Bromley (No. 62 Memphis
Shades/Vinson/Al Lamb’s Dallas
Honda Transalp) and
Dalton Gauthier (No. 79
Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal
Enfield 650) have the ability to
do that and more on Tuesday.
It could also be a major
opportunity for rookies
Trevor Brunner (No. 21
Mission Foods/Zanotti Racing KTM
790 Duke), Declan Bender
(No. 70
GOMR/BriggsAuto.com/Martin
Trucking Indian FTR750), and
Max Whale (No.
18 Latus Motors Racing/Liqui
Moly Harley-Davidson XG750R).
All three performed well here
prior to graduating to Mission
AFT SuperTwins duty, Brunner in
particular, taking the win in
2022.
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER
While still holding a strong
position in search of a third
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER title,
Kody Kopp (No.
1 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus
KTM 450 SX-F) comes to Black
Hills Speedway in need of a
victory.
While already the class’
all-time wins leader, Kopp’s
chances to set a new
single-season wins record has
taken a hit following three
straight runners-up, with rivals
Chase Saathoff (No.
88 JPG Motorsports Honda
CRF450R) and Tom Drane (No.
59 Estenson Racing Yamaha
YZ450F) getting the better of
him in recent weeks.
Kopp will likely welcome the
return to Rapid City where he
orchestrated one of the most
memorable wins of his young
career a year ago. Last season,
the Rick Ware Racing star
charged his way up from seventh
to first, capped off by a
late-race pass over pre-race
favorite Drane.
Saathoff comes in with all the
momentum following two
consecutive victories in his
home state of Illinois. While
it’s true that he’s yet to
finish on the podium at Black
Hills Speedway, the same could
have been said of Peoria before
his stirring victory this past
week.
In fact, only one rider in the
field has finished on the podium
in each of the past two visits;
Trent Lowe (No.
48 American Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R) could use a similar
result this weekend with
James Ott (No. 19 1st
Impressions Race Team Husqvarna
FC450) pushing him for fourth in
the points when the American
Honda-backed Lowe entered the
season with championship
ambitions.
The usual suspects of
Travis Petton IV (No.
82 ECG Racing/A.M Ortega KTM 450
SX-F), Tarren Santero
(No. 75 Vinson Construction/P&M
Motorcycles Honda CRF450R),
Evan Renshaw
(No. 265 American Honda/Mission
Foods CRF450R), Tyler
Raggio (No. 55 Raggio
Racing/Sluggo Racing KTM 450
SX-F), and Jared Lowe
(No. 63 BigR/Little Debbie
Racing Honda CRF450R) will look
to break into the top five and
upset the expected order.
Additionally, Tuesday night will
feature the penultimate round of
Royal Enfield’s successful and
popular Build. Train.
Race. (BTR) flat track
program for the 2024 season.
Since its introduction, BTR has
injected new talent and
excitement into the series as
highlights, celebrates, and
encourages the involvement of
women in flat track racing.
There will be plenty beyond just
the race action for fans to
enjoy throughout the day on
Tuesday, including numerous
vendors, dedicated motorcycle
parking and playground for kids.
General Admission
Grandstand tickets are
just $30 (kids 12 and under $5),
while Reserved
Grandstand tickets are
only $15 more (all ages). For
another $50, the 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.
Fans also have the opportunity
to receive the VIP
treatment by selecting a special
ticket option that provides
access to the exclusive, premium
indoor VIP viewing area and
includes food, beverage, and a
Pit Pass for $125.
Visit
https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/black-hills-half-mile-86674
to reserve your seats today.
Gates will open for fans at 3:00
p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT). Opening
Ceremonies are scheduled to
begin at 6:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m.
PT) ahead of a pair of Main
Events at twilight, timed to
allow fans to also attend the
evening’s concerts in Sturgis.
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 Black Hills
Harley-Davidson Black Hills
Half-Mile presented by The City
of Sturgis, featuring
in-depth features and thrilling
onboard cameras, will premiere
on FS1 on
Sunday, August 11,
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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