Briar Bauman (3) and Dallas
Daniels (32) wait to enter the
track at the Jackpine Gypsies MC
in Sturgis during Round 10 [Photo: American Flat
Track / Scott Hunter]
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(August 12, 2025) – Progressive
American Flat Track,
sanctioned by AMA Pro
Racing, will complete a
run of four races in less than
two weeks with one of its most
iconic events: the World
Famous Peoria TT on
Saturday, August 16, at the
Peoria Motorcycle Club
in Peoria, Illinois.
The Masters of Peoria
This year marks the 78th edition
of the fabled race, one that
fans reliably flock to in droves
to watch from the hillsides of
its spectacular natural
amphitheater, as well as one
that aspiring dirt trackers from
all over the world dream of
someday winning.
Despite its long history, the
winners list remains shockingly
exclusive, as each victory has
been jealously guarded by an
elite cadre of Peoria TT
masters.
In its most recent 38 runnings,
there have been just nine
different winners. At the top of
that list, of course, stands
14-time race winner
“King” Henry Wiles,
followed closely by
Chris Carr, who earned
the moniker “The Prince
of Peoria” by
conquering the prestigious event
13 times.
The most recent certified master
of the Peoria TT is JD
Beach, who won three
straight from 2021-2023.
This trend is not a recent
development, not even in a
relative sense. Joe
Leonard claimed seven
wins here from 1954-1961, Bart
Markel took six from 1960-1968,
and Dick Mann
racked up five between
1959-1972.
In fact, this tendency towards
the emergence of Peoria
dominators pre-dates the
Grand National Championship’s
initiation as a season-long
affair in 1954, as Roger
Soderstrom claimed five
straight Peoria TT wins from
1949-1953.
Briar Bauman
(No. 3 RWR/Parts Plus/Latus
Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R)
is on the cusp of earning his
Peoria TT master’s degree. He
owns two wins in the race (2019
and 2024) and has finished on
the podium every year since the
Mission AFT SuperTwins
class brought the big bikes back
to the track in 2017.
And the Rick Ware Racing hero
may actually need to earn that
distinction with a third-career
Peoria TT victory this weekend
if he hopes to secure a third
premier-class title in 2025.
More on that in a bit.
If Only
And yet, all of the above does
not necessarily make Bauman the
slam-dunk favorite to win this
weekend.
Dallas Daniels
(No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha
MT-07 DT) has everything
necessary to be a Peoria TT
master himself – everything
minus the consistent record of
results at the venue to back the
claim up.
Hailing from nearby Mattoon,
Illinois, Daniels was that
quintessential kid who
daydreamed of Peoria TT glory as
he rose up through the ranks.
And he got it – in a big way –
when he crushed a stacked
AFT Singles
field in 2019 to score his
maiden Progressive AFT victory
as a 16-year-old rookie.
Armed with both sublime flat
track and road racing skills,
Daniels is a proven TT superstar
– talents once again put to good
use in last Friday’s
Jackpine Gypsies Super TT.
However, his relationship with
the Peoria TT since that initial
breakthrough has been decidedly
mixed.
If you’ll recall, Daniels
returned to the venue in 2021
(there was no Grand National
Championship round at Peoria in
2020 due to the global pandemic)
with sky high expectations.
Instead, the visit turned out to
be a nightmare, marred by two
huge crashes in the Main Event,
resulting in a 16-place finish.
His first attempt in the premier
class in 2022 went significantly
better – a respectable third.
However, despite being the
fastest rider throughout
qualifying, he suffered from a
poor start in the Main that
likely prevented him from
challenging for the win.
And then In 2023, Daniels
crashed out of second place with
just over a lap remaining,
handing the championship lead
over to Jared Mees
in the process.
And 2024 was the worst of all…
He didn’t even make it to
Peoria. Daniels suffered an
accident in training while
prepping for the TT, which
effectively ended his title
campaign after having previously
built up an imposing
championship advantage.
Of all of the visits, however,
this one might be the most
critical in the Estenson Racing
star’s lifelong quest to win the
Grand National Championship.
Here’s What’s on the
Line
Four races remain to determine
this season’s Mission AFT
SuperTwins title – this
weekend’s Peoria TT, the
Springfield Mile I & II,
and the Lake Ozark Short
Track finale – while
just seven points separate
Bauman from Daniels at the top
of the championship order.
Consider the following:
Daniels’ didn’t just win at the
season’s only prior Mile in
DuQuoin, he looked to hold a
rather significant speed
advantage over Bauman while
doing so. In fact, come
Springfield, Bauman may need to
be concerned about more than
just Daniels alone. Another
Yamaha podium lockout like the
one that took place in DuQuoin
that could prove catastrophic to
his title ambitions.
Springfield I & II
Advantage: Daniels
The subsequent Lake Ozark ST
finale will mark the season’s
ninth Short Track. While Daniels
doubled at the DAYTONA ST
opener, Bauman will head into
the season’s finale race having
beaten Daniels at six
consecutive Short Tracks (with
five wins in those six).
Lake Ozark Short Track
Advantage: Bauman
Imagine the very real scenario
in which Daniels and Bauman go
1-2 twice at Springfield and 2-1
at Lake Ozark. If that were to
happen, setting aside this
weekend’s results at Peoria,
Bauman will have accumulated 304
points to Daniels 301.
If you factor a Bauman/Daniels
Peoria TT 1-2 into that
equation, Bauman wins 327-320.
Now if you instead factor in a
Daniels/Bauman Peoria TT 1-2,
Daniels wins 324-323.
Yeah, this weekend is big.
And Here’s Who Could
Make Things Even More
Interesting
Of course, the title rivals are
not the only riders on track.
Others can still play the
spoiler, the same way
James Ott (No. 19 G&G
Racing Yamaha MT-07) and
Declan Bender (No. 70
Memphis Shades/Luczak Racing
Yamaha MT-07) did in DuQuoin.
And this weekend we have the
“King” of all spoilers in
attendance: Henry Wiles
(No. 911 DL Racing/HYMMC Yamaha
MT-07).
Despite being both a part-time
racer and shouldering
double-duty at Sturgis, Wiles
scooped up podiums at the
Jackpine Gypsies Super TT in
both Mission AFT SuperTwins and
AFT AdventureTrackers™.
And the 19-time TT winner didn’t
just do that, he also looked
awfully competitive with Daniels
and Bauman while doing so, at
least for stretches. Now just
imagine how strong he might be
in his return to the venue where
he built his legend.
Another rider to keep a close
eye on is Jarod
VanDerKooi (No. 20
Fastrack Racing/Wally Brown
Racing KTM 790 Duke), who has
long, albeit somewhat quietly,
stood as a very good Peoria TT
rider.
“Quiet” only because he has yet
to podium at the track since
joining the premier class in
2015. However, ‘15 is also the
only year of his Mission AFT
SuperTwins career in which he
finished worse than seventh in
the Peoria TT, finishing inside
the top five on five occasions
with three runs to fourths.
While VDK faces an uphill climb
in the attempt to finish the
season ranked third in the
championship, he does have an
opportunity to make serious
inroads with a big weekend in
Peoria.
VanDerKooi should have an
advantage here over third-ranked
Brandon Robinson
(No. 44 Mission Roof Systems
Harley-Davidson XG750R) and
fourth-ranked Davis
Fisher (No. 67 Rackley
Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing
KTM 790 Duke). That said, it’s
worth noting that Robinson has
steadily improved at Peoria over
the years to the point that he
finished fifth at the track a
season ago, and Fisher was on it
at this past week’s Super TT
before equipment failure cost
him a shot at a podium.
And finally, don’t rule out
top-three efforts from
Dan Bromley (No. 62
Memphis Shades/Vinson
Construction Suzuki GSX-8S) and
Max Whale (No.
18 Moto Anatomy X Powered by
Royal Enfield 650), a pair of
riders who have stood on the top
of the podium in Peoria before
while competing in other
classes.
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