Dallas Daniels (32) leads
Declan Bender (70) and Henry
Wiles (911) Saturday.
[Photo: American Flat Track/Tim
Lester]
Main Event 3
A tense and enthralling Main
Event 3 closed things out with
massive championship
implications.
Once Main Event 2 winner Lowe
dropped out with a mechanical,
the 20-lapper took shape as a
five-rider fight at the front
with Harley-Davidson-mounted
Bauman faced up against the
Yamahas of Daniels, Bender, Ott,
and Price.
Bauman repeatedly featured in
first, slicing his way back
through whenever Bender and Ott
– and later Daniels and Price –
clawed their way forward.
However, Bauman’s brilliant
riding was overmatched by sheer
speed when it mattered the most.
Despite leading with two laps to
go, Bauman lost out in the final
shuffle; he was dropped all the
way down to fifth at the flag
while rival Daniels blasted up
to hit the stripe in first.
Price finished second (0.092
seconds), followed by Ott
(0.146), Bender (0.183), and
Bauman (0.194). And with triple
points in effect, that re-racked
the day’s Overall results in
nearly in that same order, with
Bauman ahead of Bender for
fourth the only alteration.
As a result, Bauman’s
championship lead has been
reduced to just two points
(280-278) with just only races
remaining. Robinson remains
third at 186.
An emotional Daniels said, “The
beginning of the day today has
just been the story of the
season. It’s been tough, but
I’ll tell you one thing, it’s
making us a helluva lot
stronger. We proved that we
don’t give up. That’s the motto
for sure. I kind of had my head
down after the second Main
Event, and my dad grabbed me and
said, ‘Hey dude, we’re not out
of this.’
“Briar was so good in (Turns) 3
and 4, I was just nervous. I
didn’t know where to place
myself. But when Brandon (Price)
got up there, I knew it was time
to go. On the last lap, I knew I
had to cut the best Turns 3 and
4 I did all day, and I really
felt I did. Winning the
Springfield Mile is pretty
cool.”
AFT Singles presented by
KICKER
Australian Tom Drane
(No. 59 Estenson Racing
Yamaha YZ450F) became the first
non-American champion in any
class in the long history of
Progressive American Flat Track,
securing the AFT Singles
presented by KICKER
title a full two rounds early
today in Springfield.
He did so by being both faster
and more consistent than any
other rider, racking up podiums
at a historic rate while rapidly
climbing his way up the career
victory ranks.
Even in the event of a
Trevor Brunner (No. 21
American Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R) victory, the Estenson
Racing Yamaha ace needed just a
ninth-place finish on Saturday
to wrap up his first AFT Singles
crown.
But finishing ninth isn’t really
Drane’s style…
Main Event 1
Drane made his intentions clear
from the start, grabbing the
holeshot to open Main Event 1
with Brunner slotting in behind
him.
They were joined by 1st
Impressions teammates
Kage Tadman (No. 288
1st Impressions Race Team
Husqvarna FC450) and
Chad Cose (No. 49 1st
Impressions Race Team Husqvarna
FC450) and Bradon
Pfanders (No. 83
Hannum’s HD/Pfanders Racing KTM
450 SX-F) to create a five-rider
breakaway at the front.
Try as they might, no one could
move Drane out of first for
long, and the Estenson Racing
star grabbed the checkered flag
with relatively little drama.
Tadman edged Brunner for second,
followed by Cose and Pfanders.
Main Event 2
Tadman powered by Drane on the
opening lap, signaling the start
of a very different race for top
honors in Main Event 2. The two
shook free of the pack almost
immediately, with the lone
exception of Cose, who managed
to reel the two back in and join
the fight for the win.
With Cose lurking just behind,
Tadman and Drane went back and
forth throughout. Tadman
registered his final pass for
the lead with two to go, while
Drane returned the favor
entering Turn 1 on the final
lap.
Drane’s task was then made a bit
easier when Cose slipped up the
inside of his young teammate as
they negotiated Turns 3-4 for
the final time.
Behind the Drane-Cose-Tadman
1-2-3, Brunner picked up fourth
after coming out on top of a
massive melee for the position
with just 0.643 seconds
separating fourth from tenth.
Main Event 3
The decisive Main Event 3 saw
its lead pack ebb-and-flow –
eight to three back up to seven
as packs split and merged. All
the while, Drane, Brunner, and
Tadman dominated the front three
positions, repeatedly trading
first position.
The 20-lap Main was red flagged
with eight laps to go when
fourth-placed Pfanders crashed
after getting sucked up in the
draft just as Tadman closed down
in front of him. The resultant
staggered restart changed what
was a long haul into a sprint
race with the championship on
the line.
From there a big pack stuck
tight to the flag, but the end
result was still the same; Drane
had a counter for every move
Brunner and Tadman threw at him,
and he took the checkered flag –
and the 2025 title with it – via
a 0.017-second victory over
Brunner.
After earning the #1 plate with
his sixth win of the season,
Drane said, “I’ve got a great
team behind me. I can’t thank
any of them enough. Tommy
(Hayden) and Tim (Estenson) gave
me this opportunity, and I
wouldn’t be here without them.
The whole Estenson Racing team
worked hard all year to get this
bike underneath me. And I can’t
thank my family enough. All the
sacrifices my mum and dad have
made for me to be here is just
awesome. It’s amazing.”
Despite getting edged by Drane,
Brunner jumped up to second in
the Overall results.
Meanwhile, Cose again pipped
teammate Tadman for third, both
in Main Event 3 and the event at
large. Pfanders, who fought his
way back up into contention from
the back of the pack, came home
fifth in Main Event 3 and
Overall.
While the title is now taken
care of, Drane still has a
chance to tie Dallas Daniels and
Kody Kopp for most wins in an
AFT Singles season (eight) and
Shayna Texter-Bauman for second
all-time class race wins (19)
before the year is out.
Next Up:
Progressive American Flat Track
will be right back in action
here in Springfield tomorrow,
Sunday, August 31, for the 2025
season’s penultimate round, the
Springfield Mile II
presented by Drag Specialties.
Visit
https://www.tixr.com/groups/meespromotions/events/springfield-mile-day-2-125375
to purchase your tickets now.
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
Springfield Mile I presented by
Drag Specialties,
featuring in-depth features and
thrilling onboard cameras, will
premiere on FS1
on Saturday, September 6,
at 10:00 a.m. ET
(7:00 a.m. PT). The
Springfield Mile II
presented by Drag
Specialties will air
the following Saturday,
September 13, at
10:00 a.m. ET
(7:00 a.m. PT)
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com.
