Dallas Daniels (32) celebrates
after receiving his Championship
#1 plate from Mike Burkeen
(American Motorcyclist
Association) at Lake Ozark
Speedway Saturday night.
[Photo: American Flat Track /
Tim Lester]
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(September 13, 2025) – Dallas
Daniels (No. 32
Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT)
fulfilled his lifelong ambition
of becoming Grand
National Champion as a
thrilling 2025
Progressive American Flat Track
season, sanctioned by
AMA Pro Racing,
came to its conclusion in
tonight’s Arby's Lake
Ozark Short Track presented by
Arrowhead Brass at
Lake Ozark Speedway
in Eldon, Missouri.
Competing before packed
grandstands as a featured
attraction of the 19th
Annual Lake of the Ozarks
Bikefest, Daniels
needed to finish seventh or
better to lock up the title in
the event of a victory on the
part of his Mission AFT
SuperTwins title rival,
Briar Bauman
(No. 3 RWR/Parts Plus/Latus
Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R).
And as expected, Bauman did all
he could to pile the pressure on
Daniels, locking down the top
spot on the charts all day
long.
Daniels grabbed the lead early
but the potential for disaster
was quickly made evident. With
multiple riders dicing for the
lead and only inches separating
them, James Ott
(No. 19 G&G Racing Yamaha MT-07)
crashed following contact with
Bauman.
Ott’s bike caromed off the wall
in the incident, creating a
chain reaction that also
collected Billy Ross
(No. 29 Mission Foods/Digitrace
Kawasaki Ninja 650),
Dalton Gauthier (No. 79
Racing Unlimited/Parts Bros
Kawasaki Ninja 650), and
Logan McGrane (No. 14
Schaeffer's Motorsports KTM 790
Duke).
While Daniels came into the
night having finished inside the
top five in 47 consecutive
races, the collective misfortune
of his fellow competitors and
subsequent red-flag delay forced
him to sit and contemplate what
might possibly go wrong.
When the race was restarted,
Daniels resumed in the lead
temporarily. However, he was
quickly overhauled by Bauman,
who subsequently raced off to
victory. Bauman was followed
home by Brandon Robinson
(No. 44 Mission Roof Systems
Harley-Davidson XG750R) to give
Harley-Davidson a season finale
1-2 and the 2025 Mission AFT
SuperTwins Manufacturer
Championship.
Daniels, meanwhile, held off a
charging Trent Lowe
(No. 48 American
Honda/Progressive Insurance
Honda Transalp) – fresh off his
Springfield stunner – to secure
the final spot on the box and
his first Grand National
Championship in the process.
Just behind, Bronson
Bauman (No. 37 Mike
Butler Racing/Mission Foods
Yamaha MT-07) finished fifth,
with Davis Fisher
(No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob
Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790
Duke), Declan Bender
(No. 70 Memphis Shades/Luczak
Racing Yamaha MT-07),
Max Whale (No. 18 Moto
Anatomy X Powered by Royal
Enfield 650), Dan
Bromley (No. 62 Memphis
Shades/Vinson Construction
Suzuki GSX-8S), and Ben
Lowe (No. 25 Mission
Foods/Roof Systems Yamaha MT-07)
rounding out the top ten.
This season marks the
culmination of the first stage
of Daniels’ professional career.
The Estenson Racing Yamaha star
was widely projected as a future
premier-class king as early as
his amateur days, in which he
became the first rider to win
the Nicky Hayden AMA
Horizon Award in both
flat track and roadracing.
He’s only continued to
accumulate accomplishments since
joining the pro ranks. Daniels
became the first-ever two-time
AFT Singles
champion and followed that up by
authoring a run that ranks as
among the greatest first four
seasons the Mission AFT
SuperTwins category has ever
witnessed.
In winning the 2025 crown,
Daniels now stands as the
seventh youngest rider to earn a
first-career Grand National
Championship, both as measured
by age and experience. He’s been
a title contender throughout the
entirety of his time in the
class, proving himself a
historically relentless and
constant threat at the front of
the pack, regardless of time or
place.
Additionally, Daniels joins
“King” Kenny Roberts
(1973 & 1974) to become just the
second rider to win the sport’s
greatest prize aboard Yamaha
racebikes exclusively.
The new champ said, “The
emotions are overwhelming. It’s
been a bit of an overwhelming
season. Last year, I really had
a breakout season and was doing
really good. I had a nice little
points lead and then had a huge
heartbreak. When we came into
this year, we did really good at
Daytona, and from then on the
season was super tough for a lot
of reasons. A lot of it was on
me, trying to come back from an
injury, and Briar was firing on
all cylinders immediately.
“When I look at this season – it
was kind of like today – just a
grind. We struggled with a lot
of stuff, and it was such a
tough season, but the whole
Estenson Racing Monster Energy
Yamaha team never gave up, and I
never gave up on them. We
believed in each other.
“I don’t even know how to put
this into words… I’ve got to
thank my parents and my whole
family, who have sacrificed so
much. I’ve dreamed of this my
whole life. I’d go to sleep at
six years old wanting to be
Grand National Champion. It
almost slipped away at times
this year, but I never lost
belief in myself, and I never
lost belief in my team. I worked
my whole life to be here.”
While ultimately unable to
overcome Daniels’ peerless
consistency, Bauman closed out a
spectacular season that only
further enhanced the reputation
of the two-time Grand National
Champion. In ‘25, Bauman and his
Rick Ware Racing team took the
previously winless
Harley-Davidson XG750R and won
more races than any other rider
this season (eight) while giving
Daniels and the Estenson Racing
squad all they could handle
until the very end.
Bauman said, “I’ve got to give a
huge thanks to the Rick Ware
Racing/Parts Plus/Latus Motors
team. I ask so much of these
guys. We had high hopes and a
lot of heart. Congrats to Dallas
Daniels and the whole Estenson
Racing team. They are so good.
This was the best year of my
career statistically, and it
wasn’t good enough. That’s
crazy.”
Daniels won the 2025 Mission AFT
SuperTwins title with 313
points. Bauman ended up second
with 307, followed by Robinson
at 217.
Meanwhile, Lowe secured Mission
AFT SuperTwins Rookie of the
Year honors by finishing a
superb fourth overall with 186
points.
