DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(September 14, 2024) – Jared
Mees (No. 1 Rogers
Racing/SDI Racing/Indian
Motorcycle FTR750) put the
finishing touches on what may
prove the final and most
convincing argument in support
of his claim as the greatest
rider in the history of
Progressive American Flat Track,
sanctioned by AMA Pro
Racing: an
unprecedented tenth
Grand National Championship.
Mees did exactly what he needed
to – and then some – at
Lake Ozark Speedway to
secure this crowning achievement
as the 2024 season came to its
conclusion with the inaugural
running of the Parts
Plus Lake Ozark Short Track
presented by Arrowhead Brass &
Arby’s in Eldon,
Missouri.
Racing before a packed house
with some 125,000 motorcycle
enthusiasts flooding the area
for the 18th Annual Lake
of the Ozarks Bikefest, the
Mission AFT SuperTwins Main
Event was loaded with talented
riders motivated to end their
respective ‘24 campaigns on a
high note.
And yet still no one could
compare to Mees on this night,
just like so many other nights
before it. Despite requiring
just three points to clinch his
record tenth title, the Indian
Motorcycle hero grabbed the
holeshot and battled it out over
the race’s opening stages with
second-ranked Brandon
Robinson (No. 44
Mission Roof Systems Indian
FTR750), the only rider
retaining even the slimmest
mathematical chance of stealing
away the #1 plate.
But by the contest’s halfway
point, Mees had shook free at
the front, shifting the race’s
epicenter of drama back to
Dallas Daniels
(No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha
MT-07 DT), whose season-long
podium streak was in serious
threat after the Estenson Racing
ace found himself mired down in
ninth.
However, Daniels systematically
worked his way forward while
Robinson duked it out with
Jarod Vanderkooi (No.
20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford
Ohio Indian FTR750) for second.
Daniels eventually made his way
up to their scrap, displacing
Robinson and then Vanderkooi,
all the while drawing shockingly
near to Mees as the contest
reached its final circulation.
But that’s as far as Daniels’
charge would carry him. Mees
held on to finish the season –
and potentially his career – on
top in practically every sense,
winning the season finale by
0.423 seconds over his young
rival.
Vanderkooi earned the final spot
on the podium, with Robinson and
Briar Bauman
(No. 3 Rick Ware
Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790
Duke) rounding out the top five.
Rookie Declan Bender
(No. 70
GOMR/BriggsAuto.com/Martin
Trucking Indian FTR750) finished
sixth, followed by Davis
Fisher (No. 67 Rackley
Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing
Indian FTR750), Sammy
Halbert (No. 69
OnlyFans/Castrol/Kings
Kustoms/LZ Racing
Harley-Davidson XR750),
Trevor Brunner (No. 21
Mission Foods/Zanotti Racing
Indian FTR750), and
Bronson Bauman (No. 37
Fastrack Racing Mission Foods
KTM 790 Duke) to complete the
top ten.
Mees’ résumé is far too
extensive to list here in full,
but in brief, tonight’s
championship triumph updates his
Grand National Championship
victory tally to now include
2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017,
2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, and
2024. He also ranks first or
second in the career wins
rankings for Half-Miles, Short
Tracks, Miles, and total GNC
Main Event victories.
Mees, who elevated an already
Hall-of-Fame-worthy career to
stratospheric heights once he
joined forces with Indian
Motorcycle in 2017, sent the
marque’s remarkable FTR750 out
in appropriate fashion this
season. Tonight’s championship
secures the bike a perfect
eight-for-eight record in Grand
National Championship battles in
what will go down as one of the
most dominant eras the sport has
ever witnessed from both man and
machine.
In the end, Mees earned the 2024
Mission AFT SuperTwins title
with 311 points, followed by
Robinson at 280 and Daniels at
276.
After claiming an unprecedented
tenth Grand National
Championship, Mees said, “It was
a goal. Everybody would say it
was a dream, but it was a goal.
I made my dream my goal and
worked hard at it. It hasn’t
even sunk in yet. I had a big
points lead coming in here, but
there was only one way to go out
the way I want to go out, and
that was by winning this damn
race.
“I can’t say enough for my
entire team. Kenny (Tolbert),
Bubba (Bently), Jimmy (Wood),
you guys have won me a lot of
races and a lot of
championships. I definitely
wouldn’t be as successful
without you three and all my
sponsors. Indian Motorcycle – I
took their very first win in
2017, I opened that book for
them, and tonight I got to close
it for them. I can’t say enough
for that company…
“So many people contributed to
my program over these years. I
feel like I could have this
microphone until tomorrow
morning and talk about my career
and all the people who were in
it to make me successful. I just
want to say thank you.”
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER
As if Mees’ record-breaking
achievement wasn’t enough to
secure the ‘24 finale’s place in
the sport’s annals, Kody
Kopp (No. 1 Rick Ware
Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450 SX-F)
closed out the Parts
Unlimited AFT Singles presented
by KICKER season by
securing the 450cc equivalent.
Needing to merely avoid
catastrophe, Kopp actually
jumped out into the lead to open
the decisive final contest.
However, once Chase
Saathoff (No. 88 JPG
Motorsports Honda CRF450R) and
then Trent Lowe
(No. 48 American Honda/Mission
Foods CRF450R) drove underneath
him, Kopp seemed to reevaluate
his strategy, dropping down to
fifth before settling back in.
With Saathoff powering away out
front, Kopp wicked his pace back
up, pouncing on Tom
Drane (No. 59 Estenson
Racing Yamaha YZ450F) and
Evan Renshaw
(No. 265 American Honda/Mission
Foods CRF450R) in rapid
succession to slot back into a
podium position.
He then carried that momentum
past Lowe and began the
difficult task of closing the
gap to Saathoff when a red flag
flew as a result of a
Travis Petton IV (No.
82 ECG Racing/A.M Ortega KTM 450
SX-F) fall with less than a
minute remaining on the clock.
That development changed the
complexion of the race
completely, transforming it into
a wild bar-to-bar affair to the
flag. Lowe led initially before
Saathoff and Drane took their
season-long rivalry to the front
of the pack. Kopp was again
shuffled back to fifth where he
could have easily stayed to
collect his third #1 plate, but
instead he made a final push to
claim third ahead of Renshaw and
Lowe.
Meanwhile, the season’s final
victory went to Drane over
Saathoff by 0.061 seconds,
handing the Australian bragging
rights for most wins on the
season at seven in the process.
Drane said, “I was able to
bounce back (after a bad start).
That restart really helped me
there at the end. I was able to
fight back and had a good battle
with Chase. It was good to
finally get something back on
him after all the stuff he’s
done to me this year. I can’t
thank my team enough for all
their effort all year.”
Kopp ultimately took the crown
with a grand total of 339 points
to Drane’s 324 and Saathoff’s
318. And like Mees in the
premier class, he now stands
alone in the Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles record books. Following
the completion of his third
successive title run, the Rick
Ware Racing star now owns more
championships (three) and more
race victories (22) than anyone
in the category’s history, while
also holding either sole
possession or a share of first
place all-time in terms of Short
Track, Half-Mile, and
single-season victories.
The conquering Kopp said, “I
couldn’t be more proud of my
Rick Ware Racing team. It’s been
a dream season. I would have
loved to get a win there, but
those guys at the front were
riding a little over the top,
and I wasn’t going to play that
game. We had a championship to
win, and that was way more
important… It’s a dream come
true. Who knows what will be
after three?”
Finally, Shasta
L'Heureux (No. 67 Royal
Enfield) completed the 2024
season for Royal Enfield’s
successful and popular
Build. Train. Race. (BTR) program
by claiming her first-career
victory in the class with
perpetual frontrunners
Kenzie Luker (No. 17
Royal Enfield) and Taia
Little (No. 11 Royal
Enfield) rounding out the
podium.
Next Up:
For those who can’t catch the
action from the circuit,
FloRacing is the live
streaming home of Progressive
AFT. Sign up now and catch every
second of the on-track action,
from the first practice to the
victory podium, at
https://flosports.link/aft.
FOX Sports coverage
of the Lake Ozark Short
Track, featuring
in-depth features and thrilling
onboard cameras, will premiere
on FS1 on
Sunday, September 22,
at 12:00 p.m. ET
(9:00 a.m. PT).
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com.
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