DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(June 7, 2022) – The
2022 Progressive
American Flat Track
season will go straight from the
high-speed drafting wars of its
first Miles to the intense,
bar-to-bar battles of its first
Short Track with the
Progressive Laconia Short Track
presented by MOMS Motorsports
at New
Hampshire Motor Speedway
in Loudon, New Hampshire, on
Saturday, June 11.
The round will mark just the
second occasion in which
Progressive AFT has served as a
premiere attraction of the
fabled Laconia Motorcycle Week.
The historic rally began as a
gypsy tour in 1916 and is
celebrating its 99th running
this year with a huge number of
motorcycle-themed activities
featured all throughout the
surrounding areas from June 11
to June 19.
Jared Mees (No.
1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750) enters the
weekend as both the reigning
Mission SuperTwins
presented by S&S Cycle
champion and its current points
leader.
Mees was presented with a mighty
challenge at the Red Mile and
still ended up on the top of the
podium. It’s not likely to get
any easier at the mentally and
physically demanding 0.25-mile
Progressive Laconia Short Track.
Mees could only muster
15th-place when the series
visited back in 2019 due to
mechanical issues, a result he
has yet to do worse than ever
since.
While he’ll be looking to make
amends in his second opportunity
at the venue, there will be no
shortage of adversaries hoping
to chip away at his early-season
points lead. That group is
headlined by two-time
premier-class champion
Briar Bauman (No. 3
Indian Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750), who is in
need of a bounce-back effort
following a relatively quiet
weekend in Kentucky.
And there’s no reason to think
the Estenson Yamahas of
Dallas Daniels (No. 32
Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT)
and JD Beach
(No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha
MT-07 DT) won’t be in the mix
once again. The teammates have
established themselves as
constant presences near the
front of the pack as they
rapidly develop into both podium
regulars and genuine
championship contenders.
It’s safe to say no rider looks
back as fondly on the ‘19 visit
to New Hampshire as
Bronson Bauman (No. 37
Latus Motors Racing
Harley-Davidson XG750R), who
took a hard-earned maiden
victory on that occasion. Bauman
has flashed the strength and
speed to vie for top positions
early in ‘22 and will do
everything in his power to
return Harley-Davidson to the
top of the box this weekend.
A
number of privateer Indians
could factor into the fight as
well, most notably Davis
Fisher (No. 67 Bob
Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian
FTR750), Brandon
Robinson (No. 44
Mission Roof Systems Indian
FTR750), and Jarod
Vanderkooi (No. 20
Mission Roof Systems Indian
FTR750). And it’s becoming less
and less of a surprise whenever
a rider from the support class
charges into contention via the
Mission Production Twins
Challenge.
Mission Production Twins
presented by Vance & Hines
Jesse Janisch
(No. 33 Vance & Hines
Harley-Davidson XG750R) has
pulled off a successful career
reinvention. Once regarded
primarily as a TT specialist in
singles competition, the
Wisconsin native is now rightly
viewed as a week-to-week threat
and serious title fighter in the
Mission Production Twins
presented by Vance & Hines
class.
Ever since getting the call by
Vance & Hines to fill in as an
injury sub during the middle of
last season, Janisch has been on
point. And that form has only
continued to improve to the
point where he enters the
Progressive Laconia Short Track
as the winner of two of the last
three rounds and the new
championship leader.
However, only one point
separates him from defending
class champion Cory
Texter (No. 1 G&G
Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha
MT-07), who continues to salvage
strong results on his bad days.
One expects more good days are
coming soon as Texter attempts
to close out a decorated career
by adding a third Mission
Production Twins title to his
name.
And despite encountering some
misfortune last time out,
Nick Armstrong
(No. 60 Competitive Racing
Frames/Lessley Brothers Yamaha
MT-07) continues to show staying
power. Armstrong remains well
within striking distance in
what’s taking shape as a
three-rider championship chase.
Several others still have the
potential to have their say,
both week-to-week and over the
long haul, chief among
Ben Lowe (No. 25
Mission Foods/Roof Systems
Yamaha MT-07), Ryan
Varnes (No. 68
Schaeffer’s Motorsports/Rausch
Fuel & Oil KTM 890 Duke), and
Johnny Lewis
(No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered
by Royal Enfield 650).
One other rider to watch out for
this weekend is Dan
Bromley (No. 62 Vinson
Construction/Viper Air Yamaha
MT-07), who finished third in
the championship a year ago and
finished as runner-up in his
only outing to date this season.
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER
The ‘22 Parts Unlimited
AFT Singles presented by KICKER
season is living up to its
advance billing as a titanic
showdown between the
factory-backed KTM and American
Honda outfits. Collectively,
they’ve combined to score all
five wins and 14 of a possible
15 podium positions.
That has done nothing to lessen
the class’ renowned drama or
unpredictability, however, as
Kody Kopp (No.
12 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
450 SX-FFE), Morgen
Mischler (No. 13
American Honda/Progressive
Insurance CRF450R), and
Dalton Gauthier (No. 79
American Honda/Progressive
Insurance CRF450R) have all
stood atop the podium.
As
is the nature of the class,
another dozen or so riders are
more than capable of springing a
surprise on any given weekend,
led by the likes of
Trent Lowe (No. 48
Mission Foods/Al Lamb’s Dallas
Honda CRF450R), Trevor
Brunner (No. 21
Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F),
Chase Saathoff
(No. 106 American
Honda/Progressive Insurance
CRF450R), and Chad Cose
(No. 49 1st Impressions Race
Team/Voodoo Ranger Honda
CRF450R).
There will be plenty to keep
fans entertained off the track
as well, including numerous
vendors, food trucks, beverage
options, the Kids Zone, and the
live music of the acoustic rock
duo D-Comp, featuring Demetri
Papanicolau on vocals and Nate
Comp on guitar.
Visit
https://store.americanflattrack.com/ebooking/ticket/view/id/3692/
to reserve your tickets today.
General Admission –
Standing Room Only
tickets are available for $40
(kids 12 and under free when
accompanied by an adult), while
General Admission
Grandstand tickets are
available for just $10 more.
Paddock Access Upgrades
are also available for purchase,
which provide all-day access to
the pits where fans can scope
out the world’s fastest dirt
track motorcycles and get up
close and personal with the
stars of the sport.
Gates will open for fans at
12:30 p.m. local time with
practice starting at 1:30 p.m.
ET/10:30 a.m. PT with Opening
Ceremonies scheduled to begin at
4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT ahead
of the day’s Main Event program.
You can catch the livestream of
all the weekend’s racing
activities on
FansChoice.tv.
FansChoice.tv provides
free-to-view livestreaming of
Practice and Qualifying.
FansChoice.tv subscribers will
then be able to watch the drama
unfold from Opening Ceremonies
through the Semis, Main Events,
and podium celebrations.
FansChoice.tv offers two
subscription options, granting
unlimited access to premium AFT
content. Monthly subscriptions
start at just $7.99, while a
six-month subscription is
available for $44.99.
The Progressive Laconia
Short Track presented by MOMS
will premiere on
FS1 on
Saturday, June 18, at 12:00 p.m.
ET/9:00 a.m, PT, including
exclusive features, cutting-edge
aerial drone and onboard
footage, and expert commentary.
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com.To
score the latest gear for the
Progressive American Flat Track
fan, visit our official
merchandise store at
https://store.americanflattrack.com.
How to Watch:
FOX Sports and FansChoice.tv are
the official homes for coverage
of Progressive American Flat
Track. For the 2022 season, all
races will premiere in one-hour
telecasts on FS1 during highly
desirable weekend time slots.
The complete schedule can be
viewed at
https://www.americanflattrack.com/events-foxsports.
FansChoice.tv provides
livestreaming coverage of every
Progressive AFT round at
http://www.FansChoice.tv.
