DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(July 12, 2022) – The
2022 Progressive
American Flat Track
season reaches its midpoint with
this weekend’s Mission
Port Royal Half-Mile presented
by Appalachian Harley-Davidson
at Port Royal Speedway
on Saturday, July 16.
Besides its centralized location
on the schedule chronologically,
its physical location in Port
Royal, Pennsylvania, adds some
extra significance as well.
Pennsylvania is arguably
America’s most fertile hotbed of
motorcycle dirt track talent
with an outsized number of the
Progressive AFT’s competitors
either native or resident
Pennsylvanians.
The most high-profile of them
all – reigning Mission
SuperTwins presented by S&S
Cycle Champion
Jared Mees (No. 1
Indian Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750) and two-time
class king Briar Bauman
(No. 3 Indian
Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance
FTR750) – lead the series into
this weekend’s showdown.
The more things change, the more
they stay the same; while it
took a bit of a circuitous route
to get to this point, the two
factory Indian aces find
themselves right back where
they’ve been for the bulk of the
previous three seasons – 1-2 in
the points with over half the
season’s eight wins shared
between them.
The aforementioned change,
however, remains a factor in the
form of a significant shift in
the balance of power. Mees and
Bauman are no longer locked in
confrontation with only one
another but also under fire from
a formidable pair of teammates.
Estenson Racing Yamaha’s
Dallas Daniels (No. 32
Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT)
and JD Beach
(No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha
MT-07 DT) have been battling up
front nearly every weekend. As a
result, they’re currently a
close 3-4 in the standings, with
Daniels actually level with
Bauman in points and ranked
third only due to the
tiebreaker.
And the Mission Roof Systems’
duo of Pennsylvanian
Brandon Robinson (No.
44 Mission Roof Systems Indian
FTR750) and Jarod
Vanderkooi (No. 20
Mission Roof Systems Indian
FTR750) have come on strong as
of late, scoring a combined
1-2-3 over the last three
rounds.
The gifted premier-class field
offers even more potential race
winners as well. Bronson
Bauman (No. 37 Latus
Motors Racing Harley-Davidson
XG750R) and Davis Fisher
(No. 67 Bob Lanphere’s BMC
Racing Indian FTR750) each boast
a runner-up finish in the first
half of the ‘22 campaign, while
Brandon Price
(No. 92 Cory Texter Racing/JCS
Racing Yamaha MT-07) finished as
a close runner-up at Port Royal
Speedway a year ago.
Mission Production Twins
presented by Vance & Hines
This year’s Mission
Production Twins presented by
Vance & Hines title
fight has taken shape as a
two-man show with a rotating
cast of guest stars.
Defending class champ (and
native Pennsylvanian)
Cory Texter (No. 1 G&G
Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha
MT-07) and title challenger
Jesse Janisch
(No. 33 Vance & Hines
Harley-Davidson XG750R) have
distanced themselves from the
pack in terms of the points race
via a combined five wins and 13
podiums.
However, the pack has shown the
capacity to present a serious
additional challenger for race
wins on just about any given
weekend with Nick
Armstrong (No. 60
Competitive Racing
Frames/Lessley Brothers Yamaha
MT-07), Billy Ross (No.
109 Mission Foods/Roof Systems
Harley-Davidson XG750R), and
James Rispoli (No.
43 Wally Brown Racing/Haversack
KTM 890 Duke) having all stood
on the top step of the podium
this year.
Pennsylvanian Cameron
Smith (No. 34 Thee
Cathy Gray/Al Barker Royal
Enfield 650) very nearly added
his name to the list last time
out while riding in place of
another “Keystone State” pilot
in Johnny Lewis
(No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered
by Royal Enfield 650). Smith
will have another shot aboard
the Royal Enfield Twins FT this
weekend with the home crowd
cheering him on as Lewis
continues to heal from his
injuries.
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER
It’s a different story in
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER action
as Kody Kopp
(No. 12 Red Bull KTM Factory
Racing 450 SX-FFE) has
established himself the rider to
beat – and a difficult one at
that.
While the class championship
outlook currently lacks the
drama of the other two classes,
Kopp’s excellence has been
enthralling in its own right.
The 17-year-old has been close
to perfect in each of the last
three rounds, controlling the
proceedings pretty much all day
long, capped off by a runaway
race win.
Kopp has already earned five
wins en route to building an
imposing 42-point championship
advantage (66 points over third
place). Only twice in class’
history has a rider taken more
race wins than that in a single
season (Dallas Daniels with
eight in 2019 and Michael Avila
with six in 2011), and the young
KTM ace still has over half the
season ahead of him to further
pad his stats.
Despite the one-sided nature of
the title fight, there’s an
incredible collection of talent
who could step forward and go on
a run of their own at any point.
Kopp’s teammate, Max
Whale (No. 18 Red Bull
KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE),
scored five wins himself a year
ago and didn’t look too far
removed from his familiar form
in his return from injury in New
York.
And all three of the American
Honda-backed Turner Racing
pilots – Morgen
Mischler (No. 13
American Honda/Progressive
Insurance CRF450R),
Dalton Gauthier (No. 79
American Honda/Progressive
Insurance CRF450R), and
Chase Saathoff (No. 106
American Honda/Progressive
Insurance CRF450R), have the
requisite speed, talent, and
determination to claim the top
step of the podium this weekend.
The weekend also marks the
midpoint of the season for Royal
Enfield’s extremely popular
BUILD. TRAIN. RACE.
program which serves to
highlight and celebrate women
and motorcycle culture in North
America. Jaycee Jones
(No. 33 Royal Enfield/S&S Cycle
Royal Enfield INT650) leads the
standings with two wins and a
runner-up in the season’s
opening three races and heads
into Port Royal Speedway as last
year’s winner at the venue.
There will be plenty to keep
fans entertained off the track
as well, including numerous
vendors, a variety of food and
beverage options, and a bouncy
house in the Kids Zone.
Road Case will perform
its hard-hitting, guitar-driven
brand of rock and roll. Finally,
the evening will be topped off
with a spectacular fireworks
display.
Visit
https://store.americanflattrack.com/ebooking/ticket/view/id/3694/
to reserve your tickets today.
General Admission (both
SRO Infield and Grandstand) tickets
start at just $25 with kids 12
and under free when accompanied
by an adult when purchased in
advance. Other options include
Reserved Grandstand
tickets and Camping
Passes.
Paddock Access Upgrades
are also available for purchase,
which provide all-day access to
the paddock 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 3:30
p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT with
Opening Ceremonies scheduled to
begin at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 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 Mission Port Royal
Half-Mile presented by
Appalachian Harley-Davidson will
premiere on FS1 on
Saturday, July 23, at 9:30 a.m.
ET/6:30 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.
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