AMA AND OTHER SERIES

Daniels Headlines Yamaha’s Atlanta Sweep

tim lester

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 21, 2026) – Reigning Mission AFT SuperTwins king Dallas Daniels (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07) successfully defended Yamaha’s home turf to complete a clean sweep of victories for the brand in Saturday night’s Yamaha Atlanta Short Track, Round 3 of the 2026 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing.

Daniels entered the event saddled both with the pressure of a pair of second-place finishes in the DAYTONA double opener and a winless prior record at Senoia Raceway. Amping it up further was the fact that even though he earned pole position, his Yamaha MT-07 was flanked on the front row by a trio of threatening Harley-Davidson XG750Rs piloted by  two-time Grand National Champion Briar Bauman (No. 3 RWR/Jacob Construction/Parts Plus Harley-Davidson XG750R), rookie sensation Kody Kopp (No. 12 Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R), and perennial podium presence Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R).

However, the knowledge that Bauman and Robinson beat him in Senoia, Georgia, to go 1-2 a year ago, and that class newcomer Kopp twice outclassed him in DAYTONA, was still not enough to rattle the unshakeable Daniels.

The champ blasted into the lead from the start and spent the following eight minutes and two laps brushing off Kopp’s continual attempts to goad him into even a minor bobble in hopes of identifying a way past. Instead, Daniels locked down on the low line and never put a wheel wrong. 

Kopp eased up late to stretch the difference to a deceptive 0.988 seconds. The victory was Yamaha’s first premier-class win at its home track and topped off an evening that earlier saw it claim its first and second triumphs in any class at the venue.

“It was a tough race,” Daniels said. “We never stopped working all day, and I felt Kody right there the whole Main Event. I needed to keep my head down because I felt like my first half of the race was so strong. The track was so slippery, it was hard to hit your marks. I’m so pumped. This place has been nagging at me. I’ve had so many great battles here but just kept losing out, getting seconds and thirds. 

“I want to give this one up to Yamaha. I wanted to win this one for them. We went up to the headquarters and to the plant this week, and everybody is so invested in this. It’s not just us – it’s everyone in a blue shirt. They want to see us win, and this one is for them.”

Meanwhile, while Kopp could not break Daniels, his performance further solidified the early indications that he has the potential to emerge a full-blown title threat in his rookie campaign.

Bauman – who guided the XG750R to its first-ever Mission AFT SuperTwins win in Senoia a year ago – returned to the box in Georgia, but only following a hugely entertaining scrap with Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790 Duke).

Fisher reeled in Bauman by way of a hooked-up high line, ultimately passing the RWR pilot at half-distance. Bauman adjusted his lines in turn, and the two then engaged in a back-and-forth tilt to the checkered flag.

Behind them, Robinson not only made it three Harleys in the top five, rookie Aidan RoosEvans (No. 26 FRA Trust Advisors Harley-Davidson XG750R) made it four in the top six to close out a very strong showing for the brand on a night that Yamaha largely owned the spotlight.

Brandon Price (No. 92 Memphis Shades/Vinson Construction Yamaha MT-07) finished in seventh, a mere 0.078 seconds adrift of RoosEvans, while Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods Honda CB750 Hornet), Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 Parts Bros/D&D Cycles/Fairway Ford Aprilia Tuareg 660), and Henry Wiles (No. 911 J&M Logging/Ray C’s Harley-Davidson Kawasaki Ninja 650) combined to push the number of brands inside the top ten to six.

Kopp’s DAYTONA double triumph keeps him ahead of Daniels in the early-season points race (65-61) with third-ranked Fisher some 22 points back of first.

KICKER AFT Singles

What figured to be a showdown between reigning KICKER AFT Singles champion Tom Drane (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) and the on-form Walker Porter (No. 10 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) turned into a masterclass courtesy of veteran ace Trevor Brunner (No. 21 KMA Racing/March Equipment Yamaha YZ450F).

While Porter accomplished his initial goal of beating Drane to the holeshot, Brunner slipped in behind and hounded his less experienced adversary.

Brunner made his move with just over four minutes to go, throwing his Yamaha underneath Porter’s Honda to grab hold of the lead.

Porter was soon further victimized by a freight train consisting of Justin Jones (No. 91 Fairway Ford Chevy GMC Yamaha YZ450F), Chase Saathoff (No. 88 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450), and Drane, falling from first to fifth in a matter of just over a minute.

While Jones creeped forward and Saathoff actively sought for an advantageous line in third, Brunner stayed strong and consistent at the front en route to a 0.721-second margin of victory.

The win was the ninth of Brunner’s career and furthers his remarkable streak of winning at least one Main Event in each of his six career KICKER AFT Singles campaigns.

“It was just incredible, “Brunner said. “As soon as I pulled off after that heat race, I looked at my mechanic, Jerimiah (Duffy), and said, ‘I know exactly what to do – this is shaping up to be exactly like my home track, Lawrenceburg Motorcycle Speedway.’ I put in that setup I ran every Friday night since I was three years old, and lo and behold, it worked.”

Dark horse Jones held on to hand Yamaha a popular 1-2 with a huge contingent of the brand’s employees in attendance, while Saathoff backed up last year’s Senoia win with another podium at the track.

Drane’s fourth saw his record-smashing podium streak snapped at 14. However, it was still good enough to keep him in the championship lead by six points over Brunner (56-50) and nine over Saathoff (47).

Porter, meanwhile, lost one additional position late, getting dropped to sixth by teammate Kage Tadman (No. 28 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R).

Tarren Santero (No. 75 Roof Systems/Vinson Construction Honda CRF450R), Bradon Pfanders (No. 83 Memphis Shades/Corbin Seats Yamaha YZ450F), Jared Lowe (No. 63 Big R Racing/Vinson Construction Honda CRF450R), and Jordan Jean (No. 56 Ray C's Harley Davidson Yamaha YZ450F) completed the top ten.

AFT ProSport 450

Sam Drane (No. 7 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) made it two-for-two in Road to AFT Amateur Invitationals with a walk-away win in the evening’s AFT ProSport 450 Main Event.

Similar to his performance at the DAYTONA opener, Drane did so despite not winning the previous day’s AMA-sanctioned Mission Foods CTR Showcase Event. In fact, he didn’t even finish on the box on Friday, but it was a completely different story on Saturday.

Drane rocketed off the start and left a field jam-packed with future stars in his wake, ultimately taking the checkered flag with a 2.385-second margin of victory. In doing so, he actually took the honors of delivering Yamaha its first Main Event race win at its home track.

Fellow Australian Jake Paige (No. 55 Paige Racing GASGAS MC 450F) fought his way up to second with DAYTONA runner-up Ryder Bitz-Hay (No. 14 Bitz-Hay Racing KTM 450 SX-F) rounding out the podium.

Cody Mishey (No. 26 Team Mishey Racing Honda CRF450R)  executed a late pass to take fourth away from Jett Katarzy (No. 17 1st Impressions Husqvarna FC450) as the two completed the top five.

Next Up

Progressive American Flat Track will head out to the Pacific Coast on Saturday, April 25, for stunning views and spectacular racing at the Ventura Short Track. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/2026-ventura-short-track-168769 to purchase your tickets today.

How to Watch

FloRacing

For those that can’t catch the live action at the track, FloRacing is the live streaming home of Progressive American Flat Track. Motorsports fans can subscribe to FloRacing to enjoy over 1,000 live motorsports events in 2026. FloSports is available by visiting https://flosports.link/AFT2026 or by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast.

FS1
FOX Sports coverage of the Yamaha Short Track, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, March 29, at 12:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m. PT). The full listing of American Flat Track’s television premieres can be found at https://www.americanflattrack.com/events-foxsports.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 6, 2026) – One night after his history-making Mission AFT SuperTwins debut, Kody Kopp (No. 12 Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R) raised the bar that much higher with an even more convincing repeat performance in the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA II.

Kopp’s remarkable DAYTONA Flat Track double victory adds fuel to an already scorching hot Grand National Championship landscape, laying the early groundwork for what should prove to be a scintillating 2026 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing.

Main Event 1

The series brought back the high-stakes, high-intensity Mission Triple Challenge format first introduced in ‘25 for the second night of the DAYTONA doubleheader. Under those rules, three successive Main Events – a 10-lap sprint, a 15-lapper that pays double points, and a final 20-lap Main which concludes the night with triple the points – combined to determine the evening’s overall winner.

And with lap times in the 17-second range, that first 10-lap battle immediately threw the contenders into the fire.

Reigning Grand National Champion Dallas Daniels (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07) lunged ahead of surprise polesitter Aidan RoosEvans (No. 26 FRA Trust Advisors Harley-Davidson XG750R) off the line, but both riders were immediately overtaken by Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790 Duke).

After a bit of back-and-forth, Daniels settled in on Fisher’s tail, while RoosEvans turned his attention to fending off Briar Bauman (No. 3 RWR/Jacob Construction/Parts Plus Harley-Davidson XG750R).

Everything was reset on lap 6 of 10, however, when LCQ winner Logan Mcgrane (No. 14 Schaffers MotorSports/Ryan Varnes Racing KTM 790 Duke) crashed, bringing out a red flag.

Fisher resumed his advantage off the staggered restart and successfully held Daniels at bay to the checkered flag. RoosEvans retained his position in third as well, leaving the major happenings behind the top three.

Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R) got a flier of a restart, storming around the outside of Bauman for fourth. While Bauman fought back through, Thursday winner Kopp powered forward, pushing his way past Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Martin Trucking/OnlyFans/Castrol Yamaha MT-07) and then closing in on Robinson for fifth.

Kopp made good on that threat, overtaking Robinson on the final lap to claim a spot inside the top five.

Meanwhile, Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods Honda CB750 Hornet), who was forced to burn his provisional start just to make the Main, fought his way up to eighth to secure himself a better starting position and brighter prospects for the subsequent Mains.

Main Event 2

Momentum from Main Event 1 carried over for the aforementioned pair of rising stars. Starting on the inside of Row 2, Kopp continued his aggressive push up the order, first forcing his way under Daniels and then doing the same to Bauman to climb into second on the race’s opening lap. One lap later, the Latus Motors Racing ace slipped past Main Event 1 winner Fisher to take the lead and promptly escape at the front.

Lowe, too, picked up where he left off. Starting from the outside of Row 2, Lowe followed Kopp through the field, moving into second on lap 3. From there, the American Honda-backed Lowe was the only rider who could even keep Kopp honest – finishing just under a second back – while a field packed with proven premier-class heroes was left to tangle for third.

Daniels and Bauman crossed each other up for position on more than one occasion before the Estenson Racing star got a firm hold on fourth. Once there, he reeled in third-placed Fisher. But yet again, he was unable to find a way through at the stripe.

Bauman held on for fifth, followed by Robinson, Henry Wiles (No. 911 J&M Logging/Ray C’s Harley-Davidson Kawasaki Ninja 650), and Halbert.

Main Event 3

Kopp hustled his Harley-Davidson XG750R into the lead at the start of the third and decisive Main with Lowe and Fisher in close contention.

While those three streaked away at the front, Daniels was shuffled down to eighth, trailing Brandon Price (No. 92 Memphis Shades/Vinson Construction Yamaha MT-07), Halbert, Robinson, and Bauman, in addition to the leading trio.

For a moment, Kopp actually looked vulnerable. He was displaced by both Fisher and Lowe in quick succession with 16 of 20 laps remaining. However, rather than get discouraged, the heralded premier-class rookie regrouped, adjusted, and retaliated. He reclaimed his position out front with 11 laps to go and continued to build upon his advantage, taking the checkered flag with a healthy 1.195-second margin in the end.

That distance was actually Daniels, who made a characteristic charge late. This time, he finally found a way past Fisher, slipping through on the final lap of the final Main. That move also saw him edge ahead of Fisher in the combined results with Kopp (5-1-1) finishing first, followed by Daniels (2-4-2) and Fisher (1-3-3).

While Robinson passed Lowe late in Main Event 3, Lowe (8-2-5) wound up fourth in the combined order, followed closely by Robinson (6-6-4). Title hopeful Bauman (4-5-7) was credited with sixth overall.

As a result, Kopp leads the championship chase following the opening two rounds with a perfect 46 points. Defending champ Daniels ranks second at 38, followed by Fisher with 29.

Kopp said, “I knew what I had to do, and I know what I’m capable of – that’s all I’ve got to say. I work my butt off for this, and this is what I want to do for my life. To have this opportunity with George Latus, Bob Lanphere, Dave Zanotti, Michelle Disalvo… this whole team has been unreal to work with.”

KICKER AFT Singles

The KICKER AFT Singles class delivered an absolute stunner for an encore to Thursday’s opener.

Friday’s wild Main Event saw the emergence of a maiden winner in Bradon Pfanders (No. 83 Memphis Shades/Corbin Seats Yamaha YZ450F). However, deep into the contest it appeared that distinction would actually go to rookie Jordan Beaulac (No. 156 Picotte Motosport/Dofralex GASGAS MC 450F).

The race-shattering moments came early and often with Tom Drane (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) and Chase Saathoff (No. 88 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450) adding yet another chapter to their rivalry in the race’s opening stages. While actively disputing the lead, Drane ran up the inside of Saathoff and the two made contact, leaving Saathoff on the ground in a reversal of their clash here in ‘24.

Saathoff picked up his bike and continued on at the back of the pack, while Beaulac picked up the pieces of the incident to steal away the lead in the melee.

From there the young Canadian ripped open a gap of more than a second, with Logan Eisenhard (No. 66 Eisenhard Racing/Pags Powersports KTM 450 SX-F) in second and Drane in third.

The race took another massive turn with just under two minutes to go when Saathoff suffered his second fall of the Main, this one bringing out the red flag.

Once back underway, Beaulac and Eisenhard jumped back into first and second off the line but made simultaneous mistakes while working the opening lap of the restart, stalling their bikes and splitting the field.

Original polesitter Tarren Santero (No. 75 Roof Systems/Vinson Construction Honda CRF450R) came out of the chaos with lead, followed closely by Pfanders. Meanwhile, Drane found himself in fifth, trailing Justin Jones (No. 91 Fairway Ford Chevy GMC Yamaha YZ450F 450) and Trevor Brunner (No. 21 KMA Racing/March Equipment Yamaha YZ450F).

A five-way fight for first played out for several laps with Pfanders at last securing the lead with just two to go.

An undeniable Drane then forced his way up to second, creating an opportunity for Kage Tadman (No. 28 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) to grab the final spot on the box while following in the Aussie’s wake.

Santero came home fourth, with 2015 DAYTONA winner Jones fifth. Saathoff somehow made his way up to sixth, while the unfortunate duo of Eisenhard and Beaulac could do no better than 12th and 14th, respectively, after earlier looking like a strong bet to land the top two spots on the box.

The win is the first of Pfanders’ KICKER AFT Singles career after previously demonstrating front-running on multiple occasions since making his Progressive AFT debut in 2024.

“This is unreal,” Pfanders said. “I never had a real, legitimate podium, and to do it with a win is insane. My whole family is here. I got to give (my) little sister a victory lap that’s been promised for three years. I can’t thank everybody behind me enough. I’m glad I can repay their faith in me.”

As a result of his opening week 1-2, reigning champ Drane holds an early advantage in the ‘26 title fight with 42 points. Pfanders is second at 33, followed by Saathoff with 31.

AFT AdventureTrackers™

The 2026 AFT AdventureTrackers opener was a test of patience, determination and toughness.

The contenders were clearly caught off guard by the changing track conditions at the start of the Main Event, with William Harris (No. 45 OTB Racing/Memphis Shades BMW F 900 GS), Austin Luczak (No. 97 Memphis Shades/Corbin/Sody Concrete BMW F 900 GS), and class champion Dan Bromley (No. 1 Big Momma and Daddy Deep Pockets Suzuki V-Strom 1050) all crashed while still on the race’s opening lap.

Bromley’s fall was particularly brutal and prevented him from re-entering the fray in the restart.

Incredibly, with all the riders tiptoeing their way around as they searched for grip, the two who pushed the hardest were remounted crashers Harris and Luczak.

Harris worked into to the lead early and held it until nearly the very end, with Luczak fighting his way through with just seconds to go on the clock.

While Luczak and Harris completed the BMW 1-2, Matt Beland (No. 278 Memphis Shades/Corbin/Sody Concrete Honda Africa Twin) made a late pass on Michael Hill (No. 47 Weirbach Racing/Berry Bros Triumph Tiger 1200) to complete the podium.

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR)

Emma Gottsch (No. 5 Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars) finished off her DAYTONA double in Friday’s Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) Main Event.

Gottsch was again the class of the field, breaking away to secure her third career win at the venue after going 1-2 in last year’s opener.

She was followed to the flag by Julia Hess (No. 13 Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars) and Madicela Rodriguez (No. 113 Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars) to complete a repeat of last night’s podium.

Next Up

America’s Original Extreme Sport will head north for the Yamaha Atlanta Short Track at Senoia Raceway in Senoia, Georgia, on Saturday, March 21.

Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/2026-atlanta-short-track-165280 to purchase your tickets today!

How to Watch

FloRacing

FS1

FOX Sports coverage of the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Saturday, March 14, at 8:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. PT), with the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA II set to air on Saturday, March 21, at 12:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m. PT). The full listing of American Flat Track’s television premieres can be found at https://www.americanflattrack.com/events-foxsports.

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