STURGIS, S.D. — Reigning Grand National Champion Dallas Daniels (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07) doubled down at the 86th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, backing up his Saturday stroll with another dominating outing in Monday’s Caterpillar Jackpine Gypsies Short Track at the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club.
On the backfoot for much of his Mission AFT SuperTwins title defense, Daniels has rounded into form at the perfect time with just three rounds remaining in the 2026 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing.
And Daniels didn’t just walk away at the front Monday night… he did so twice. The Estenson Racing Yamaha star had stacked up a near four-second advantage when that lead was wiped out by a red flag just past half-distance.
No matter. Daniels resumed the drubbing when the Main got back underway, working his lead back up to 3.563 seconds when he took the checkered flag.
“Just one race, one round, one lap at a time,” Daniels said. “We don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves. I’ve been doing this for a little while now, and I’ve had good years and bad years. I know that these guys are good, and they’re going to be ready whenever we go again.
“I know I kind of got fortunate on that start – I got a really good start. My starts all day were subpar, and I just kind of dialed it in. But when I saw the red flag, I was like, ‘Come on – you’ve got to be kidding…’ But my bike was flawless. I owe it all to my Estenson Racing Monster Energy Yamaha team.”
Believe it or not, Daniels might not have even registered the most impressive ride of the evening. Pre-race favorite Briar Bauman (No. 3 Super.com/RWR/Rocket Doctor Harley-Davidson XG750R) certainly has a claim of his own, minus a disastrous start.
Bauman suffered off the line and was then bumped up the track. That dropped him down to eighth early with few obvious ways to make those positions back up. Therefore, Bauman took the less obvious ways. After being stuck up top, he decided to plant his flag on the outside line that everyone else shunned and then made it work as he rolled around the outside of one rider after another.
With one minute remaining on the clock, Bauman stormed past Kody Kopp (No. 12 Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R) and then Chad Cose (No. 49 Parker Racing/Pro Roofing Yamaha MT-07) to end his charge in second.
Kopp snuck under Cose at the same moment Bauman powered above him to complete an all-title-contender podium.
Cose held on for fourth, followed by Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650), who finished off an excellent week for Royal Enfield in fifth.
As a result of his back-to-back victories, Daniels (249) has opened up just a bit of breathing space over rivals Kopp (236) and Bauman (233) as the Grand National Championship races toward its titanic Peoria and Springfield conclusion.
Chase Saathoff (No. 88 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450) went from zero (negative five, actually) to hero in a matter of two days.
Following Saturday’s incident that saw Saathoff disqualified and docked five points after plowing into rival Tom Drane (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) and knocking both riders to the ground, the 1st Impressions Husqvarna pilot returned to action on Monday with his aggression still intact, merely wielded more precisely.
It was needed. The tight race track offered few easy passing opportunities, and Bradon Pfanders (No. 83 Memphis Shades/Corbin Seats Yamaha YZ450F) owned the starts all night long.
That required Saathoof to balance his patience with his willingness to strike when the time was right, and he managed that balance to perfection. After showing a wheel on multiple occasions, Saathoff slipped up the inside of Pfanders a minute-and-a-half into the Main and immediately opened a gap.
That gap threatened to evaporate once Kage Tadman (No. 28 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) worked past Pfanders and started to reel Saathoff in, but a mistake only Tadman’s part allowed Saathoff to break that pursuit completely.
Even a run through traffic did little to slow Saathoff’s march, and he powered on to a 3.735-second margin of victory.
Saathoff said, “Jared (Mees) was preaching to me, ‘Get off the line.’ I was struggling with that a bit; Pfanders was getting really good starts. I got out of the hole pretty good and tucked in behind him. He made a couple of pretty big mistakes, and then I just locked in and got past him. After I got around him, I kind of turned it down a little bit; I knew it was going to be hard to pass me. I just really focused on consistency.”
After giving up the chase for victory, Tadman was forced to defend second, turning away a charging Trevor Brunner (No. 21 KMA Racing/March Equipment Yamaha YZ450F) for second late.
Pfanders stopped his descent in fourth, hitting the stripe with Tarren Santero (No. 75 Roof Systems/Texas Utility Studies/Vinson Construction Honda CRF450R) and Jared Lowe (No. 63 Big R Racing/Vinson Construction Honda CRF450R) just behind in fifth and sixth.
For a moment, it looked as if Drane might not be allowed to take the restart, but he was deemed fit following a trackside medical check and returned to the fray. From there he battled his way up from the back of the grid to finish a respectable seventh.
Despite the difficult week, Drane remains in a commanding position. He still leads by 42 points over Saathoff (241-199).
