DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, kicked off in unforgettable fashion in Thursday night’s season-opening Royal Enfield Short Track at Daytona I as Kody Kopp (No. 12 Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R) became the only rider in Mission AFT SuperTwins history to claim victory in their very first attempt.
While widely expected to contend as a rookie, Kopp’s unprecedented achievement at the Daytona Flat Track still served to put the established powers of the Grand National Championship on notice.
Perhaps most impressively, Kopp’s triumph didn’t even come as an upset by the time the main event rolled around, as the triple KICKER AFT Singles king was in in dominant form much of the night; Kopp posted the fastest time in qualifying, won his heat with relative ease, and then took the checkered flag in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
Despite that stirring lead-up performance, however, the main event itself proved a brutally tense affair.
Reigning class champion Dallas Daniels (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07) entered the opener as the pre-event favorite, having won five of the last six races in Daytona Beach (incidentally, a record mirrored by Kopp in 450cc action).
But the Estenson Racing superstar found himself nearly two seconds adrift of Kopp less than halfway into the Main after getting caught up between Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods Honda CB750 Hornet) and Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Martin Trucking/OnlyFans/Castrol Yamaha MT-07) as the race took its shape.
Daniels certainly fought back like a champion, however, slowly chipping away at that deficit once he established himself in second. He slashed the gap to 0.500 with a minute-and-a-half to go and then closed right on the Latus Motors Racing pilot’s rear wheel as they stormed past the two-laps-to-go flags while negotiating lapped traffic.
Despite coming under immense pressure, Kopp appeared set to hold strong when he took the white flag. Moments later, however, the race was stopped after third-place runner Lowe crashed, and his bike went up in flames.
By rule, the race was called complete at that point, locking up Kopp’s place in the record books. Daniels was awarded second, officially 0.150 seconds back, while Henry Wiles (No. 911 J&M Logging/Ray C’s Harley-Davidson Kawasaki Ninja 650) – who finished third in this same race a year ago – was elevated to the final spot on the podium due to Lowe’s misfortune.
Wiles put himself in a position to earn that distinction after passing fellow series part-timer and ST ace Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Martin Trucking/OnlyFans/Castrol Yamaha MT-07) with less than a minute on the clock.
Afterward, Kopp said, “I’ve dreamed of this since I was five years old, ever since I knew what flat track racing really was and understood it. By no means is this how I wanted to win my first national though – I want to come back tomorrow night and prove it with an actual checkered flag. Dallas kept me honest. It’s no joke racing against him – I haven’t raced against him really since my rookie year. I know the task at hand – or at least, I’m starting to learn it – because he’s a real challenge out there, for sure.”
While Kopp gave the Harley-Davidson XG750R its 10th premier-class victory, the bike’s usual standard-bearers endured significantly more difficult outings.
Two-time Grand National Champion Briar Bauman (No. 3 RWR/Jacob Construction/Parts Plus Harley-Davidson XG750R) crashed after being run up into the wall moments after the original start, forcing an immediate stoppage. Despite then restarting from the back of the pack, Bauman snaked his way forward to seventh.
That was one position behind Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R), who had to work his way into the Main via the LCQ after encountering mechanical issues in his heat. Like Bauman, Robinson charged up through the field but fell 0.150 seconds short of a top-five result, ending his race just behind fifth-place finisher Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790 Duke).
Tom Drane (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) opened his 2026 KICKER AFT Singles title defense in the same victorious fashion by which he closed out the 2025 season to secure his shiny new No. 1 plate.
The Australian picked up right where he left off, carrying over his season-ending four-race win streak and upping it to five – but the fifth did not come easily.
A chaotic opening several laps saw Drane, archrival Chase Saathoff (No. 88 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450), an on-form Logan Eisenhard (No. 66 Eisenhard Racing/Pags Powersports KTM 450 SX-F), and ‘15 DAYTONA winner Justin Jones (No. 91 Fairway Ford Chevy GMC Yamaha YZ450F) swap positions relentlessly as they jockeyed for position.
And when Drane finally settled into the lead and stretched out nearly a second at the front, all that effort was erased as due to a red flag that flew in response to an incident involving Tarren Santero (No. 75 Roof Systems/Vinson Construction Honda CRF450R) and Kage Tadman (No. 28 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R).
Saathoff made the most of the do-over, immediately jumping on Drane and snatching away the lead with just over two minutes and two laps remaining to determine the winner.
The Aussie then sought long and hard for a way to claw back past and at last found it with only a half-minute to go.
“I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with the restart,” Drane admitted. “I got a decent start, but Chase put up a helluva battle. It’s great to get the win. This is a great way to start the season, and I couldn’t have done it without my whole Estenson Racing Monster Energy Yamaha team. They put in an awesome effort in the offseason, and we’re here to do the job.”
Trevor Brunner (No. 21 KMA Racing/March Equipment Yamaha YZ450F) made his way up the order to grab the final spot on the box. Behind the usual suspects came rookie Jack Brucks (No. 113 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450), who made a head-turning class debut in fourth.
Eisenhard worked back past Jones with just over one lap remaining to earn the final spot in the top five.
Sam Drane (No. 7 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) joined his older brother in taking a win on the night by claiming the first victory of the AFT ProSport 450 era.
Drane overhauled Ryder Bitz-Hay (No. 14 Bitz-Hay Racing KTM 450 SX-F) to earn the Road to AFT Amateur Invitational victory after finishing second to him in Wednesday’s 450 Road to AFT Main at the Mission Foods CTR Showcase Event, a contest which earned the riders their place on Thursday’s entry list.
Jed Fyffe (No. 23 Thriller Motorsports/Yamaha Australia YZ450F) and Jett Katarzy (No. 17 1st Impressions Husqvarna FC450) finished just behind Bitz-Hay in third and fourth, respectively, while Brody Hanson (No. 99 Hanson Racing KTM 450 SX-F) completed the top five.
Emma Gottsch (No. 5 Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars) repeated her season-opening feat of a year ago, once again securing the first win of the Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) season. Goottsch leapt out into the lead from the start and put her head down en route to a lopsided win.
She was followed to the checkered flag by BTR rookie Julia Heess (No. 13 Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars), who just managed to keep second-year rider Madicela Rodriguez (No. 113 Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars) at bay.
