DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, will open its 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally doubleheader with the Black Hills Harley-Davidson Black Hills Half-Mile presented by The City of Sturgis at Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, South Dakota, on Tuesday, August 6.
Black Hills Speedway has traditionally been the domain of flat track royalty, with 11 of the 15 Mission AFT SuperTwinsvictories at the venue split up amongst seven different Grand National Champions.
Last year’s runner-up – both in the championship and at Black Hills – Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) might have hoped to add his name to both lists in ‘24. And while the efforts of JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) at Peoria have the injured Daniels still holding the top spot in the title race, that position is fleeting and soon to be handed over.
Reigning champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Rogers Racing/SDI Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750) is now just a single point back and poised to seize control at Black Hills Speedway where he has previously won on four separate occasions, including one year ago.
With Daniels out indefinitely, the biggest obstacle now standing in Mees’ way of securing a record-setting tenth Grand National Championship is Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750). Robinson has five rounds to claw 14 points back from Mees, a task that will likely require him to overcome history starting this weekend at a track where he has twice finished fourth but never on the podium, let alone won.
Mees’ other remaining title threat, however, has. Briar Bauman (No. 3 Rick Ware Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790 Duke) was victorious here in 2019 and then won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge before the Main Event was rained out. While admittedly uneven in his oval efforts this season, Bauman comes in fresh off his Peoria TT triumph and with the potential to string together a win streak in search of a third career title.
Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750) and Cameron Smith (No. 34 RVR/KTM/Schaefer’s Motorsport KTM 790 Duke) are the only other riders to have finished inside the top five in the premier class here, although Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Ohio Indian FTR750), Brandon Price (No. 92 Memphis Shades/Sody Ent/OTBR Yamaha MT-07), Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson/Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda Transalp) and Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650) have the ability to do that and more on Tuesday.
It could also be a major opportunity for rookies Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Mission Foods/Zanotti Racing KTM 790 Duke), Declan Bender (No. 70 GOMR/BriggsAuto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750) and Max Whale (No. 18 Latus Motors Racing/Liqui Moly Harley-Davidson XG750R). All three performed well here before graduating to Mission AFT SuperTwins duty, Brunner in particular, taking the win in 2022.
Parts Unlimited AFT Singles Presented By KICKER
While still holding a strong position in search of a third Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER title, Kody Kopp (No. 1 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450 SX-F) comes to Black Hills Speedway in need of a victory.
While already the class’ all-time wins leader, Kopp’s chances to set a new single-season wins record has taken a hit following three straight runners-up, with rivals Chase Saathoff (No. 88 JPG Motorsports Honda CRF450R) and Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) getting the better of him in recent weeks.
Kopp will likely welcome the return to Rapid City where he orchestrated one of the most memorable wins of his young career a year ago. Last season, the Rick Ware Racing star charged his way up from seventh to first, capped off by a late-race pass over pre-race favorite Drane.
Saathoff comes in with all the momentum following two consecutive victories in his home state of Illinois. While it’s true that he’s yet to finish on the podium at Black Hills Speedway, the same could have been said of Peoria before his stirring victory this past week.
In fact, only one rider in the field has finished on the podium in each of the past two visits; Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) could use a similar result this weekend with James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450) pushing him for fourth in the points when the American Honda-backed Lowe entered the season with championship ambitions.
The usual suspects of Travis Petton IV (No. 82 ECG Racing/A.M Ortega KTM 450 SX-F), Tarren Santero (No. 75 Vinson Construction/P&M Motorcycles Honda CRF450R), Evan Renshaw (No. 265 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Tyler Raggio (No. 55 Raggio Racing/Sluggo Racing KTM 450 SX-F) and Jared Lowe (No. 63 BigR/Little Debbie Racing Honda CRF450R) will look to break into the top five and upset the expected order.
Additionally, Tuesday night will feature the penultimate round of Royal Enfield’s successful and popular Build. Train. Race. (BTR) flat track program for the 2024 season. Since its introduction, BTR has injected new talent and excitement into the series as highlights, celebrates and encourages the involvement of women in flat track racing.