WEEDSPORT, N.Y. — Sammy Halbert beat the odds on multiple fronts to score an inspiring victory in the Mission Foods New York Short Track I presented by Mad Max Indian Motorcycle on Friday night at Weedsport Speedway.
Already riding wounded after suffering a broken foot and missing multiple rounds earlier this season, the Coolbeth-Nila Racing Indian FTR750 rider was forced to sit out the evening’s Mission Challenge following a heavy fall as a result of being taken out in his Semi.
Despite it all, Halbert rose up to grab the lead away from double defending Grand National Champion Briar Bauman (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) two minutes into the 10-minute-plus-two-lap Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S CycleMain Event.
Unsurprisingly, Bauman did not go away that easily. He instantly altered his lines to mimic Halbert’s and went into full-on Friday the 13th stalking mode for almost the entirety of the remainder of the race.
With less than 30 seconds on the clock, Bauman finally threw an attempt up the inside of Halbert, even as the Coolbeth-Nila Racing ace sat tight on the bottom line. The champ grabbed the advantage momentarily, but the combination of a big handful of throttle and ultra-slick surface nearly sent Bauman to the ground.
Halbert went right back by as a result, only to see Bauman return with a similar, albeit more measured strike. Still, Halbert had an answer and successfully countered yet again. He then rebuked any further attempts with some precision bike placement to the flag en route to his 15th career premier-class victory.
“That was awesome — I love it!” Halbert said. “I was fired up to say the least. I just had to focus in and be smart. He was trying those block passes on me and I just had to use my years of experience to keep it on the bottom and not let him get the best of me. I know he’s so aggressive going for these wins, so I did not give him an opening and we brought it home.”
Despite narrowly missing out on a third successive victory, Bauman still managed to expand his title lead to 33 points with seven races remaining.
Meanwhile, Jared Mees (No. 9 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) ran down the resurgent Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Indian Motorcycle of Oklahoma City FTR750) and beat him to the line by 0.307 seconds to secure the final spot on the podium.
Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) came out on top of a four-way fight for fifth, out-dueling an impressive JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) as well as his Mission Roof Systems teammates Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) and Brandon Price (No. 92 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) for the position.
Reigning AFT Singles king Dallas Daniels (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) scored a thrilling, last-lap victory over Trevor Brunner (No. 21 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R) to reignite his title defense with aplomb.
Daniels spent the second half the race clawing his way back up to Brunner, who had somehow managed to eek away from an intense battle for the lead that also included the likes of Morgen Mischler (No. 13 Mission Roof Systems KTM 450 SX-F), Henry Wiles (No. 17 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R), Ferran Cardús (No. 377 Roof Systems of Dallas TX/Bullet Strong Racing RM-Z450) and Trent Lowe (No. 48 WBR/Suzuki Motor of America RM-Z450).
With the lines constantly evolving, the final laps saw Brunner and Daniels hugged low and tight and Mischler and Cardús circulating high and wide, all running with nearly equal efficiency. Just when Brunner looked to have a second-career Progressive AFT win within his grasp, Daniels made a last-gasp push to eliminate the distance to his one-time amateur foe.
With a lap-and-a-half to go, Daniels slid up the inside to steal a slight advantage. The two then took the white flag running side-by-side, but the Estenson Yamaha ace held the inside line and made it work to the checkered flag with 0.129 seconds to spare.
Mischler railed his way to third — his sixth podium on the season and third third-place in succession — while Lowe snatched fourth away from weekend teammate Cardús at the stripe by 0.042 seconds.
Breakaway AFT Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines title leader Cory Texter(No. 65 G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha MT-07) went wire-to-wire to notch up his fifth victory of the 2021 season.
Among his many strengths as a rider, perhaps the most consequential is Texter’s uncanny ability to bolt off the line and take the holeshot with regularity. He did so again on Friday night and leveraged the clear track to work up an immediate one-second gap. That ultimately proved vital in his efforts to deny a hard-charging Cameron Smith (No. 44 Fredericktown Yamaha/Richie Reynolds Racing MT-07) a maiden Progressive AFT win.
Despite starting with the last pick on Row 2, Smith made quick work of a talented group of pursuers that included Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Cycles/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R), Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield Twins FT), and Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson Construction Yamaha MT-07).
He rode up the inside of Gauthier with over four-and-a-half minutes remaining to move into second and then set his sights on the escaping Texter. Over the next several minutes, Smith made up a fraction here and a fraction there. That hard work nearly positioned Smith within striking distance as the two opened the final lap with a group of lappers ahead.
Despite that promise of drama, Texter carved his way through without incident to climb back atop the podium following two consecutive third-place finishes.
Gauthier gritted out a podium some six seconds in arrears.