| March 14, 2021
2021 Volusia Half-Mile AFT 2 Results: After something of a quiet opener by their standards, Progressive American Flat Track’s Grand National Champion favorites got their revenge in Saturday night’s Volusia Half-Mile II presented by Daytona Dodge in Barberville, Florida. While defending Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle champ Briar Bauman (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) upped his speed at Volusia Speedway Park significantly overnight, even he had nothing for a confident and on-form Jared Mees (No. 9 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) on this evening.
Mees Wins Volusia 2 Half-Mile
Jared Mees came back to win the Volusia 2 Half-Mile.
Bauman took the holeshot and immediately transformed the premier class Main Event into a two-man affair with archrival Mees, just as they’ve done so many times in the past. But almost as soon as Mees worked his way into the lead with more than seven minutes remaining on the clock, it was readily apparent that he was in a class of his own; Mees quickly shook free and piled up a substantial advantage on runner-up Bauman, cruising to the checkered flag with more than two seconds in hand.
Mees, who also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge earlier in the program, said, “I grew up racing here on 60s and 80s with my dad coming here for the Southeastern Nationals back in the day. I’ve always come here as a pro and raced the Steve Nace All-Star warm-up race as well. Never would I have thought last year this place would be a National, and man, I think it was a really big hit. It was awesome to see fans in the stands again.”
Third-place finisher Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Coolbeth-Nila Racing Indian FTR750) was the only other rider in the field who managed to stay within ten seconds of the victory.
Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) seemed to have fourth-place all but sewn up. However, intermittent mechanical issues dropped him several positions down the order, elevating what had been a three-way dogfight for fifth featuring Brandon Price (No. 92 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750), Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Indian Motorcycle of Oklahoma City FTR750) and Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750).
Vanderkooi was able to return to full song and subsequently tracked that crew back down as all four were in with a shot at fourth over the race’s final two laps. Price ultimately held on for the position, while Friday winner Robinson dropped the younger Bauman to sixth, who in turn finished fractionally ahead of an unlucky Vanderkooi.
Davis Fisher (No. 67 BMC Racing/Dick Wall 60 Indian FTR750) ended up eighth while Friday heroes JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) and Kolby Carlile (No. 36 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) completed the top ten.
AFT Singles
Shayna Texter-Bauman leaves Barbersville undefeated in the Singles class.
Shayna Texter-Bauman (No. 52 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE) remains undefeated since adding the hyphen to her name following Saturday’s jaw-dropping AFT Singles Main Event.
Texter-Bauman kept a close pack of six and seven riders corralled behind her for the bulk of the race. But that neat and tidy order was thrown out the window when all of her contenders seemingly went for broke at once with three minutes remaining on the clock.
Trent Lowe (No. 48 WBR/Suzuki Motor of America RM-Z450) ran second early but was shuffled back once the pressure intensified. Mikey Rush (No. 15 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) and Morgen Mischler (No. 13 Mission Roof Systems KTM 450 SX-F) then threw several haymakers from second and third with Rush eventually taking over the lead.
Defending class champ Dallas Daniels (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) made his presence felt as well, executing moves on both Mischler and Texter-Bauman before getting passed back to fourth.
After Texter-Bauman appeared vulnerable to outside passes, she turned the tables by alternating a more defensive higher line with an ultra-low line that allowed her to reclaim those lost positions. Once back in front, she held Rush at bay over the race’s final two laps to secure her second checkered flag in as many nights.
“It’s just unreal,” Texter-Bauman said. “What a race that was with Mikey, Morgen, and Dallas… When those guys started passing me on the outside, I kind of moved my line up a little bit and went back to work. It’s so nice racing with these guys — we can race clean and hard. What a weekend this was! It’s insane.”
Mischler rounded out the podium, followed by AFT Singles title fighters Daniels, Henry Wiles (No. 17 American Honda/United Rentals CRF450R), and Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE).
AFT Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines
Cory Texter won Saturday night’s Production Twins final.
2019 AFT Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines champion Cory Texter (No. 65 G&G Racing/Roof Systems Yamaha MT-07) managed to repeat his feat of a year ago, once again upgrading an opening-night third into a victory the following evening at Volusia Speedway Park.
The opening lap teased a rematch of Friday’s last-lap epic featuring Texter, Chad Cose (No. 49 Voodoo Ranger/Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R) and Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson Construction Yamaha MT-07).
However, Texter was in no mood to leave the result to the chance of a final strike this time around, immediately gapping his rivals and never looking back. That relentless pace was no doubt aided by the fact that he wasn’t forced to fight his way from behind this time around, which allowed him to stamp his authority from the start rather than slash up through the field from Row 3.
“That was awesome,” Texter said. “I was so determined after kinda giving it away yesterday. I got to the track two hours earlier today, I was so fired up. I felt great all day… I had so many texts and calls yesterday for getting third. Everyone loved the race, so I’m glad we could put on a show today.”
The AFT Production Twins Main Event was relatively processional behind Texter as well; Friday winner Cose ended the race clear in second, followed by an equally lonely Bromley.
Title hopefuls Ryan Varnes (No. 68 RVR/RoyBuilt Don’s Kawasaki Ninja 650) and Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Cycles/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R) rounded out the top five.
2021 AFT Championship
Round 2
Volusia Speedway Park
Barberville, Florida
RESULTS (March 13, 2021)
AFT SuperTwins Main (Volusia 2)
| 1. |
Jared Mees |
(Ind) |
32 Laps |
| 2. |
Briar Bauman |
(Ind) |
2.060 |
| 3. |
Sammy Halbert |
(Ind) |
3.869 |
| 4. |
Brandon Price |
(Ind) |
10.645 |
| 5. |
Brandon Robinson |
(Ind) |
10.778 |
| 6. |
Bronson Bauman |
(Ind) |
11.119 |
| 7. |
Jarod Vanderkooi |
(Ind) |
11.190 |
| 8. |
Davis Fisher |
(Ind) |
11.473 |
| 9. |
JD Beach |
(Yam) |
10.010 |
| 10. |
Kolby Carlile |
(Yam) |
14.373 |
AFT Singles Main (Volusia 2)
| 1. |
Shayna Texter-Bauman |
(KTM) |
26 Laps |
| 2. |
Michael Rush |
(Yam) |
0.078 |
| 3. |
Morgen Mischler |
(KTM) |
0.749 |
| 4. |
Dallas Daniels |
(Yam) |
1.027 |
| 5. |
Henry Wiles |
(Hon) |
1.151 |
| 6. |
Max Whale |
(KTM) |
1.177 |
| 7. |
Michael Inderbitzin |
(Hon) |
2.732 |
| 8. |
Trent Lowe |
(Suz) |
3.859 |
| 9. |
Tanner Dean |
(Hon) |
4.164 |
| 10. |
Brandon Kitchen |
(Hus) |
4.418 |
AFT Production Twins Main (Volusia 2)
| 1. |
Cory Texter |
(Yam) |
26 Laps |
| 2. |
Chad Cose |
(H-D) |
2.367 |
| 3. |
Dan Bromley |
(Yam) |
4.694 |
| 4. |
Ryan Varnes |
(Kaw) |
6.094 |
| 5. |
Dalton Gauthier |
(H-D) |
9.536 |
| 6. |
Dylan Bell |
(H-D) |
12.245 |
| 7. |
Nick Armstrong |
(Yam) |
12.548 |
| 8. |
Ben Lowe |
(H-D) |
13.475 |
| 9. |
Cameron Smith |
(Yam) |
13.774 |
| 10. |
Danny Eslick |
(Kaw) |
13.901 |
Volusia 1 Half-Mile
2021 Volusia Half-Mile 1 Results: While most of the preseason hype was directed elsewhere, it was Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) who delivered the opening salvo of the 2021 Progressive American Flat Track season with a victorious performance in Friday evening’s Volusia Half-Mile I presented by Daytona Dodge at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Florida.
Robinson Wins Volusia 1 Half-Mile
(Left to right) Runner-up JD Beach, winner Brandon Robinson and third-place finisher Jared Mee.
The lights-to-flag triumph was actually Robinson’s third consecutive Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle win dating back to his sweep of last year’s doubleheader finale. It also came at the conclusion of a dominant opener in which he walked away with his Semi and earned $5000 by dominating the four-lap Mission SuperTwins #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
Robinson said, “The way 2020 ended was huge for me confidence-wise, just knowing I was injured for pretty much the entire season and still able to come out on top. I went this past offseason a little bit more motivated, feeling like this is the time for me. It’s now or never.
“The whole Mission Roof Systems team put in so much effort, and my mechanic Ben Evans had me dialed in all night. It was pretty much effortless; I was just having a lot of fun riding out there and hitting my marks.”
While Robinson was effectively perfect on the day, he’ll have to share the accolades with a resurgent JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), who was nearly as good and even more surprising in his performance.
After struggling mightily throughout the 2020 season, Beach won his Semi, came home second in the night’s new #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and pressured Robinson from close behind during the entirety of the 10-minute-plus-two-lap Main Event. The turnaround for Beach and the entire Estenson crew was nothing short of astonishing after the talented and determined pilot managed a best result of just eighth a year ago.
After opening the ‘21 season with a runner-up result, Beach said, “This feels amazing. First off, I have to thank this whole Estenson Monster team; they have been working hard. Second, I have to thank my family and friends back home. The last year has been hard on them. When I don’t do good racing, I take that home with me, and I know I’ve been hard to put up with. I have to thank everyone in my corner who continued to believe in me. They all just kept pushing me and I kept digging. To come away with a second and be that close to Brandon was just amazing.”
Meanwhile, title favorites Jared Mees (No. 9 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) and Briar Bauman (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) came away with third- and fourth-place points.
Mees struggled to maintain the pace of Robinson and Beach early and found himself displaced to fourth by Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Coolbeth-Nila Racing Indian FTR750) just after half-distance. Mees countered and at last found his groove, throwing down several blistering laps late to close back to within a second of the win at the checkered flag.
Bauman took full advantage of Mees’ aggressive pass of Halbert; he drew in tight and ultimately snatched away fourth for himself, albeit nearly five seconds off the win.
Halbert held on for fifth, with Beach’s teammate, Kolby Carlile (No. 36 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), underlining the incredible offseason development work put in by the Estenson squad by finishing in sixth after registering a top result of 13th during his 2020 rookie campaign.
Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Indian Motorcycle of Oklahoma City FTR750) took seventh, followed by Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750), Robert Pearson (No. 27 Rackley Racing/John Franklin Indian FTR750), and Davis Fisher (No. 67 BMC Racing/Dick Wall 60 Indian FTR750).
AFT Singles
Shayna Texter-Bauman won the AFT Singles main.
Shayna Texter-Bauman (No. 52 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE) gave herself just about the best birthday present imaginable by earning her first AFT Singles victory in more than a season.
Even better, she did so in the face of the best efforts of reigning class champion Dallas Daniels (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), who did everything in his power just to track Texter down and shadow her to the checkered flag by 0.131 seconds.
In the end, Texter never saw so much as a front wheel of an opponent in the once red-flagged-and-restarted Main to up her history-leading tally of AFT Singles victories to 18.
“Man, what a big win for me,” Texter-Bauman said. “I can’t thank my entire Red Bull KTM team enough for sticking behind me. Last year was a little bit of a challenging season for us — we just kinda kept swimming in the deep end. But we never gave up, and they never lost faith in me. I don’t know what those critics are going to say on Facebook next because I think I’ve proved I can ride a motorcycle.
“And it feels great to be up here. What could be a better way to start off the year than with a win on my birthday?”
Daniels’ Estenson Racing teammate, Mikey Rush (No. 15 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), completed a 2-3 for the squad by coming out on top of an intense five-rider scrap for the final spot on the box.
Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE), who won the opener here a year ago, took a close fourth, followed in tight succession by Tanner Dean (No. 38 1st Impressions Race Team Honda CRF450R), Brandon Kitchen (No. 105 Husqvarna Motorcycles/Vance & Hines Husqvarna FC450), and Morgen Mischler (No. 13 Mission Roof Systems KTM 450 SX-F).
AFT Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines
The very first Main Event of the ‘21 Progressive AFT season set the bar sky-high for the year ahead. No less than three riders held first position on the race’s final lap of the AFT Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines Main with an opportunistic Chad Cose (No. 49 Voodoo Ranger/Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R) ultimately sneaking away with a shocking victory.
Cose led for the opening seven minutes plus of the eight-minute + two-lap Main before Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson Construction Yamaha MT-07) made his move. The ex-premier class contender dove underneath to claim the lead and quickly worked a bit of separation in what very much felt like the race’s decisive maneuver at the time.
However, 2019 class champ Cory Texter (No. 65 G&G Racing/Roof Systems Yamaha MT-07) had other ideas. Texter, who started deep in the field with the last pick of the third row, spent almost the entire affair clawing his way up the order and slowly working into contention of what was previously a two-man fight.
Texter swept by Cose with one lap remaining and then overhauled Bromley on the last lap. Unwilling to give up the win that easily, Bromley immediately retaliated. The two made contact with less than a half-lap remaining, opening the door for Cose to power his way by both and claim the checkered flag at the last moment.
“It’s never luck at this level,” Cose said. “You’ve got to have the ability to do it. I felt great all day; there are a couple of things I felt we could have changed, but all in all (I’m happy). These guys were as hungry as I was—I think you could tell by the aggression that we all had out there. This is what you have to do to win races.
“I was a little disappointed they got by—I made a couple of mistakes—but luckily I was there to capitalize in the end. I think any one of us three could have won. I’m just glad we put on a show for the fans.”
Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Cycles/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R) came home a distant fourth after battling for the lead in the race’s early stages, while an impressive Cameron Smith (No. 44 Fredericktown Yamaha/Richie Reynolds Racing MT-07) rounded out the top five, adding to the evidence that the class could have something of an altered flavor in 2021.
The Volusia Half-Mile presented by Daytona Dodge Doubleheader will air back-to-back on NBCSN on Saturday, March 20, starting at 12:00 p.m. ET/9:00 a.m. PT. CN
2021 AFT Championship
Round 1
Volusia Speedway Park
Barberville, Florida
RESULTS (March 12, 2021)
AFT SuperTwins Main (Volusia 1)
| 1. |
Brandon Robinson |
(Ind) |
32 Laps |
| 2. |
JD Beach |
(Yam) |
0.487 |
| 3. |
Jared Mees |
(Ind) |
0.898 |
| 4. |
Briar Bauman |
(Ind) |
4.953 |
| 5. |
Sammy Halbert |
(Ind) |
5.063 |
| 6. |
Kolby Carlile |
(Yam) |
10.384 |
| 7. |
Bronson Bauman |
(Ind) |
11.990 |
| 8. |
Jarod Vanderkooi |
(H-D) |
13.390 |
| 9. |
Robert Pearson |
(H-D) |
14.919 |
| 10. |
Davis Fisher |
(Ind) |
17.893 |
AFT Singles Main (Volusia 1)
| 1. |
Shayna Texter-Bauman |
(KTM) |
27 Laps |
| 2. |
Dallas Daniels |
(Yam) |
0.131 |
| 3. |
Michael Rush |
(Yam) |
4.762 |
| 4. |
Max Whale |
(KTM) |
4.834 |
| 5. |
Tanner Dean |
(Hon) |
5.049 |
| 6. |
Brandon Kitchen |
(Hus) |
26 Laps |
| 7. |
Morgen Mischler |
(KTM) |
0.166 |
| 8. |
Trent Lowe |
(Suz) |
4.126 |
| 9. |
Trevor Brunner |
(Hon) |
4.177 |
| 10. |
Michael Inderbitzin |
(Hon) |
4.224 |
AFT Production Twins Main (Volusia 1)
| 1. |
Chad Cose |
(H-D) |
26 Laps |
| 2. |
Dan Bromley |
(Yam) |
0.098 |
| 3. |
Cory Texter |
(Yam) |
0.512 |
| 4. |
Dalton Gauthier |
(H-D) |
3.984 |
| 5. |
Cameron Smith |
(Yam) |
4.121 |
| 6. |
Ryan Varnes |
(Kaw) |
6.774 |
| 7. |
Dylan Bell |
(H-D) |
7.177 |
| 8. |
Ben Lowe |
(H-D) |
12.731 |
| 9. |
Johnny Lewis |
(R-E) |
12.839 |
| 10. |
Jeremiah Duffy |
(Kaw) |
13.709 |
Click here for complete AFT results.
