Mid Carolina Speedway, a dormant facility for several years, erupted back to life in the summer of 2024. One year later, the track played host to another explosive weekend of racing as the finale of the inaugural Mission Foods CTR Flat Track Series reached its crescendo at this historic Palmetto State playground in Neeses, South Carolina, September 19-20. Riders from across the globe laid it all on the line chasing a prestigious AMA Major Championship.
Story by Scotty Taylor | Photos by KMedia
With the American Flat Track season in the books, several series regulars traveled to Mid Carolina, and it was AFT Singles standouts Trevor Brunner and Bradon Pfanders who kick-started the weekend in dramatic fashion. The two tangled on the final lap in a moment that saw Pfanders hit the ground and Brunner hit victory lane in the opening Premier Expert clash. The win provided enough points for Brunner to secure the Premier Expert Championship, which proved vital for the Indiana native, as Brunner failed to qualify for Saturday’s main event in the class. Top honors in that contest went to Chad Cose, who capitalized on a late-race restart, getting by early leader Briar Bauman.
Though a crash started the weekend for Bradon Pfanders, he led every lap of the Open Expert main events at Mid Carolina. Pfanders checked out Friday night, winning by over two seconds, and held off a relentless attack from Briar Bauman on Saturday. Bauman’s runner-up result on Saturday was enough to capture the Open Expert Championship. Additionally, Bauman won the weekend’s Mission Foods Challenge Race on Saturday.
The most victorious rider of the weekend was Cruise Texter, who triumphed in five of his six contests, completing a perfect season in the 50cc Chain Class and also grabbing a weekend sweep of the 50cc Air-Cooled class. Texter was crowned champion in both classes and aimed to three-peat in the 65cc Championship. A victory on Friday brought Texter within three points of Odin Music; however, Music would not be denied, capturing Saturday’s main-event win and, with it, the season Championship.
Music was also victorious aboard his 85cc machine on Friday in a race that dealt a major blow to Jayden Nickens’ title hopes. While battling with Lucy Heaton-New late, Nickens went down, losing valuable points to Jackson Joiner. Nickens rebounded on Saturday, scoring his third win of the season, but Joiner’s fourth-place result was enough for the 85cc Championship, and the Californian wasn’t done there. Entering the weekend seven points behind Lucy Heaton-New in SuperMini, Joiner placed 1-2 on the weekend, finishing second to Wesley Settle on Saturday. Those results combined with a pair of thirds from Heaton-New, allowed Joiner to wrestle away the SuperMini Championship.
The Open Amateur class pitted Jack Brucks against Brody Hanson in a title fight that went down to the closing laps on Saturday. In a winner-take-all showdown between the two, Brucks made a late-race pass on Hanson, winning the war for the championship with his runner-up result behind Bodie Paige. Australian Paige picked up additional victories on the weekend with triumphs in Friday’s Open Amateur and 450 Amateur main events. Paige’s lone defeat in those classes on the weekend still proved to be a victory. Though he was bested by race winner Dillon Durelle and runner-up Brody Hanson in Saturday’s 450 Amateur final, third place provided enough points for Paige to surpass Aaden Savage and grab the 450 Amateur Championship.
Riders who earned weekend sweeps of the main events and collect titles in those respective classes included Ryder Bitz-Hay (250 Amateur), Jackson Settle (Open Novice), Kyle Snyder (30+), Greg Boyle (40+) and Davey Durelle (50+ and 60+).
Alex Childs and Benjamin Miller split victories in the Vintage class, with Miller being crowned the Vintage Champion. George Price and Daniel Poole topped the Hooligan Main Events, but it was Vincent Zachary who came home champion for the class. CN
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