Estenson Racing Yamaha has proven over the years it will go to any lengths necessary to fight its way to the top of the Progressive American Flat Track world.
Those efforts could be measured by the resources expended, the hours spent, the technical expertise applied, and so on. But how about absolute distance?
For example, Tom Drane picked up his second consecutive Kicker AFT Singles title more than 9000 straight-line miles from his native Forbes, New South Wales, Australia.
But sometimes, solutions can be found a bit closer to home.
By Chris Martin | Photography by Dean Phelps
Reigning Grand National Champion and current Mission AFT SuperTwins points leader Dallas Daniels was just 100 miles removed from his hometown of Mattoon, Illinois, while chasing glory at the 79th running of the Caterpillar Peoria TT.
And yet somehow, despite earning his first pro win here as a 16-year-old rookie in 2019 and being blessed with an ideal blend of flat track and road racing acumen that has nearly custom-designed his talents for Peoria, Daniels was still seeking his first premier-class victory at the venue.
A partisan crowd could seemingly sense that was about to change. The hills were packed with the most fans the historic race has seen in approximately 15 years, fans further excited to learn that next year’s 80th edition will be held under the lights for the first time in its existence.
Standing in the way of that destiny, however, were title fighters, Kody Kopp and Briar Bauman. While considered the underdog coming in, Latus Motors Racing H-D ace Kopp challenged that assumption by throwing down the fastest lap in qualifying. His path to victory was transformed into a steep uphill climb, however, when he lost a chain landing while leading Daniels early in their heat. That forced him through the LCQ and onto the middle of row three for the main event.
Still, Super.com/RWR Harley-Davidson’s Bauman was always expected to be the most significant obstacle. A three-time winner of the race, Bauman was well on his way to Peoria royalty status, tracing a trajectory left by the wheel tracks of the likes of Chris Carr, Henry Wiles and JD Beach, who had each famously ruled over the venue.
At the start of the main, Bauman beat polesitter Daniels off the line to grab the early lead, while Kopp somehow managed to rail around the outside of turn one, swooping from 11th to fourth on the opening lap.
While Bauman was easily fast enough to clear off from the remainder of the pack, it was obvious that Daniels had a bit of pace on his adversary. That didn’t make for an easy overtake, however. The champ repeatedly tried to run up the inside, but Bauman continued to either hold his line and position, or square Daniels back up on exit to retake the spot.
Finally, the Yamaha pilot made the move stick, swinging underneath Bauman as Bauman entered turn one just over four minutes into the main. He quickly got the space he needed to avoid an immediate counterattack but proved unable to drop the RWR ace altogether, as Bauman found some speed while running in Daniels’ wake.
While a last-corner, last-lap strike seemed possible, Daniels managed to stay just out of reach, taking the checkered flag by 0.325 of a second.
Kopp, meanwhile, was unable to slog his way any further up, actually losing a position to a charging Davis Fisher aboard the Rackley Racing KTM 790 Duke. Kopp was in good company, however, as “King” Henry Wiles also found himself on the losing end of a duel with Fisher, who came by late to steal away third.
Wiles did manage to keep the DL Racing/HYMMCO Yamaha just ahead of Kopp’s XG750R, soaring past the stripe 0.044 of a second ahead as the two finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
OTB Racing’s Declan Bender, Moto Anatomy X Royal Enfield’s Dalton Gauthier, G&G Racing Yamaha’s Hunter Bauer, Pro Roofing/Parker Racing’s Chad Cose and King Performance’s Kole King completed the top 10.
Daniels’ victory hands him a commanding advantage heading into the season-ending Caterpillar Springfield Mile I & II, where he’ll look to secure a second successive Grand National Championship. He now leads Bauman by 20 points (272-252) and Kopp by 23 (249).
Afterward, Daniels said, “It’s probably the sweetest win of my career, to be honest. It’s my favorite track on the schedule. I won my first Singles race here, and I was like, ‘Yeah, this is exactly the relationship I want with this place.’ But from then on, it just was like a little hectic, back and forth. I had some big crashes, lost some big races, and had some decent finishes.
“This one might have been the toughest race of my career. I could feel [Bauman] right there on me, and I could hear him sizing up a move. For the last two laps, my tank was low, and I just tried to muster whatever I could.
“This was such an amazing day. It’s an overwhelming feeling of emotions. I’m just so happy to do it in front of my friends and family, everybody that’s here. So many people support me.”
Bauman said, “Dallas came by and we had a good idea where he was going to go by at [turn one]. I mean, I think we kind of knew all day. But man, he was flawless in the corners, and I thought he was better than us. But I found a little bit of speed when he came by, you know how it is following, you can kind of brake a little bit later. I wanted to size something up, and it just wasn’t there. So, kudos to Dallas. I felt like we were ripping good. I felt like we rode good last year, but that was just the next step.”
AFT Singles
All Tom Drane needed to do to clinch a second straight runaway Kicker AFT Singles title two rounds early was win, something he’d previously done a record 26 times in his career, seven times already in 2026, and last year in Peoria by a margin of more than eight seconds.
Still, the victory was no foregone conclusion. The one rider who could push the championship to Springfield was his archnemesis, 1st Impressions Husqvarna’s Chase Saathoff, who beat Drane in Peoria two years ago and was absent from last year’s blowout due to injury.
The prospect of another heated flurry of haymakers at the front fizzled out almost immediately. Drane slotted his Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F into the lead off the line, while Saathoff got shuffled behind the returning ace Max Whale, aboard the Australian Road Services/Heaton Plant & Pipeline KTM, who fought his way into second, and then promptly lost the position with a bobble.
“It definitely showed that I came off the couch,” Whale said after spending the season back home in Australia. “I think I ran over my tongue with like four minutes to go. I just kept looking at the clock, and it was just going slower and slower. But it was so fun. I tried to get the holeshot, but Tom [Drane] got me out of the gate. My goal was to just try and hang on to the back of him as much as I could. Chase [Saathoff] went past, but he made a mistake, and I just tried to stay there.”
Clutch issues and Whale’s own Peoria mastery kept Saathoff stuck in third for the remainder, while Drane raced off to lock down the number one plate yet again.
“It feels amazing,” Drane said. “To grab another title was awesome. I just had to go out and put my head down. I’m definitely proud of my whole team. They gave me a great bike all season. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without any of them. The bike’s been awesome, and we’ve won so many races. There are still two to go, so hopefully we can try to add some more. I don’t know what to say, but huge thanks to all my family and everyone that’s supported me the whole way through my career.”
Tarren Santero (Roof Systems/Texas Utility Studies/Vinson Construction Honda CRF450R) held off a rotating cast of challengers for fourth, while OTB Racing’s Bradon Pfanders ultimately worked his way into fifth.
Now boasting 264 points to Saathoff’s 216, Drane will be free to go for history in search of a record-breaking ninth (and possibly 10th) win in Springfield. And perhaps even give the flat track world another preview of his premier-class potential with a Mission AFT SuperTwins wild-card entry.
Dan Bromley AFT ProSport 450 Invitational
Depending on how you look at it, Estenson Racing Yamaha again looked to the other side of the planet, or stayed within the family, to complete their Peoria TT sweep.
Drane’s younger brother, Sam Drane, was in control all day long in the Dan Bromley AFT ProSport 450 Invitational, an addition to the 2026 calendar organized to pay tribute to the beloved amateur and professional flat track champion who tragically died in competition earlier this season.
Drane’s dominance wasn’t due to a lack of worthy challengers. The vast majority of the top amateurs who had starred throughout the AFT ProSport 450 season were in attendance; Drane simply had their number on this day, topping practice, both qualifying sessions, and his heat race before disappearing at the front of the main event.
Fellow Australian Jake Paige put the Paige Racing GasGas MC 450F in second following an entertaining scrap with third-placed Adam Costan-Wood on the Turner Racing Honda CRF450F.CN
2026 American Flat Track Round 14 Results
SuperTwins (Top 10)
- Dallas Daniels (Yam) 11:08.996
- Briar Bauman (H-D) +0.325
- Davis Fisher (KTM) +11.746
- Henry Wiles (Yam) +12.069
- Kody Kopp (H-D) +12.113
- Declan Bender (Yam) +19.803
- Dalton Gauthier (RE) +25.081
- Hunter Bauer (Yam) 24 Laps
- Chad Cose (Yam) +0.554
- Kole King (KTM) +2.889
Singles (Top 10)
- Tom Drane (Yam) 8:58.250
- Max Whale (KTM) +1.994
- Chase Saathoff (Hus) +2.233
- Tarren Santero (Hon) +4.974
- Bradon Pfanders (Yam) +6.539
- Trevor Brunner (KTM) +8.598
- Jare Lowe (Hon) +9.447
- Kage Tadman (Hon) +9.844
- Evan Kelleher (KTM) +9.847
- Walker Porter (Hon) +17.086
