Drane brothers top Singles and Invitational classes at Daytona I

2026 Progressive American Flat Track

Round One – Royal Enfield Short Track at Daytona I

KICKER AFT Singles

Tom Drane (No. 1 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) opened his 2026 KICKER AFT Singles title defense in the same victorious fashion by which he closed out the 2025 season to secure his shiny new #1 plate.

Tom Drane wins the AFT Singles at Daytona I – Image by Kristen Lassen

The Australian picked up right where he left off, carrying over his season-ending four-race win streak and upping it to five – but the fifth did not come easily.

A chaotic opening several laps saw Drane, archrival Chase Saathoff, an on-form Logan Eisenhard, and ‘15 DAYTONA winner Justin Jones swap positions relentlessly as they jockeyed for position.

And when Drane finally settled into the lead and stretched out nearly a second at the front, all that effort was erased as due to a red flag that flew in response to an incident involving Tarren Santero and Kage Tadman.

Saathoff made the most of the do-over, immediately jumping on Drane and snatching away the lead with just over two minutes and two laps remaining to determine the winner.

The Aussie then sought long and hard for a way to claw back past and at last found it with only a half-minute to go.

Tom Drane

“I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with the restart,” Drane admitted. “I got a decent start, but Chase put up a helluva battle. It’s great to get the win. This is a great way to start the season, and I couldn’t have done it without my whole Estenson Racing Monster Energy Yamaha team. They put in an awesome effort in the offseason, and we’re here to do the job.”

The ever-present Trevor Brunnermade his way up the order to grab the final spot on the box. Behind the usual suspects came rookie Jack Brucks, who made a head-turning class debut in fourth.

Eisenhard worked back past Jones with just over one lap remaining to earn the final spot in the top five.

Canadian Jordan Beaulac finished seventh, followed by Bradon Pfanders , Tadman, and Ryder Reese.

KICKER AFT Singles  – Daytona I Results

KICKER AFT Singles Standings

AFT Amateur Invitational

Sam Drane (No. 7 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) joined his older brother in taking a win on the night by claiming the first victory of the AFT ProSport 450 era.

Sam Drane won the Amateur Invitational at Daytona I, ahead of Ryder Bitz-Hay and Jed Fyffe – Image by Kristen Lassen

Drane overhauled Ryder Bitz-Hay to earn the Road to AFT Amateur Invitational victory after finishing second to him in Wednesday’s 450 Road to AFT Main at the Mission Foods CTR Showcase Event, a contest which earned the riders their place on Thursday’s entry list.

Jed Fyffe (No. 23 Thriller Motorsports/Yamaha Australia YZ450F) and Jett Katarzy finished just behind Bitz-Hay in third and fourth, respectively, while Brody Hanson completed the top five.

Sam Drane

“I had to work hard for that one. Ryder didn’t make a mistake the whole time until that one time, and I got through. It was a great race and very good fun.”

AFT ProSport 450 – Daytona I Results

AFT ProSport 450 Standings

Mission AFT SuperTwins

Kody Kopp became the only rider in Mission AFT SuperTwins history to claim victory in their very first attempt on Thursday. While widely expected to contend as a rookie, Kopp’s unprecedented achievement at the DAYTONA Flat Track still served to put the established powers of the Grand National Championship on notice.

Kody Kopp leads at Daytona I – Image by Tim Lester

Perhaps most impressively, Kopp’s triumph didn’t even come as an upset by the time the Main Event rolled around, as the triple KICKER AFT Singles king was in in dominant form much of the night; Kopp posted the fastest time in qualifying, won his heat with relative ease, and then took the checkered flag in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.

Despite that stirring lead-up performance, however, the Main Event itself proved a brutally tense affair.

Reigning class champion Dallas Daniels entered the opener as the pre-event favorite, having won five of the last six races in Daytona Beach. But the Estenson Racing superstar found himself nearly two seconds adrift of Kopp less than halfway into the Main after getting caught up between Trent Lowe and Sammy Halbert as the race took its shape.

Daniels certainly fought back like a champion, however, slowly chipping away at that deficit once he established himself in second. He slashed the gap to 0.500 with a minute-and-a-half to go and then closed right on the Latus Motors Racing pilot’s rear wheel as they stormed past the two-laps-to-go flags while negotiating lapped traffic.

Despite coming under immense pressure, Kopp appeared set to hold strong when he took the white flag. Moments later, however, the race was stopped after third-place runner Lowe crashed, and his bike went up in flames.

By rule, the race was called complete at that point, locking up Kopp’s place in the record books. Daniels was awarded second, officially 0.150 seconds back, while Henry Wiles – who finished third in this same race a year ago – was elevated to the final spot on the podium due to Lowe’s misfortune.

Wiles put himself in a position to earn that distinction after passing fellow series part-timer and ST ace Sammy Halbert with less than a minute on the clock.

Kody Kopp

“I’ve dreamed of this since I was five years old, ever since I knew what flat track racing really was and understood it. By no means is this how I wanted to win my first national though – I want to come back tomorrow night and prove it with an actual checkered flag. Dallas kept me honest. It’s no joke racing against him – I haven’t raced against him really since my rookie year. I know the task at hand – or at least, I’m starting to learn it – because he’s a real challenge out there, for sure.”

Kody Kopp wins Daytona I in the SuperTwins class – Image by Kristen Lassen

While Kopp gave the Harley-Davidson XG750R its tenth-ever premier-class victory, the bike’s usual standard-bearers endured significantly more difficult outings.

Two-time Grand National Champion Briar Baumancrashed after being run up into the wall moments after the original start, forcing an immediate stoppage. Despite then restarting from the back of the pack, Bauman snaked his way forward to an eventual seventh.

That was one position behind Brandon Robinson, who had to work his way into the Main via the LCQ after encountering mechanical issues in his heat.

Like Bauman, Robinson charged up through the field but fell 0.150 seconds short of a top-five result, ending his race just behind fifth-place finisher Davis Fisher.

Dan Bromley came home eighth, while Ben Lowe and Dalton Gauthier rounded out the top ten.

Kopp won’t just have a chance to get that Main Event checkered flag tomorrow – he’ll have three as Friday’s Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA II Mission AFT SuperTwins rematch will be waged under the Mission Triple Challenge format.

Mission AFT SuperTwins – Daytona I Results

TBA

Mission AFT SuperTwins Standings

TBA

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR)

Emma Gottsch (No. 5 Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars) repeated her season-opening feat of a year ago, once again securing the first win of the Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) season. Goottsch leapt out into the lead from the start and put her head down en route to a lopsided win.

She was followed to the checkered flag by BTR rookie Julia Heess (No. 13 Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars), who just managed to keep second-year rider Madicela Rodriguez (No. 113 Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited/Arai/Alpinestars) at bay.

The class, which is showcasing the efforts of women in racing for a seventh season in 2026, will be back in action tomorrow night.

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Standings

The dirt track motorcycle racing series will be back in action Friday night US time, for the second half of the season-opening Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA doubleheader.