Daniels Leads Grand National Championship Battle to Bridgeport Half-Mile

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, picks right back up this weekend with the second-ever running of the Bridgeport Half-Mile at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, New Jersey, on Saturday, June 22.

Last season’s stop marked the first-ever motorcycle race in the history of the half-century old venue and was rewarded with an epic Mission AFT SuperTwins showdown that saw Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) overcome reigning Grand National Champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Rogers Racing/SDI Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750) by 0.095 seconds to secure his first-career Half-Mile victory.

Daniels returns with the momentum of a freight train after earning his second-career Half-Mile victory in this past weekend’s Orange County Half-Mile and doing so in utterly dominant fashion.

The circumstances might invite overconfidence if not for the reminder that rival Mees was in the exact same situation – having won both the season’s previous race and last year’s race at Orange County – before encountering an uncharacteristically difficult round. Buried outside the top ten early, Mees fought his way up to fifth to limit the damage done to his title chances, which he’ll no doubt look to bolster with a bounce-back ride this weekend.

While fellow title hopefuls Briar Bauman (No. 3 Rick Ware Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790 Duke) and Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) continued to race near the front of the field and expect to do so again at Bridgeport, the final results underlined the incredible diversity and competitiveness of the premier class.

Five different manufacturers finished inside the top five thanks to the impressive ‘24 Mission SuperTwins debuts of Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650) and Billy Ross (No. 29 Mission Foods/Digitale Kawasaki Ninja 650).

Meanwhile, a big crop of veteran frontrunners will be looking to make their presence felt in New Jersey, a crew that consists of Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Ohio Indian FTR750), Brandon Price (No. 92 Memphis Shades/Corbin/OTBR Yamaha MT-07), Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), and Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson/Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda Transalp) among others.

Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER

Double defending Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER champ Kody Kopp (No. 1 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450 SX-F) rewrites the history books seemingly every time he throws a leg over his KTM, and this weekend has the potential for yet another revision.

With a win this weekend, Kopp will break a tie with Shayna Texter-Bauman (No. 52 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450 SX-F) to take sole possession of first on the all-time class wins list at 20, while moving into a tie with Texter-Bauman for most career Half-Mile wins at 11. However, he’ll have to overcome recent history to make history for a change considering he finished outside the top five following an uncharacteristically quiet day in last season’s inaugural Bridgeport Half-Mile.

Instead, it was rising star Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) who ruled the day. He’ll look to do so again this year, and his cause may be aided by the fact that both riders who joined him on the podium last year – Max Whale (No. 18 Latus Motors Racing/Liqui Moly Harley-Davidson XG750R) and Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Mission Foods/Zanotti Racing Indian FTR750) – have since graduated to premier-class duty.

Fourth- and fifth place, however, went to Chase Saathoff (No. 88 JPG Motorsports Honda CRF450R) and Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), a pair of riders with the talent and motivation to push for the checkered flag this weekend.

The deep field of challengers is again fronted by the California trio of James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450), Tarren Santero (No. 75 Vinson Construction/P&M Motorcycles Honda CRF450R), and Travis Petton IV (No. 82 ECG Racing/A.M Ortega KTM 450 SX-F), while rookie Evan Renshaw (No. 265 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) feels due for a breakthrough performance.

Along with the incredible action on track, the Bridgeport Half-Mile will also feature live music courtesy of acclaimed Southern New Jersey cover band Poor Mouth Henry, the Kids Zone, designated motorcycle parking, numerous vendors, and a variety of food and beverage options.

General Admission Grandstand tickets are just $40 (kids 12 and under $5), while Reserved Grandstand tickets are only $10 more (All Ages). A Pit Pass Upgrade provides all-day access to the pit area where fans can scope out the world’s fastest dirt track motorcycles and get up close and personal with the stars of the sport is also available. Multi-day camping passes are available to purchase for $95.

New for 2024 is the Opening Ceremonies Trackside Fan Experience ($150 all ages). This ticket option provides reserved seating with Pit Pass access, a guided tour of, and photo opportunities at, the infield podium and start/finish line, infield viewing of Opening Ceremonies and the heat races, and a track talk and photo opportunity with 2016 Grand National Champion Bryan Smith.

Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/bridgeport-half-mile-86133 to reserve your seats today.

Gates will open for fans at 3:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT) with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT). You can catch the livestream of all the weekend’s racing activities on FloRacing. Motorsports fans can subscribe to FloRacing to enjoy over 1,000 live motorsports events in 2024. FloSports is available by visiting https://flosports.link/aft or by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast.

FOX Sports coverage of the Bridgeport Half-Mile, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Saturday, June 29, at 2:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT).

For more information on Progressive AFT visit https://www.americanflattrack.com.