Tom Drane ends AFT season on a high with Springfield Mile II win

2023 Progressive American Flat Track Championship
Springfield Mile II

Images by Tim Lester

Nine riders ran in contention for victory for the full ten laps and two minutes of the epic finale, running five wide and swapping positions all the while, with the runner-up position in the title race to be decided between Drane and Brunner.

As unpredictable as it was, throughout it all the top three positions were dominated by the usual suspects: Kopp, Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), and Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R).

Drane took the white flag in the lead with Kopp on his rear wheel. But before any Saturday flashbacks could fully materialise, Saathoff blew past Kopp and dove under his Aussie rival entering Turn 3 for the final time.

The Honda ace leapt out of Turn 4 with his maiden victory in his sights, but his ascension to Progressive AFT winner status was cruelly delayed once again when Drane powered ahead to steal the win at the line by 0.043 seconds.

The victory was Drane’s fourth of the season and more than enough to leapfrog his teammate and Sunday fourth-place finisher Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) for second position in the final standings.

Tom Drane

“This means a lot to do it here, at Springfield, with some Aussie fans out there. My career pretty much started at this track. I can’t thank my whole team enough for all their effort to get us here.”

The near miss was Saathoff’s ninth podium of the season and his sixth runner-up. Meanwhile, two-time champion Kopp finished third to round out his incredible eight-win season with an 11th podium.

Kody Kopp

“The season comes to an end here in Springfield! We pulled another podium finish, which is pretty crazy considering how we started the year with the Miles, so it’s a testament to how hard the team has worked throughout the year to get us to where we are now. The pressure was lifted today after the championship was wrapped up yesterday, so it was a fun race to enjoy, and we ended up just a little short in third place. Stoked on the season though and already looking forward to defending this thing next year!”

Morgen Mischler (No. 13 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Declan Bender (No. 216 Killer Bee Racing/Luczak Racing KTM 450 SX-F), and James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450) finished fractions of a second back in fifth through eighth, respectively.

Kopp’s teammate, Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F), crossed the stripe as the final rider in the lead pack, registering a ninth-place result despite finishing only 0.637 seconds off the victory. The result was still stout enough to hold onto a championship top-five ranking, however, with an ultimate class order of Kopp (351), Drane (310), Brunner (305), Saathoff (291), and Whale (266).

Max Whale

“All in all things went fairly well this season, as it’s the first time in a while I’ve made it through all rounds healthy. Lots of learnings and takeaways this year, but I feel like I have a lot more to give, so we’ll come back next year stronger and faster. My race here was good, first through 10th were in a super-tight battle, we were all there at the front of the pack, and I ended up ninth. Congratulations to Kody and the whole team, job well done to those guys, and we’ll be up for the fight again next year.”

AFT Singles Main Result

AFT Singles Standings – Top 20

Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle

Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750) strengthened his case for consideration as the greatest rider in the history of Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, securing a third consecutive Grand National Championship in Sunday’s season-ending Mission Springfield Mile II presented by Drag Specialties at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois.

Mees’ hopes of ending his spectacular 2023 atop the podium were foiled, however, by two-time Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle champ Briar Bauman (No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 790 Duke), who edged his great rival to the season’s final checkered flag by 0.075 seconds.

Bauman and Mees slipped free first from title challenger Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) and then Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) to settle into a two-rider duel for the contest’s second half. The back-and-forth affair remained in question right up to that last charge to the stripe where Bauman earned his first-career Springfield Mile victory and Mees added to his legend. While the season belonged to Mees, Bauman’s stunning finale served as an enticing sneak preview of what could be in store for the series in 2024.

Briar Bauman

“The team had a never-quit attitude. It’s always different when you’re in a position to wrap up a championship, which Jared was, so he might have been doing things a little bit different, but nonetheless, it’s a win to me. Life has been a little bit different recently. We lost my mom eight months ago and she hasn’t missed a race in five years. Lima kind of snuck up on me – I was surprised we won – but today when I came across the checkered flag, the emotions rolled out of me.”

Despite having been pit up against multiple generations of dirt track titans over the past two decades – from Chris Carr to Kenny Coolbeth to Jake Johnson to Brad Baker to Bryan Smith to Bauman and now Daniels – Mees has stacked up a résumé that stands alongside any previously assembled in the 70-year history of the championship. The factory Indian superstar now boasts an incredible nine Grand National Championships (2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2023), equaling the great Scott Parker for most all time.

Jared Mees

“It’s what you wake up for every day. It’s what you train for. Hats off to Scottie Parker – that’s the guy that keeps me going. He kept me going year after year, race after race. He’s still the best in my book, and it’s an honor to match something that he did. So many people contributed to this. I’m a little lost for words for once. I had a really good feeling we were going to get it – we were really fast all weekend long. I wanted to try to win that last one. But I went into that last lap and when Briar ran up underneath me, I was like, ‘Dude, I’m bringing it home.’ I just followed him right off the corner and he brought me to the line, and that was good enough for me. We’re going to let this one soak in.”

Some five seconds back, Daniels tracked down Robinson while simultaneously being reeled in by JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) and Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750). From there a four-rider fight for third was waged to the end.

The same way a tenth victory would have been a fitting conclusion to Mees’ season, a 16th podium would have been a natural way to end Daniels’ remarkable sophomore campaign. Of course, the racing gods aren’t often supporters of such contrivances, and thus Fisher earned the last step on the podium by 0.024 seconds ahead of Daniels with Robinson and Beach just behind in fifth and sixth, respectively.

Fisher’s second top three of the season allowed him to secure a spot in the championship top five (257) behind Mees (388), Daniels (372), Beach (301), and Bauman (299), and end the year as the top independent Indian.

Daniels, meanwhile, completes 2023 with a five-win, 15-podium runner-up season and now armed with plenty of motivation and hard-earned experience heading into 2024.

Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Fastrack Racing/2 Wheelz KTM 790 Duke) finished seventh on Sunday, with Ben Lowe (No. 25 Rackley Racing/Mission Foods Indian FTR750), Henry Wiles (No. 17 BriggsAuto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750), and Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Indian FTR750) completing the finale top ten.

SuperTwins Main Result

SuperTwins Standings – Top 20