Story and photos from americanflattrack.com

Reigning Grand National Champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750) penned the latest chapter of a career of Half-Mile heroics with a victorious run in Saturday night’s Mission Dallas Half-Mile presented by Roof Systems at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas.

The premier-class king was one-fourth of an early scrap for the lead in the Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle Main Event, along with a trio of Yamaha-mounted challengers in JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), and Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Corbin/Vinson Construction Yamaha MT-07).

The opening stages of the contest proved to be a battle of extreme high and low lines. The high line showed itself to be the fast track up the order initially before giving way to a high-risk, high-reward tight-rope line at the bottom.

Just prior to half-distance, Mees and Daniels exploited that tricky low line to break free and settle into a rematch of their Senoia shootout. Meanwhile, Beach and Bromley fell into a five-rider fight for the final spot on the podium after being reeled in by the charging Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750), Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), and Briar Bauman (No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 890 Duke).

Daniels made a couple of determined attempts to zero in on Mees but never got quite close enough to make a serious attempt at an overtake. A small bobble on the part of Daniels with less than a minute remaining gave the champ a bit of breathing space. He was then ceded even more as his young rival called off the assault to accept second.

The triumph was the 34th Half-Mile win of Mees’ historic career, placing him just one shy of the all-time record held by Scott Parker.

Afterward, Mees said, “Honestly, this was one of the hardest races to win. Going into Turn 1 and through Turn 2, you had to be so delicate going into the corners. You had to hit your brake mark right, get your throttle position right, and if you messed it up, it screwed your whole momentum up. It was definitely a hard race to win.

“Hats off to my entire team. We had a little mess up in Arizona, but we came back pretty strong all day long.”

Adding to Mees’ big evening was the misfortune of Beach, who crashed out of podium contention and dropped from second to fourth in the championship standings in the process.

Robinson – who wasn’t even sure he’d be able to ride in Dallas after getting banged up in practice crashes at the previous two rounds – earned the final spot on the box. Bauman railed his way around the outside to climb to fourth in the end with Fisher behind in fifth.

Bromley ended his impressive run in sixth, while positions 7-10 were filled by Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Indian FTR750), Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Fastrack Racing/2 Wheelz KTM 890 Duke), Ben Lowe (No. 25 Rackley Racing/Mission Foods Indian FTR750), and Kolby Carlile (No. 36 G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha MT-07), in that order.

Daniels continues to hold down the championship lead with 113 points in his pocket following his 1-1-2-2-2 start. Mees now ranks second with 96 points, while two-time champ Bauman (78) also edged ahead of Beach (76) for third.

Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER

Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) can finally call himself a Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER Main Event winner after repeatedly knocking on the door of that landmark achievement for years.

Lowe’s maiden Progressive AFT victory headlined a race that represented a monumental reversal of fortune compared with the four that led into it.

After getting off to a slower-than-expected start to the season, the American Honda-backed Turner Racing team entered the day with just one podium between its talented trio of Lowe, Morgen Mischler (No. 13 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), and Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R).

They tripled that number in a single outing in Dallas after fighting back in furious fashion at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. The three immediately went to the front and turned the first half of the race into a glorified poster shoot for the team, running side-by-side-by-side with the field struggling to stay in their wake.

Lowe eventually shook free while the pack closed in on second-placed Saathoff and third-placed Mischler, but they ultimately held strong to secure the podium lockout.

Lowe said, “I’m so happy, and I think the entire team is so happy – it’s going to be a party in our pit area tonight. The whole Turner Racing team pulled it together. We were kind of on the struggle bus at the beginning of the season, but we definitely made a big improvement on this one with the three of us on the podium. I can’t thank the team enough.”

Meanwhile, the championship’s usual suspects struggled mightily before finally coming good in the end. Defending champ Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) ran as low as eighth, while Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F) and Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) found themselves buried outside the top ten.

Kopp and Whale finally found their groove, weaving their way up through the field with Kopp earning fourth at the checkered flag, just 0.172 seconds short of the podium. Aussie Whale came home just behind his teammate, outdueling Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) to complete the top five.

Meanwhile, Gauthier executed a charge of his own to finish in seventh, while Chad Cose (No. 49 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450), Shayna Texter-Bauman (No. 52 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 450 SX-F) and Brunner’s Estenson Racing Yamaha teammate Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) rounded out the top ten.

As a result, Kopp continues to lead a tight title fight over Gauthier (102-98) with Whale third (86) and Brunner fourth (78). Not surprisingly, the Turner Racing entrants made a big push in the rankings, as they are now positioned fifth (Saathoff – 76), sixth (Lowe – 57), and seventh (Mischler – 56) and still very much in the hunt.

Next Up:

The 2023 Progressive American Flat Track season will tackle its fourth and final Short Track of the year with its first-ever trip to Ventura Raceway in Ventura, California, for the inaugural Ventura Short Track on Saturday, May 6. Visit https://www.tixr.com/promoters/americanflattrack to secure your tickets today.

For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FansChoice.tv is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Sign up now and catch every second of on-track action starting with Practice & Qualifying and ending with the Victory Podium at the end of the night at https://www.fanschoice.tv.

FOX Sports coverage of the Mission Dallas Half-Mile presented by Roof Systems, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, April 30, at 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT).

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