Briar Bauman claimed the points lead with his fifth consecutive win of the season in the Lima Half-Mile I, but the next day spelled misfortune for the Harley-Davidson XG750R rider.
The Lima Half-Mile II saw reigning champ Dallas Daniels pilot his Yamaha MT-07 to an early lead, while rookie Kody Kopp chased him from 2nd, determined to recover from his unfortunate loss at the Lima Half-Mile I. Kopp kept the pressure on, but Daniels was able to hold onto the lead to the finish. Davis Fisher rounded out the podium.
Bauman raced with the leaders for a while, but his luck changed after being passed by Fisher. After that, Bauman suffered a mechanical issue and was forced out of the race, ending his win streak with a 14th-place finish and dropping him from 1st in the standings to 3rd. Kopp reclaims the lead just one point ahead of Daniels.
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Reigning Grand National Champion scored a desperately needed victory with a flawless ride in Saturday night’s Super.com Lima Half-Mile II presented by Drag Specialties, Round 9 of the Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing,
Daniels’ third-career win at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio, provided both his title defense and his confidence a massive boost at just the right time – a fact doubled up by the contrasting misfortune of Briar Bauman (No. 3 RWR/Jacob Construction/Parts Plus Harley-Davidson XG750R), who had streaked his way to the top of the Mission AFT SuperTwins title standings one day earlier.
Rather, Daniels’ challenge came from Kody Kopp (No. 12 Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R), who rebounded from his own bout of bad luck on Friday.
Kopp launched into second from Row 2 at the start of the Main Event and spent the majority of the subsequent ten minutes pushing Daniels from close behind, searching for a line or a move that would allow him to steal the lead the entire time.
With around a minute to go, Kopp decided he could wait no longer and took a gamble that failed to pay off. That gave the Estenson Racing star nearly a second worth of padding as the race neared its conclusion.
A tight grouping of four lappers offered the Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson rookie one final hope, but instead it sealed the deal as Daniels carved a neater path through the slower riders.
Daniels stormed past the stripe 1.583 seconds up on Kopp to claim his second win of 2026 and his first in his last six outings.
“It was a super tough Main Event,” Daniels said. “The first Lima I ever won, I just kind of ran away with it, and it was more or less easy. You don’t really have a lot of those in your career, as I’m learning. Leading the whole Lima Half-Mile is so tough. Kody has been riding so good this year, and he was riding so good yesterday… I think he would have won if he didn’t have his mechanical. I definitely wanted to answer today. I wanted to answer for a long time. It’s been a long couple rounds for the whole team. We made some good headway tonight.
“This one is tough. It’s a little bitter. It was a tough day for the whole pit area. We don’t take it lightly. We know what we’re signing up for, and it’s not easy. I want to keep all the riders who had some falls in our thoughts and dedicate this one to them.”
Meanwhile, Bauman, who came into the day with a record-tying sixth straight win in his sights, got away in third and ran right with Daniels and Kopp approximately a third of the way into the race.
At that point he dropped off the chase. He was then tracked down and overtaken by Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790 Duke) just prior to half-distance and had Jeffrey Carver (No. 123 Happy Trails Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R) on his tail as well.
It only got worse – much worse – from there, as Bauman was forced out of the race altogether with a mechanical issue with around two minutes left on the clock. He was ultimately credited with 14th position.
Fisher continued on to complete his double-podium weekend, while fourth went to a charging Aidan RoosEvans (No. 26 FRA Trust Advisors Harley-Davidson XG750R), who edged mentor Carver for the spot.
Chad Cose (No. 49 Parker Racing/Pro Roofing Yamaha MT-07) finished in sixth, while Ben Lowe (No. 25 Rackley Racing/Roof Systems KTM 790 Duke), Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods Honda CB750 Hornet), Declan Bender (No. 70 Memphis Shades/Vinson Construction Yamaha MT-07), and Logan McGrane (No. 14 Schaffers MotorSports/Ryan Varnes Racing KTM 790 Duke) rounded out the top ten, respectively.
Naturally, the results had a dramatic effect on the Grand National Championship as it opened its second half. Kopp is now back in front, albeit by just a single point over Daniels (169-168). Bauman’s standing took a hit, slotting him down from first to third. That said, he remains well within striking distance just eleven points removed from Kopp at 158.
Next Up
Progressive American Flat Track will be in action on Independence Day with the first Mile of the 2026 season, the Drag Specialties DuQuoin Mile at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in DuQuoin, Illinois, on Saturday, July 4th. Purchase your tickets today.
How to Watch
FloRacing
For those that can’t catch the live action at the track, FloRacing is the live streaming home of Progressive American Flat Track. Motorsports fans can subscribe to FloRacing to enjoy over 1,000 live motorsports events in 2026. FloSports is available online or by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast.
FS1
FOX Sports coverage of the Super.com Lima Half-Mile I, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, July 5, at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT). The Lima Half Mile II will air the following Sunday, July 12, at 12:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m. PT). The full listing of American Flat Track’s television premieres can be found at the AFT website.
