The 2025 Progressive AFT season concluded with the Arby’s Lake Ozark Short Track event at Lake Ozark Speedway in Missouri on Sept. 13. While Briar Bauman scored a final victory aboard the Harley-Davidson XG750R, he couldn’t overcome Dallas Daniels’ points lead. Daniels, on an Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07, finished in 3rd to take home the Grand National Championship.
Starting the race, Daniels grabbed the lead before James Ott, Billy Ross, Dalton Gauthier, and Logan McGrane all crashed, causing a red-flag restart. On the second run, Daniels once again took the lead before being passed by Bauman and Brandon Robinson. In the end, Bauman finished 1st followed by Robinson, scoring a 1-2 for Harley-Davidson, with Daniels finishing 3rd.
Congrats to Dallas Daniels, a first-time Grand National Champion, on his spectacular season, and congratulations to Briar Bauman and the Harley-Davidson XG750R for a highly competitive year and for earning the most 1st-place finishes (eight in total) this season. Read the press release below for more information.
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 13, 2025) – Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) fulfilled his lifelong ambition of becoming Grand National Champion as a thrilling 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, came to its conclusion in tonight’s Arby’s Lake Ozark Short Track presented by Arrowhead Brass at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Missouri.
Competing before packed grandstands as a featured attraction of the 19th Annual Lake of the Ozarks Bikefest, Daniels needed to finish seventh or better to lock up the title in the event of a victory on the part of his Mission AFT SuperTwins title rival, Briar Bauman (No. 3 RWR/Parts Plus/Latus Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R).
And as expected, Bauman did all he could to pile the pressure on Daniels, locking down the top spot on the charts all day long.
Daniels grabbed the lead early but the potential for disaster was quickly made evident. With multiple riders dicing for the lead and only inches separating them, James Ott (No. 19 G&G Racing Yamaha MT-07) crashed following contact with Bauman.
Ott’s bike caromed off the wall in the incident, creating a chain reaction that also collected Billy Ross (No. 29 Mission Foods/Digitrace Kawasaki Ninja 650), Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 Racing Unlimited/Parts Bros Kawasaki Ninja 650), and Logan McGrane (No. 14 Schaeffer’s Motorsports KTM 790 Duke).
While Daniels came into the night having finished inside the top five in 47 consecutive races, the collective misfortune of his fellow competitors and subsequent red-flag delay forced him to sit and contemplate what might possibly go wrong.
When the race was restarted, Daniels resumed in the lead temporarily. However, he was quickly overhauled by Bauman, who subsequently raced off to victory. Bauman was followed home by Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R) to give Harley-Davidson a season finale 1-2 and the 2025 Mission AFT SuperTwins Manufacturer Championship.
Daniels, meanwhile, held off a charging Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Progressive Insurance Honda Transalp) – fresh off his Springfield stunner – to secure the final spot on the box and his first Grand National Championship in the process.
Just behind, Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Mike Butler Racing/Mission Foods Yamaha MT-07) finished fifth, with Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790 Duke), Declan Bender (No. 70 Memphis Shades/Luczak Racing Yamaha MT-07), Max Whale (No. 18 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650), Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson Construction Suzuki GSX-8S), and Ben Lowe (No. 25 Mission Foods/Roof Systems Yamaha MT-07) rounding out the top ten.
This season marks the culmination of the first stage of Daniels’ professional career. The Estenson Racing Yamaha star was widely projected as a future premier-class king as early as his amateur days, in which he became the first rider to win the Nicky Hayden AMA Horizon Award in both flat track and roadracing.
He’s only continued to accumulate accomplishments since joining the pro ranks. Daniels became the first-ever two-time AFT Singles champion and followed that up by authoring a run that ranks as among the greatest first four seasons the Mission AFT SuperTwins category has ever witnessed.
In winning the 2025 crown, Daniels now stands as the seventh youngest rider to earn a first-career Grand National Championship, both as measured by age and experience. He’s been a title contender throughout the entirety of his time in the class, proving himself a historically relentless and constant threat at the front of the pack, regardless of time or place.
Additionally, Daniels joins “King” Kenny Roberts (1973 & 1974) to become just the second rider to win the sport’s greatest prize aboard Yamaha racebikes exclusively.
The new champ said, “The emotions are overwhelming. It’s been a bit of an overwhelming season. Last year, I really had a breakout season and was doing really good. I had a nice little points lead and then had a huge heartbreak. When we came into this year, we did really good at Daytona, and from then on the season was super tough for a lot of reasons. A lot of it was on me, trying to come back from an injury, and Briar was firing on all cylinders immediately.
“When I look at this season – it was kind of like today – just a grind. We struggled with a lot of stuff, and it was such a tough season, but the whole Estenson Racing Monster Energy Yamaha team never gave up, and I never gave up on them. We believed in each other.
“I don’t even know how to put this into words… I’ve got to thank my parents and my whole family, who have sacrificed so much. I’ve dreamed of this my whole life. I’d go to sleep at six years old wanting to be Grand National Champion. It almost slipped away at times this year, but I never lost belief in myself, and I never lost belief in my team. I worked my whole life to be here.”
While ultimately unable to overcome Daniels’ peerless consistency, Bauman closed out a spectacular season that only further enhanced the reputation of the two-time Grand National Champion. In ‘25, Bauman and his Rick Ware Racing team took the previously winless Harley-Davidson XG750R and won more races than any other rider this season (eight) while giving Daniels and the Estenson Racing squad all they could handle until the very end.
Bauman said, “I’ve got to give a huge thanks to the Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus/Latus Motors team. I ask so much of these guys. We had high hopes and a lot of heart. Congrats to Dallas Daniels and the whole Estenson Racing team. They are so good. This was the best year of my career statistically, and it wasn’t good enough. That’s crazy.”
Daniels won the 2025 Mission AFT SuperTwins title with 313 points. Bauman ended up second with 307, followed by Robinson at 217.
Meanwhile, Lowe secured Mission AFT SuperTwins Rookie of the Year honors by finishing a superb fourth overall with 186 points.
Next Up
For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FloRacing 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.
FOX Sports coverage of the Arby’s Lake Ozark Short Track presented by Arrowhead Brass, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Saturday, September 20, at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT).
For more information, visit the Progressive AFT website.
