Tom Drane sets AFT Singles record as Daniels seals 2026 crown

2026 American Flat Track
Springfield Mile

AFT Singles presented by KICKER
Springfield Mile I

Tom Drane arrived at Springfield with his second consecutive KICKER AFT Singles crown already secured at the Peoria TT, but with another significant piece of history still within reach.

The Australian began the weekend tied with Kody Kopp and Dallas Daniels for the most victories in a single AFT Singles season. One more win would give Drane the record outright, while extending a run that had already seen him win the previous six Miles.

Saturday’s Main Event developed into the expected Springfield drafting battle, with a large group trading places until a crash involving promising rookie Charlie Jaques brought out the red flag. Jaques had briefly led and was running fourth when he fell.

Following the restart, Kage Tadman attempted to break away and opened a lead of more than half a second. Drane, Chase Saathoff, Trevor Brunner and Logan Eisenhard combined to reel the Honda rider back in, producing a five-rider contest through the middle stages.

Eisenhard eventually lost contact, leaving Drane, Saathoff, Brunner and Tadman to repeatedly exchange the lead while preparing their final-lap strategies.

Tadman drafted ahead of Drane entering Turn 1 for the final time, but Drane responded on the approach to Turn 3 and reclaimed the lead. The Yamaha rider hugged the low line exiting Turn 4 and won the drag to the chequered flag.

Only 0.085 seconds covered the leading four riders. Drane defeated Saathoff by 0.037 seconds, with Brunner another 0.030 seconds behind in third and Tadman relegated to fourth.

The victory was Drane’s ninth of 2026, establishing a new single-season record for the category. It also extended his winning streak to seven consecutive Miles and six successive AFT Singles races at Springfield.

Eisenhard held fifth ahead of Evan Kelleher, while Walker Porter, Jordan Beaulac, Jett Katarzy and Bradon Pfanders completed the top ten.

AFT Singles presented by KICKER – Springfield Mile II

The final KICKER AFT Singles race of 2026 produced the largest and most unpredictable lead battle of the season.

Twelve riders remained involved as the field repeatedly fanned out across Springfield’s long straights, with the lead changing at the end of almost every straightaway.

The deciding moment came during what was intended to be the final lap. Logan Eisenhard was drawn up the track and collided with Jordan Beaulac, sending both riders into the air fence and bringing out the red flag.

Drane was leading on the circuit when the stoppage occurred, but Chase Saathoff had crossed the stripe first to begin the final lap. With the race declared, the classification was taken from that order.

Saathoff was consequently awarded his second win of the season, having led Tadman across the stripe by just 0.038 seconds. Drane had been another one-thousandth of a second behind in third.

Chase Saathoff

“It still feels great to win. I’m super grateful, and I do feel we would have had a chance at the line. I can’t thank the whole team enough; it’s been a great year.

“I’m very blessed to be up here right now, even though it was by a technicality… it happens.”

The unusual conclusion brought Drane’s seven-race Mile winning streak to an end, although it did little to diminish his record-setting season.

Trevor Brunner and Jared Lowe were classified fourth and fifth, with Walker Porter, Bradon Pfanders, Tarren Santero, Jett Katarzy and Kaleb Martin completing the top ten.

Drane ended his second consecutive championship-winning campaign with 303 points and nine victories. Saathoff secured championship runner-up honours with 257 points, while Tadman completed the top three on 226.

AFT Singles Main Event Results – Mile I

AFT Singles Main Event Results – Mile II

AFT Singles Standings – Top 20

Mission AFT SuperTwins – Springfield Mile I

Dallas Daniels entered Springfield with three consecutive victories and a 20-point championship advantage over Briar Bauman. Saturday’s third and final Mission Triple Challenge of the season offered Daniels the opportunity to secure a second consecutive Grand National Championship without waiting for Sunday’s finale.

Near-triple-digit temperatures added another challenge as the premier-class field contested three Main Events of increasing length.

Main Event 1

Bauman launched into the lead at the beginning of the ten-lap opener, but was quickly overtaken by 2025 Springfield Mile winner Trent Lowe.

Daniels briefly moved to the front before Lowe and Davis Fisher drafted past on either side. Those three gradually established a small advantage over the remainder of the eight-rider lead group.

Fisher made his break across the final two laps and escaped the draft to take an uncontested victory. Daniels defeated Lowe by 0.059 seconds for second.

Drane demonstrated his SuperTwins potential on the final lap, drafting past both Bauman and Kody Kopp to claim fourth aboard the Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07. Bauman and Kopp followed in fifth and sixth.

Main Event 2

The 15-lap second race developed into a six-rider fight between Daniels, Lowe, Drane, Kopp, Bauman and Fisher.

Fisher dropped to the rear of the group after spinning up the track from pole position, while Daniels moved underneath Lowe and assumed control at the front.

Bauman’s championship hopes suffered a decisive blow with four laps remaining. The Harley-Davidson rider raised his hand to indicate a problem before withdrawing from the race and being classified 15th.

Daniels capitalised by holding Lowe at bay to win by 0.111 seconds. Kopp narrowly defeated former AFT Singles rival Drane for third, while Fisher recovered to fifth, only 0.564 seconds behind Daniels.

Main Event 3

Bauman started the final race from the back of the field but worked his way into sixth on the opening lap. Using a higher line than many of his rivals, the two-time champion continued advancing and moved to the front shortly after half-distance.

Behind Bauman, Daniels calculated what he required to secure both the overall Springfield Mile I victory and the championship. Lowe and Drane remained firmly in contention as Fisher began to slip away from the leading group.

Bauman eventually broke clear of the draft, leaving Daniels, Lowe and Drane three-wide in the fight for second across the closing laps.

Daniels secured the position, finishing 0.289 seconds behind Bauman and just 0.059 seconds ahead of Lowe. Drane crossed the line fourth for his third fourth-place finish of the afternoon.

Daniels’ 2-1-2 scorecard delivered the Springfield Mile I overall victory and confirmed him as the 2026 Grand National Champion.

Dallas Daniels

“It was a tough year. It was really long, and it was hard. The guys I’m racing against are so good. Each year you expect to take a step forward, but your competition does too. I didn’t know if it was going to happen today.

“I could talk about the day, or I could talk about the season, but really, I want to thank my whole team. The Estenson Racing Monster Energy Yamaha team – Tommy Hayden and Tim Estenson – gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to come out here and do what I love and make a living doing it.

“This year came together late, but winning four in a row and the Springfield Mile, it’s awesome. This is an emotional time for me. I dreamed of this for a long time. It’s cool.”

The victory was Daniels’ fourth in succession and sixth of the season. It moved him to 295 points and gave him an unassailable 27-point advantage over Bauman.

Lowe’s consistent 3-2-3 results earned him second overall and his first podium of the season. Bauman recovered from his second-race retirement to take third overall with finishes of 5-15-1.

Fisher was fourth overall after recording 1-5-6 results, while Drane’s remarkably consistent 4-4-4 performance placed the Australian fifth in his SuperTwins wildcard appearance.

Mission AFT SuperTwins – Springfield Mile II

With the Grand National Championship already decided, the final Mission AFT SuperTwins race of 2026 delivered a result that broke the season’s established order.

Dallas Daniels, Briar Bauman and Kody Kopp had shared all 15 victories before Sunday’s finale, but none of the three ultimately featured on the Springfield Mile II podium.

Instead, Davis Fisher and SuperTwins wildcard Tom Drane fought for the victory throughout the second half of the race.

The pair repeatedly drafted past one another, with Fisher recognising that he needed to lead Drane into Turn 3 on the final lap to have any prospect of containing the Australian’s run to the line.

Fisher achieved exactly that. Drane still closed rapidly in the final metres, but the KTM rider held on by just 0.009 seconds to claim the second Mission AFT SuperTwins victory of his career.

Drane’s runner-up finish provided an emphatic demonstration of his premier-class potential after the two-time AFT Singles Champion had also recorded three fourth-place finishes during Saturday’s Mission Triple Challenge.

Trent Lowe finished another 0.057 seconds behind Drane in third, giving the Honda rider podium finishes on both days of the Springfield finale.

Davis Fisher

“Tom put up a heck of a fight. I just can’t thank the whole Rackley team enough for chugging away at this and putting the KTM on the top of the box.

“My long-time sponsor Bob Lanphere from Beaverton Motorcycles made the trip here, and he told me, ‘I’m here to watch you win the Mile.’ And we did that.

“It’s pretty cool going into the off-season on top. It’s been a while since I got a win. It was long overdue, and it feels so great.”

Bauman had frequently led the tightly grouped field before an apparent mechanical problem forced him out with a little more than four minutes remaining.

Daniels had earlier dropped almost two seconds behind the leaders, but mounted a late recovery as Fisher and Drane traded places. The newly crowned champion regained the draft with two laps remaining and passed Kopp on the final lap to claim fourth.

Kopp’s fifth-place finish was nevertheless sufficient to overhaul Bauman for second in the final Grand National Championship standings.

Dalton Gauthier finished a solitary sixth aboard the Royal Enfield, while Declan Bender prevailed in an all-Yamaha contest with Hunter Bauer and Chad Cose for seventh. Returning Springfield favourite Jeffrey Carver Jr completed the top ten.

Daniels ended his second consecutive championship-winning season with 309 points. Kopp finished runner-up in his rookie SuperTwins campaign with 274, four points ahead of Bauman. Fisher secured fourth with 216 points, while Lowe completed the championship top five on 178.

Mission AFT SuperTwins Main Event 1 Results

Mission AFT SuperTwins Main Event 2 Results

Mission AFT SuperTwins Main Event 3 Results

Mission AFT SuperTwins Main Results – Mile II

AFT SuperTwins Standings – Top 20

Season Complete

The Caterpillar Springfield Mile II brought the 2026 Progressive American Flat Track season to a close.

Dallas Daniels ends the campaign as a back-to-back Grand National Champion, while fellow Estenson Racing Yamaha rider Tom Drane secured his second consecutive KICKER AFT Singles title and established a new category record with nine victories during the season.

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