Tom Drane back on top as Silver Dollar shakes up AFT title race

2026 Progressive American Flat Track

Round Five – Silver Dollar Short Track

Tom Drane returned to the top step at the Silver Dollar Short Track, the Australian defending champion becoming the first repeat winner of the 2026 KICKER AFT Singles season and stretching his championship lead after five rounds.

Chase Saathoff kept Drane under pressure deep into the Main Event at Silver Dollar Speedway, but Drane broke clear late to win by 1.120 seconds, moving to 98 points and opening a 16-point buffer over Trevor Brunner.

In Mission AFT SuperTwins, Briar Bauman completed a California double after backing up his Ventura victory with another win at Silver Dollar, while Adam Costan-Wood edged Jett Katarzy by just 0.053 seconds in AFT ProSport 450.

KICKER AFT Singles

Tom Drane has become the first repeat winner of the 2026 KICKER AFT Singles season, the defending champion extending his points lead with victory at the Silver Dollar Short Track.

That achievement was very much in doubt, however, up until the final minute of the contest. Saathoff kept the pressure on throughout, repeatedly threatening a high-low move as the leaders searched for drive on a changing racetrack.

With the leaders’ bikes bucking as they pressed hard to break free at the front, Saathoff repeatedly threatened to execute a high-low pass on Drane. But rather than risk striking too soon, Saathoff looked to stay patient and bide his time.

That strategy ultimately backfired when his preferred line went away from him late, allowing Drane to make his escape.

Tom Drane

“That was a really good race,” Drane said. “I knew I had to get out there and get a really good start. Once I did that, I put my head down. Chase was definitely pressuring me, working the high-side on me, but I was able to get the job done. I couldn’t have done it without my Estenson Racing Monster Energy Yamaha team – they gave me a great bike today.”

Drane and Saathoff were joined at the front during the race’s opening stages by young Walker Porter, who continued to flash podium speed.

He’s yet to fully cash in on that pace, however. The Turner Racing Honda sophomore was overhauled by title hopeful Trevor Brunner with just a handful of laps remaining to steal away the final spot on the box.

Porter did manage to narrowly fend off Tarren Santero to post a new career-best professional finish of fourth.

Jared Lowe came home sixth, finishing ahead of Kage Tadman, whose California win streak was snapped at three.

Justin Anselmi, Evan Kelleher, and Jack Brucks rounded out the top ten.

Drane extended his points lead with the win, now boasting a 16-point advantage over Brunner (98-82). Saathoff is third with 78 points.

KICKER AFT Singles  – Silver Dollar Short Track Results

KICKER AFT Singles Standings

Mission AFT SuperTwins

California native Briar Bauman completed the Golden State double-double with a victorious performance in the Silver Dollar Short Track, marking Round 5 of the 2026 Progressive American Flat Track season.

For the second consecutive season, Bauman backed up his Mission AFT SuperTwins win at Ventura Raceway with another at Silver Dollar Speedway to sweep the series’ West Coast swing.

Bauman was quickly in control at Chico, working past Dallas Daniels and Kody Kopp before building enough of a margin to manage the race from the front. The two-time Grand National Champion made quick work of reigning champ Dallas Daniels and points leader Kody Kopp before proceeding to set sail at the front.

For the third consecutive race, Kopp did what he could to cling on in second. He even managed to mount something of a charge at mid-distance, bringing a near-two-second gap back down to just over a second. However, Bauman put in a final push to break it open late en route to a 2.614-second margin of victory.

Briar Bauman

“Last week, I knew that we were ready. And now these guys know that we are ready. I’m fired up. It’s so hard to lead on these types of racetracks. I’ve never looked back that much in my life. But Kody is so witty, and his dad is so good, and Dave Z(anotti) is so good, I knew they were going to find something. So I kept looking, but I finally found something that was good enough to get us to the win. I’m super excited for the team.”

Meanwhile, Kopp’s fellow rookie, Aidan RoosEvans, came through in a big way for Harley as well as the championship aspirations of Bauman and Kopp. Despite being subjected to intense pressure from directly behind, RoosEvans held strong to finish ahead of Daniels while putting the finishing touches on a Harley-Davidson XG750R sweep of the podium.

Daniels had to work hard just to put himself in podium contention, then could not find a way past RoosEvans in the closing stages. He found himself in a perilous position early with multiple riders nipping at his heels for fifth in the early going. And even after he settled in, Daniels couldn’t manage to find a way past RoosEvans, finishing off the podium for the first time in ten races.

In truth, the Estenson Yamaha ace was fortunate to stay ahead of a charging Davis Fisher. Fisher raced up from the back row, having burned his provisional start after encountering mechanical issues in both his heat and the LCQ.

Sixth went to Trent Lowe, followed closely by Ben Lowe. Evan Renshaw earned his best premier-class result to date in eighth while part-timer Bronson Bauman finished ninth.

Canadian Hunter Bauer finished tenth, and as a result, rookies accounted for a full half of the top ten.

Top rookie Kopp continues to lead the Grand National Championship chase at 103 points. Daniels is still second with 91, while Bauman continues to close at 85.

Mission AFT SuperTwins – Silver Dollar Short Track Results

Mission AFT SuperTwins Standings

AFT ProSport 450

Progressive American Flat Track fans got another peek into the future in Saturday night’s AFT ProSport 450 showdown. Twelve of the sport’s most promising amateurs earned an opportunity to showcase their skills alongside the world’s elite professional motorcycle dirt trackers by way of Friday’s AMA-sanctioned Mission Foods CTR Showcase Event at Silver Dollar Speedway.

And two of those twelve stepped forward to deliver a jaw-dropping show in Saturday’s Main Event. Adam Costan-Wood and Jett Katarzy expanded the rivalry of Turner Racing and 1st Impressions Racing to include the AFT ProSport 450 class, battling back and forth throughout the 12-lap event.

Ventura winner Katarzy made what he hoped would prove the race’s decisive pass with three laps remaining before a minor mistake allowed Coston-Wood to power back past.

Katarzy put his head down to reel his rival back in and threw in a last-gasp, last-corner strike that Coston-Wood rebuffed by a miniscule 0.053-second margin at the stripe.

Colt Shafer claimed third after coming out on top of his own duel with Christian Knox, while Braxton Ragan completed the top five.

AFT ProSport 450 Silver Dollar ST Main Results

AFT ProSport 450 Standings

Next Up

Progressive American Flat Track is headed to ThrottleFest in Mechanicsville, Maryland, on Saturday, May 16.

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