VOLUME 57 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 P81
W
ith six rounds and three weekends
remaining of the 2020 American
Flat Track season, it's a bit early
to call the crown. That being said, when the
season is done and dusted, the Dallas Half-
Mile doubleheader may be looked back on as
a pivotal point for all three championships in
the series. Briar Bauman in AFT SuperTwins,
Dallas Daniels in AFT Singles and James
Rispoli in AFT Production Twins all came
into the weekend leading the points and all
three left with another 50. Instead of taking a
conservative approach, they went for the W's
and it paid off.
In the premier class, Bauman and his fel-
low Indian Motorcycle Progressive Insurance
rider, Jared Mees, have been trading blows
at each stop on the calendar. That ended in
Dallas, with Bauman backing up his shutout
at Williams Grove with another pair of wins in
Texas to extend his lead to 25 points.
"I try not to think of the championship too
much," Bauman said. "It's hard not to after hav-
ing a weekend like that. At the same time, me
and the guys, Dave [Zanotti] and Dustin [Say],
we're all trying to kind of just do our own deal
and do our job. If we rake off the wins, it's going
to result in the best outcome possible. I think
right now everyone's just pumped to be back
racing. I'm pumped to be back racing. If we can
do our jobs every weekend and do what we did
at the last four rounds, we should be good for
the big picture."
It was more than just winning, though,
as the defending champion was riding on a
whole new level. On Friday he not only led
flag to flag, he lapped half of the field by the
end of the 12-minute-plus-two-lap main.
"I got into some battles I wasn't supposed to
be in," Bauman said. "I got into a line of guys
one time and it was pretty hectic, but they all did
a great job seeing the blue flags. It's so difficult
on a small track like this to alter your lines while
in a battle, so hats off to all the guys."
BY ANDREA WILSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
SCOTT HUNTER &
KRISTEN LASSEN
Rispoli
