Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1418555
ROUND 16 / JULY 24, 2021 CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY / CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA P82 FLAT TRACK I PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK Up front, Whale duked it out with Smartop/Jones Honda's future star Kody Kopp and came away with a class-leading fifth victory. Meanwhile, Wally Brown Rac- ing's Trent Lowe put the Suzuki Motor of America-backed RM- Z450 on the box for the only time this season thanks to a clutch last lap that saw him dis- place Turner Racing/American Honda's Cole Zabala and Trevor Brunner for third. Afterward, the emotion poured from Daniels. Choked up, he said, "This championship has been tough—a lot of ups and downs this season. I can't thank my team enough. It's been a hard season and these guys stuck behind me. To make history like this is awe- some. It was tough tonight be- cause the track was treacherous. It just means the world to me." AFT PRODUCTION TWINS With Cory Texter having already clinched his second AFT Produc- tion Twins title, the season finale stood as an opportunity for some other riders to make one final statement while also settling who would end 2021 ranked second in the division. The loudest statement came from Vance & Hines' substitute rider Jesse Janisch, who'd al- ready been making himself heard with his results ever since he was called up to fill in for the injured sional start card—that unlikeli- ness seemed considerably less so early in the race with Whale running up front and Daniels circulating down well outside the top 10. Making matters worse—for Daniels anyway—was the fact that tricky track conditions had already claimed a number of vic- tims, including his Estenson Rac- ing teammate Mikey Rush, who broke his leg due to a warmup lap fall prior to his semi. As tense as it was, Daniels managed to avoid further mis- fortune. Following a red flag and restart, he worked his way into a safe sixth, which was as fine a place as any from which to clinch a second consecutive national title. competitor. I told him, 'You're go- ing to heal up, and the battle will resume next year.'" AFT SINGLES The strong response to his ca- lamity-filled Peoria TT pretty much guaranteed that reigning AFT Singles champion Dallas Daniels would become the first two-time champion in class history. The only way to prevent that little piece of history from tak- ing place was for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Max Whale to win the finale (second wouldn't do under any scenario) and for Daniels to finish the race outside the top 13. As unlikely as that seemed ahead of time—especially as Daniels still owned his provi- Jesse Janisch won the Production Twins main event. It was his first win of the year.