BY CHRIS MARTIN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM LESTER
T
he Red Mile further under-
lined the fact that the 2023
Mission SuperTwins season
has effectively been transformed
into a two-man show, headlined by
one of the greatest riders in Grand
National Championship history,
Jared Mees, and a rising star,
Dallas Daniels, with the requisite
goods to join that list in due time.
The biggest question now is
whether Estenson Racing Ya
-
maha's young Daniels can secure
his first championship already
this year or if Indian Motorcycle's
reigning champion, Mees, will
successfully delay those ambi-
tions for at least another year.
This year's Memorial Day
weekend showdown at the
148-year-old horse-racing venue
was the latest round in that
heavyweight title fight, which
went the veteran's way.
Rick Ware Racing's Briar Bau-
man mixed up a shift off the line
after switching linkages prior to
the main. The result sunk what
had been a stellar launch for
Bauman while creating immedi-
ate separation for the starring
duo from the field who had
hoped to cling on.
From that moment forward,
Mees and Daniels engaged in a
race-long contest of strategy and
gamesmanship. After attempting
to shake free early, Mees was
content to largely sit on Daniels
as the laps wound down before
at last pouncing as they stormed
into turn three for the final time.
As close as it was—and the
ROUND 8 / MAY 27, 2023
THE RED MILE / LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
FLAT TRACK I PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK
P92
IN THE RED
Mees nabs 25th career mile victory
