Now attention shifts to Mees
as he's provided a chance to re-
spond with an upset of his own
on Daniels' home turf as the
series travels to the Peoria TT.
AFT SINGLES
Less than three seasons into his
Progressive AFT career, Kody
Kopp is already acknowledged
as one of the Parts Unlimited
AFT Singles class's all-time
great half-milers. A reputation
he developed during last year's
title triumph has only been
strengthened in 2023, as the
Red Bull KTM pilot came into
New Jersey having notched up
three consecutive HM wins.
However, Kopp's prohibitive
favorite status was sent into
the dirt and into the Airfence
along with the defending champ
and his KTM 450 SX-F during
the day's second practice. After
looking typically strong in the
first session, Kopp's mystifying
spill left him seeking confidence
and a tick off the pace for the
rest of the evening.
"I lost the rear into turn three
and hit the Airfence," Kopp
said of his crash in practice. "It
was sort of a weird crash for
me and sort of shook up my
whole day—just trying to figure
out that corner and not have
the nervousness of it doing it
again was tough all night, really.
I chalk that finish up to that. It
hurts us a little points-wise, but
not much."
That left a void at the front,
which was immediately filled by
Estenson Racing's Tom Drane.
The surging rookie won both
his heat and Al Lamb's Dallas
Honda Challenge with relative
ease and was expected to do so
again in the main.
That plan took a detour when
the Aussie was pushed back to
fifth off the line. However, the
reroute eventually found its way
back to its ultimate destination,
as Drane worked his way past
Mission Foods/Helmet House
ROUND 13 / JULY 22, 2023
BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY / SWEDESBORO, NEW JERSEY
FLAT TRACK I AMA/PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK
P82
Trevor Brunner (21) gave
his Estenson Yamaha
teammate, Drane, a fight
en route to second.
