dream that had slowly twisted
into a recurring nightmare, as
the long-awaited maiden victory
eluded him by fractions of a
second time after time, the JPG
Motorsports pilot reeling in six
runners-up among 12 podiums,
the majority of those coming in
the near-miss variety.
But no matter how much or
how long he dreamed, it's unlikely
Saathoff ever imagined it coming
in the manner it finally did.
Saathoff controlled the race
from beginning to end, despite
several opportunities for it to be
ripped from his grasp, thanks to
slick and windy conditions that
helped spur on three red flags.
The Illinois native held strong
throughout, however, and was
dium record, a series' leading two
victories, and the Grand National
Championship lead.
Maintaining that position will
be a tall order, especially with
a pair of TTs looming on the
schedule, but Robinson has no
plans to let up now. All gas, no
brakes.
AFT SINGLES
The flat track community has
been projecting Chase Saathoff
as an eventual (multi-time) Pro-
gressive AFT race winner since
his amateur days, even prior to be-
ing named the Nicky Hayden AMA
Horizon Award Winner in 2021.
Saathoff himself has been
dreaming of that first win far
longer, no doubt. That was a
well but didn't have it on tap for
the main event. He spent the race
battling with the second group,
coming home just behind Rackley
Racing's Davis Fisher in fifth.
Fairway Ford's Jarod
Vanderkooi was sixth, with
impressive rookie Max Whale
putting the Latus Motors Harley-
Davidson XG750 in seventh. The
remainder of the top 10 con-
sisted of OTBR's Brandon Price,
Moto Anatomy X Royal Enfield's
Johnny Lewis, and another
rookie in GOMR's Declan Bender.
While notable, Robinson's tri-
umph in Texas is not a geographi-
cally isolated incident. Now a
quarter way into the 2024 season,
the Pennsylvanian, who went win-
less in 2023, sports a perfect po-
ROUND 4 / APRIL 27, 2024
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY / FORT WORTH, TEXAS
FLAT TRACK I PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK, SANCTIONED BY AMA PRO RACING
P96
Tom Drane (59)
and Kody Kopp
battled for second
place. Kopp got
around Drane for
the position.
