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something for Mees in the mains before a combination of circumstance and conditioning took him out of contention for the wins. In the first main, Mees took the lead early from OTBR's Bran - don Price, with Daniels and Rob- inson in close formation. Bau- man, meanwhile, would run wide and later retire with bike issues, the first such occurrence in what turned out to be a miserable day for the two-time Mission AFT SuperTwins Champion. In a terrifying turn of events, the still-mending Daniels got completely sideways before clipping Price's rear wheel and then Robinson's before collect - ing himself while dropping down the order. The drama provided the fac- tory Indian ace with the cover he needed to make his escape. He would go on to build a multi-sec - ond advantage before easing his way to a 2.137-second margin of victory. Overnight rains on Friday pushed Saturday's scheduled activities to Sunday, creating a two-round Sunday that promised to be one of the more pivotal days in Grand National Champi- onship history. And, once again, Mees stepped up when it mattered the most. Daniels again proved to be his single biggest obstacle, despite the Estenson Racing Yamaha star previously be - ing written off as done for the season, only six weeks removed from surgery and still hobbling around on a crutch. But in fact, Daniels won both his heats going away. He even looked like he might have ROUNDS 14 & 15 / SEPTEMBER 1, 2024 ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS / SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS FLAT TRACK I AMA PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P70 3 BRIAR BAUMAN 19TH/17TH SUPERTWINS When the day began, Briar Bauman, who returned to Springfield hav- ing won the most recent race at the venue aboard his Rick Ware Racing KTM 790 Duke in most impressive fashion, had an outside shot at claim- ing his third premier-class crown in 2024. When the day ended, he was ready to turn the page and look to 2025. "My day was the furthest thing from fun I've ever had, probably," he said. "I didn't finish either main event, which was not ideal in the points. But more in the pride. Shoot, we've had such a good run on the RWR KTM, it's like, at some point it was going to happen as we pushed the limits trying to take the step that would allow us to reach the next guys. I don't know. I remember, for '24 to be over, so we can start working on what we have for next year. One more in the Ozarks. I'm thankful to race with Jared Mees in what's possibly his last Springfield Mile. We didn't do a lot of battling, but I was with him a little bit. Congrats to him on a great career. And I hope I do way better at Lake Ozark." MYOWNRACE Dallas Daniels (32) surprised everyone by showing up just weeks after suffering a broken femur. He rode well, finishing third and second, keeping his title hopes barely alive.