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/1526730
VOLUME ISSUE SEPTEMBER , P99 Among a stunning and lengthy list of achievements, Saturday's triumph elevated Mees to first all-time in Grand National Championships at 10 (2009, '12, '14, '15, '17, '18, '21, '22, '23 and '24), tied for first in career Short Track wins at nine, and second all-time in total GNC main event wins at 78, while already boasting the most-ever Half-Mile wins at 37 and second most Mile wins at 30. Even though Daniels came up short of the championship and of victory on the night, he still managed to make his point loudly and clearly. Rather than stew on what might have been, the ascendant pilot can instead look ahead to what will be, as he projects to be the odds-on Grand National Championship favorite in 2025. "I could stand up here and tell you a novel about what I learned about myself these past few weeks," Daniels said. "My mom was putting my dang socks on for me eight weeks ago, and now we're standing up here on the po - dium. Family, friends, everyone In fact, Mees' relentless push at the front ultimately broke the desperate Robinson's pursuit, leaving his challenger more than a second back in his wake as Mees took the halfway flags. As the champ was escap - ing the fray, Daniels was finally joining it. Stuck down near the bottom of the top 10 in the race's opening laps and facing fitness concerns at a physically demanding Short Track approxi - mately two months removed from breaking his femur, the Estenson Racing hero's 12-race perfect podium record on the season seemed destined to fall in the season finale. However, Daniels proved himself beyond doubt again, first working his way past Zanotti Racing's Trevor Brunner and Sody Enterprises/Memphis Shades Suzuki-mounted Dan Brom - ley. Next up on his hit list were Rackley Racing's Davis Fisher and XR750-armed Sammy Halbert. Daniels then dispatched Rick Ware Racing's Briar Bauman and quickly closed in on another po- dium with only Mees, Robinson, and Fairway Ford/JMC Motor- sport's Jarod Vanderkooi left in front of him as the minutes ticked away. Mees re-entered the picture as he negotiated heavy traffic; Daniels' charge past Robinson and Vanderkooi nearly brought him to within striking distance of the champ by the time the race opened its final lap. But Mees held on in first—as history dictated—to reign victori - ous in the final AFT race of his storied career. tential he hopes to more regularly tap into in '25 with a year of experience under his belt. He said, "My year had a lot of ups and downs, but we got a lot of good notes from it that will transfer over to next year that we'll be on top of. First year, I came out and expected more from myself, so I'm bummed this last round. I was close to a podium, but we learned a lot. There's nothing to complain about—it was my rookie year. I'll just take what I learned and see what I can do next year." MYOWNRACE Dallas Daniels (32) did everything he could to stay in championship contention but had to settle for second in the race and third in the championship.