I
t's only fitting that during Pro-
gressive American Flat Track's
two-race West Coast swing,
Salinas, California, staked its
claim as the motorcycle dirt
track center of the universe, at
least temporarily.
At last weekend's stop in Ven
-
tura, and then cemented in this
weekend's visit to Chico, a pair
of Salinas natives completely
turned the series' assumed
power dynamics on its head.
In the premier Mission AFT
SuperTwins class, Briar Bauman
seemingly shed his two-plus-
year stint as the scrappy under
-
dog for good. On the same day
he and his wife, Shayna Texter-
Bauman, announced that they
are expecting their first child,
Bauman fully stepped into the
role of authority over the devel
-
oping 2025 title fight.
With a third consecutive
powerhouse victory, Bauman
served a loud reminder that he
is the field's sole Grand National
Champion (and a two-time
champ at that), a fact backed
up by nearly twice as many
main-event victories as the next
closest among the modern crop
of contenders.
The biggest question mark
heading into the season was the
Harley-Davidson XG750R, which
had been winless in its first
eight-plus seasons of competi
-
tion. Those days are gone. In
the first five races of the all-
production-based era, Bauman
has taken the Rick Ware Racing
H-D to three wins and two more
near wins, serving up a parallel
reminder of Harley-Davidson's
history in dirt track as one of the
most dominant manufacturers
ROUND 5 / MAY 3, 2025
SILVER DOLLAR SPEEDWAY / CHICO, CALIFORNIA
FLAT TRACK I AMA PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK
P102
BY CHRIS MARTIN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM LESTER
