VOLUME 62 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 16, 2025 P115
to take his place. He was going to be strong."
While Bauman came out in full force, Daniels
struggled to tap into that '24 form everyone took
for granted. While difficult to perceive behind his
historic run of podiums, the Illinois native strug
-
gled to perform at his peak.
Was
he missing some purpose with the loss
of Mees and Indian? Perhaps. And at the same
time, Dallas had to deal with the fact that the
crosshairs he and every other rider in the field
had previously locked on Mees had been shifted
over to him while he was still operating at less
than full strength.
"I did not have the off-season I had before.
Coming off that injury, it was harder than I want
-
ed to admit. I would say I was slightly unprepared
But
Dallas was proven prescient at the follow-
ing round. At the Senoia Short Track, Rick Ware
Racing's
Briar Bauman and Mission Roof Systems'
Brandon Robinson took their Harley-Davidson
XG750Rs to a stunning 1-2 finish on Yamaha's
home turf.
Daniels and Estenson were further put on the
back foot as the season progressed and Bauman
struck up victory after victory.
The fight was on.
Looking back, Daniels said, "Coming into the
year, with how I did last year, and where the rest
of the competition was compared to us, I'm sure
a lot of people did think it would be a cakewalk
for us. I can understand why fans might have
believed that. But as a racer, I knew that wasn't
going to be the case.
"I knew Briar was not going to be happy with
how the last few seasons went. A two-time
champion is not going to be okay with just being
a midpack guy. And with Jared leaving, I knew he
was going to want to be the guy who stepped up
