Daytona Hosts CTR Flat Track
I
f the walls of Daytona Inter-
national Speedway could talk,
you would hear legendary tales
featuring names like Petty,
Earnhardt, Tomac and Russell.
The World Center of Racing
saw an addition in 2010 with
the opening of the Daytona Flat
Track outside NASCAR turns
one and two. Sixteen years later,
a new crop of talented athletes
prepared to start building their
own legacy with the inaugural
Mission Foods Cory Texter Race
(CTR) Promotions Showcase
Event.
A three-day flat track spec
-
tacular at the Daytona Flat Track,
part of 2026 Daytona Bike Week,
would culminate in the opening
rounds of the 2026 American
Flat Track season. Every good
show needs a strong opening
act, and this story began with
top amateur riders having the
opportunity to begin paving
their own Road to American
Flat Track. Californian Ryder
Bitz-Hay became the first Road
to AFT winner of the year with
a wire-to-wire victory, literally
riding off into the Florida sunset
in the day's final race. Bitz-Hay's
success ended what had been a
perfect afternoon for Estenson
Yamaha rider Sam Drane. The
Australian, Drane, had a loaded
Daytona Bike Week, also com
-
peting in Twins Cup action for
MotoAmerica on the high banks.
Drane's week began triumphant-
ly, topping the 450 Amateur and
Open Amateur main events.
Drane also picked up a win in
the Mission Challenge Dash for
Cash during the afternoon.
The Showcase event split
riders into two groups with a
morning session that highlighted
AMA Youth classes, where
Jayden Nickens and Cruise
Texter joined Drane with mul
-
tiple victories on the day. For
Nickens, his 85cc victory came
after a hard-fought battle with
2025 Amateur National Cham
-
pion Jackson Joiner. The two
WIND
IN THE
P50
Ryder Bitz-Hay
was triumphant in
the Road to AFT
main event.
PHOTOS:
MADCAP IMAGING
