ROUNDS 1-2 / MARCH 5-6, 2026
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY / DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA
FLAT TRACK I AMA PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK
P98
BY CHRIS MARTIN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM LESTER
I
t was worth the wait.
Even as early as his amateur
days, Kody Kopp, son of 2000
Grand National Champion Joe
Kopp, was proclaimed the future
of the sport by no less an au
-
thority than 10-time series king
Jared Mees.
And for his part, Kopp has
lived up to that ridiculous hype
all along the way, claiming the
Nicky Hayden AMA Flat Track
Horizon Award—given to the
nation's top amateur—in 2020
before turning pro to become the
first-ever three-time Kicker AFT
Singles Champion.
The sport's fans thought they
would finally get to see Kopp
graduate to the pinnacle of the
sport in 2025, but instead, the
Washington native took a detour,
signing with another legend
-
ary Grand National Champion
and multi-time World Champion
Kenny Roberts to try his hand on
pavement.
One gap year later, Kopp has
returned to dirt and put himself
in a prime position to succeed,
armed with the Harley-Davidson
XG750R that led all bikes in race
wins a year ago as the series
transitioned to an all-production-
based ruleset. Adding to the
foundational strength is the
Kody Kopp's return to
flat track racing was
better than expected.
The Harley-Davidson
pilot won both Daytona
Short Track races,
including Friday's
Triple Challenge.
Kopp Kopp
KODY KOPP RETURNS
IN A BIG WAY AT THE DAYTONA
1 & 2 SHORT TRACK
AFT OPENER.
