Daniels Wins 2nd Consecutive Championship, Harley Earns Most Manufacturer Points
American Flat Track fans enjoyed another competitive season of racing in 2026, highlighted by a fierce battle between SuperTwins rookie Kody Kopp, 2025 champ Dallas Daniels, and two-time champ Briar Bauman. After several points lead changes throughout the season, it was Yamaha-mounted Dallas Daniels who claimed his second consecutive championship, securing his spot after the second-to-last race of the series. But the Harleys of Kopp and Bauman gave him a run for his money and earned Harley more points than any other manufacturer.
The series had an energetic start with a double victory for Kody Kopp at Daytona to kick off the season, marking the first time a rookie has won their first premier-class main event. But although this was Kopp’s first year in the SuperTwins class, his dominating performance at Daytona was not a total surprise. Racing in the AFT Singles class since 2022, Kopp became the first to rack up three Singles championships, and he’s scored the most Singles victories in the history of the class. He was also the second racer to win two back-to-back Singles championships during his career. The first to claim that record was Dallas Daniels.
Finishing right behind Kopp at both Daytona rounds was the #1 plate carried by Dallas Daniels. Daniels earned his first Grand National Championship in 2025, and it was a long time coming. He held his own against Indian-mounted Jared Mees in 2023 and 2024, making Mees fight hard to pull off his record-breaking 10th Grand National Championship. After Mees’ retirement in 2024 and the end of the Indian FTR’s flat-track career due to a rule change, Daniels’ consistently strong performance in the SuperTwins class paid off with his first championship. He finished the 2026 season with six wins and 14 podium finishes out of 16 races, and he gets to hold onto that #1 plate for at least another year.
Briar Bauman won the Grand National Championship in 2019 and 2020 aboard an Indian and was close to winning the championship in 2021 and 2022 as well, but fellow Indian racer Jared Mees wouldn’t let it happen. Starting in 2023, Bauman tried something new by joining the Rick Ware Racing team aboard a KTM, and while he earned a few victories and podiums with the KTM, he wasn’t as competitive as he had been on the Indian. That changed in 2025 when Rick Ware Racing switched to the Harley-Davidson XG750R, which Bauman rode to the runner-up spot in the final standings. Back on the Harley for 2026, Bauman once again proved a force to be reckoned with and a serious threat to title defender Daniels.
Kopp was the early favorite in the 2026 season, entering the SuperTwins class with an astounding double victory at Daytona followed by three runner-up finishes. Meanwhile, Bauman had a respectable but uninspiring start to the year, netting 7th- and 6th-place finishes at Daytona. By the time the series got to Ventura, however, Bauman had found his footing, earning his first of what would become five consecutive victories. The fifth win at the Lima Half-Mile I allowed Bauman to take the points lead, but the Lima Half-Mile II the next day put an unfortunate end to his streak and his short-lived lead when a mechanical issue forced him out of the race.
Meanwhile, Daniels continued to put up consistent podium finishes. Out of 16 races in the season, he only finished off the podium twice, and both of those were 4th-place finishes. His consistency, followed by a late-season four-win streak, earned him enough points (309) to claim the championship before the final race. Kopp’s 274 points netted him the 2nd-place overall result, with Bauman finishing a close 3rd at 270 points.
Despite not winning the overall championship, Harley-Davidson has a lot to celebrate in its American Flat Track performance from this year. The Indian FTR dominated the series for years under the hands of the legendary Jared Mees, but since Indian’s forced removal from AFT after winning the 2024 championship (the FTR’s eighth championship victory in a row since its debut in 2017), the Harley is once again enjoying the limelight. Harley-Davidson won the most points in the 2026 championship overall, netting 331 to Yamaha’s 314 thanks to strong performances by two of the three main championship contenders. Harley celebrated its successful season with a final Harley-Davidson Ride to the Race rally. The ride was led by James Rispoli, King Of The Baggers and Super Hooligans racer for Harley, and covered 160 miles along Route 66 from Shorewood, Illinois, to the track at Springfield.
Of course, this celebratory ride led by a fan-favorite King Of The Baggers racer of the Harley factory team took place before the announcement that Harley-Davidson was withdrawing its factory efforts from the King Of The Baggers competition, which would have undoubtedly put a sour taste in the mouths of the 40 participants of the ride. But regardless of where Harley decides to focus its race efforts, the XG750R has made for a thrilling and competitive 2026 AFT season, and we hope to see it again in 2027.
We congratulate Daniels, Kopp, and Bauman for a fantastic season-long American Flat Track battle and wish them luck in the fight we expect to see intensify next year. In the meantime, visit our Racing page to stay up-to-date on all AFT news, as well as news from King Of The Baggers, Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup, and Super Hooligan.
