American Flat Track, "America's Original Extreme Sport," proved to be just that as the riders roared into New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, kicking up the dirt and bringing fans of all ages to their feet. The intensity of the inaugural Laconia Short Track presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys peaked as the sun set over The Flat Track and the checkered flags flew. Bronson Bauman took the AFT Twins win, earning his first AFT premier class victory, while Mikey Rush scored a back-to-back win for the AFT Singles.
Beating his older brother Briar by half a second, Bronson led all 25 laps despite the challenging conditions as the track changed from lap to lap. Multiple restarts diminished Bronson's lead allowing his brother to stay within striking distance throughout the entirety of the race.
"I have no idea how I was able to pull this off, but I am stoked," said 22-year-old Bauman. "With so many red flags and all the stopping and going, it was honestly starting to get to me a little bit."
This finish proved to be a role reversal from last year's Williams Grove Half-Mile, where Briar got the best of Bronson. Following the Bauman brothers home for third was Jake Johnson.
In the AFT Singles main event, Mikey Rush took the lead in lap eight, held on to it for the final 10 laps and took the checkered flag, clinching his second consecutive AFT Singles main event win. The 17-lap feature also involved multiple restarts, which brought the field back together, but on the final restart, he was able to pull away for nearly a two second victory.
"It feels great," said 32-year-old Rush. "Hats off to my team. They've given me a good motorcycle, everything is flowing right now and hopefully we can keep this thing going. This is a good Father's Day gift for me."
Rounding out the AFT Singles podium with a second place finish was Dalton Gauthier and bringing some international flavor to the podium with a third place finish was Max Whale from Australia.
Fans can relive the action of the Laconia Short Track presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys on Sunday, June 23 at 1:30 p.m. on NBCSN.
Full race results: http://www.AmericanFlatTrack.com/Results/default
For ticket information for all 2019 events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, including the July 19 Friday Night Dirt Duels presented by New England Racing Fuel, the July 19-21 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 race weekend and the September 20-21 Full Throttle Fall Weekend, visit the speedway website at NHMS.com or call Fan Relations at (603) 783-4931.
