PORT ROYAL, Penn. (July 23, 2021) – The stars of Progressive American Flat Track got an early look at tomorrow evening’s battleground in advance of the inaugural Port Royal Half-Mile presented by Appalachian Harley-Davidson at Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pennsylvania.

The stakes are unusually high for a mid-season race at a new circuit with so many of the top riders hailing from Pennsylvania; the motivation to impress grandstands lined with knowledgeable and passionate home-state fans is difficult to overstate. 

Native Pennsylvanians Jared Mees (No. 9 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) and Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750), along with Pennsylvania resident Briar Bauman (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750), are perpetual pre-race favorites as they carry their Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle title fight into Port Royal. That said, the top of the timing charts during Friday’s tests were largely dominated by border rivals Brandon Price (No. 92 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) and Larry Pegram (No. 72 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750).

Marylander Price led the first five practice sessions, posting a best time of 25.963 in the process. After that, Price packed up early, allowing Ohioan Pegram to score the top honors in the final session. Pegram concluded the test with the best laps of the day, throwing down a 25.938 and a 25.946 as the premier-class wrapped up its test activities.

Along with Pegram and Price, the returning Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Coolbeth-Nila Racing Indian FTR750) and the aforementioned Mees also broke into the ‘25s on the day. Halbert, who is recently recovered from a foot injury sustained at the Chicago Half-Mile, seems fit to perform with the third-fastest lap of the day at 25.968.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvanians Cory Texter (No. 65 G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha MT-07) and Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Cycles/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R) dominated from a lap-time perspective in the AFT Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines sessions, while Morgen Mischler (No. 13 Mission Roof Systems KTM 450 SX-F) ultimately clocked the best time in AFT Singles on a day that saw six different riders lead at least one session. 

Visit https://store.americanflattrack.com/ebooking/ticket/view/id/3371#selectTickets to purchase tickets for tomorrow’s Port Royal Half-Mile presented by Appalachian Harley-Davidson now. General Admission Infield tickets with open lawn seating are $25 ($65 with the addition of the all-day paddock access upgrade). General Admission Grandstand tickets go for $35 ($75 with paddock access) and Premium Reserved Grandstands are $45 ($85 with paddock access). Kids 12 and under are admitted for free ($40 with paddock access) with the purchase of an adult ticket.

The gates will open for fans at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT with Opening Ceremonies set to begin at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT. Live coverage of the entire weekend’s racing activities will be available on any device for only $1.99 a month via TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

The Port Royal Half-Mile presented by Appalachian Harley-Davidson will air on NBCSN on Sunday, August 15, at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT, featuring exclusive features and cutting-edge aerial drone and onboard footage.

For more information, please visit http://www.americanflattrack.com.

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