Daniels Out, Beach in for 77th World Famous Peoria TT

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – July 25, 2024 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – The time has finally arrived for the annual running of the World Famous SC2 Peoria TT presented by Backroads Saloon at the Peoria Motorcycle Club’s spectacular natural amphitheater in Peoria, Illinois, on Sunday, July 28. One of motorsports’ longest running and most fabled events, the 77th edition will serve as Round 11 of the 2024 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing.

The Grand National Championship outlook entering this weekend’s Peoria TT shifted radically with the shocking news that championship leader and local hero Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) will be unable to participate for the foreseeable future after suffering a broken femur in a training accident on Sunday.

Now recovering after undergoing successful surgery on Monday, the development is obviously a devastating blow to both Daniels and the Estenson Racing outfit after the rising star had built up 19-point advantage in the Mission AFT SuperTwins title fight on the strength of a perfect podium record.

While their premier-class championship ambitions have almost certainly put on hold until the 2025 season, Estenson Racing will move forward in the best possible manner this weekend by recruiting JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) to rejoin the effort in substitute duty. Beach, who shifted his focus back to Superbike racing this season, is one of the greatest TT riders in the history of the sport and the winner of the last three Peoria TTs while competing for Estenson Racing.

Daniels’ misfortune also has a massive impact on the quest of Jared Mees (No. 1 Rogers Racing/SDI Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750) to secure an unprecedented tenth Grand National Championship. A victory this weekend would move him that much closer to history while providing him with one of the few significant accomplishments he has yet to attain during his decorated dirt track career. The reigning champ has come close to winning here on numerous occasions over the years, having finished as the race’s runner-up a full seven times.

To do so, Mees will not only have to get past Beach, he’ll also need to overcome his long-time rival, Briar Bauman (No. 3 Rick Ware Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790 Duke). Bauman stood atop the podium at Peoria in 2019 and has repeatedly reminded the world of that form in the years since, regularly pushing Beach at the front.

The weekend will also…