Declan Bender
Up-and-comer Declan Bender is one of an impressive crop of young guns to join the Parts Unlimited AFT Singles ranks in 2023. Hailing from Cooksville, Illinois, he started racing at the age of six and proved himself as a frontrunner over the next decade, earning 14 amateur championships, including 10 AMA Flat Track Grand Championships, three Xtreem Flat Track titles and five AMA District 17 titles.
In 2022, he was one of the leading contenders for the Nicky Hayden Horizon award but suffered bad luck with multiple mechanicals that took him out of contention. Over the final two years of his amateur career, he scored 62 wins and 81 podiums.
In his debut Progressive AFT season, Bender immediately proved he belonged, qualifying seventh overall for the 2023 opener. He ended the year ever stronger, notching up a sixth and a pair of sevenths in the season’s final four races to scoop Progressive AFT Rookie of the Year honors. For the 2024 season, Bender has advanced to the Mission SuperTwins class, riding under the tutelage of Johnny Goad and the Grumpy Old Men Racing team with support from Russ and Ilene Briggs of Briggsauto.com, CD Martin of Martin Trucking and Buddy and Miriam Pulliam of Precision Body Works.
In his off time, Declan enjoys tuning his bikes and training motocross and bicycling.
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| Year | Cls | Stnd | Pts | St | Wins | Best Fin | Worst Fin | Avg Fin | Poles | Best Qual | Worst Qual | Avg Qual | Laps Led | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | AFT Singles | 17 | 65 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 18 | 13.5 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 12.5 | ||
| 2023 | AFT Singles | 17 | 65 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 18 | 13.5 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 12.5 | 0 | |
| 2020 | RtAFT | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | |
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