
The championship plate is heading back to the grid—and every team wants it.
The Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Research Factory Race Team has officially unveiled its 2026 plans to defend the MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers Championship title, announcing returning riders Kyle Wyman and Bradley Smith along with a new satellite effort featuring James Rispoli.
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The announcement took place in Milwaukee during the Flat Out Friday indoor flat track event at Fiserv Forum, part of Mama Tried weekend—an appropriate backdrop for a team representing America’s most iconic motorcycle brand.
Defending champion Kyle Wyman will carry the coveted #1 plate in 2026 after a dominant 2025 season. Wyman secured seven race wins and three additional podium finishes across 14 races, finishing the year with a commanding 70-point lead.
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Since joining the factory effort in 2021, Wyman has become the winningest rider in King of the Baggers history with 25 victories. A former Daytona 200 winner and lifelong racer, Wyman says defending the title may prove even tougher than winning it.
The team’s weapon of choice remains the race-prepared Harley-Davidson Road Glide, powered by a modified Screamin’ Eagle Milwaukee-Eight 131 Performance Crate Engine. These purpose-built baggers retain stock frames and body silhouettes but are engineered to exceed 170 mph at select circuits.
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British road racing veteran Bradley Smith returns for his second full King of the Baggers campaign. After earning three podium finishes in 2025—including a runner-up result at Daytona—Smith enters 2026 with valuable experience aboard the big American V-twin.
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A former MotoGP rider with 119 premier-class starts, Smith believes familiarity with both the Road Glide platform and the MotoAmerica schedule will elevate his championship bid.
In a major development for the series, James Rispoli will contest the 2026 season with the newly formed Big Diehl x Harley-Davidson Factory Racing satellite team.
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Fully supported by Harley-Davidson Factory Racing, the Big Diehl squad will campaign Road Glide machines built to identical specifications as the factory entries. Rispoli, a two-time King of the Baggers race winner and 2024 runner-up in points, brings proven credentials. He also enters 2026 as the reigning Mission Super Hooligan National Champion aboard a Pan America 1250 ST.
The 14-race King of the Baggers season launches March 5–7 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, running alongside the MotoAmerica Superbike series across seven doubleheader weekends.
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2026 King of the Baggers Schedule Highlights
- March 5–7: Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL
- April 17–19: Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – Braselton, GA
- May 29–31: Road America – Elkhart Lake, WI
- July 10–12: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, CA
- July 31–August 2: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – Lexington, OH
- September 11–13: Circuit of the Americas – Austin, TX
- September 25–27: New Jersey Motorsports Park – Millville, NJ
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With the #1 plate mounted to the front of the Road Glide and a strengthened lineup that now includes a fully supported satellite team, Harley-Davidson is making it clear: 2025 wasn’t the peak—it was the foundation.
The rest of the King of the Baggers grid has had all winter to prepare. Now the title fight resets at Daytona.
