Estenson Racing’s Dallas Daniels headlined a second consecutive successful Progressive American Flat Track outing for the team at last night’s New York Short Track II, returning to the podium and reclaiming the AFT Singles championship lead in the process. The Mission SuperTwins duo of JD Beach and Kolby Carlile built upon their Friday efforts to secure respective fifth- and eighth-place results. Daniels’ Singles compatriot, Mikey Rush, collected some valuable championship points in the slippery track conditions at the Weedsport Speedway.
While Daniels’ Friday night victory will go down as the highlight of the weekend, his third-place finish last night was no less critical to his greater efforts. The prodigious pilot again struggled with his start and never locked in on a comfortable line, but he somehow still willed his way near the front of the field. Once there, the teenager again demonstrated his late-race acumen by executing a late-race move to land on the podium in third despite several riders jockeying for the position on the race’s final lap. As a result, Daniels moved back to the front of the tight AFT Singles title fight, owning a narrow two-point margin.
Rush’s Saturday struggles closely resembled those he endured on the slick track the night before; the Californian again finished his Semi in ninth, one spot out of an automatic qualifying position. He utilized his provisional start and worked his way up from last to 13th. The precious points earned on a difficult evening saw him move up one position to fourth in the ‘21 class championship standings.
Meanwhile, Beach’s Friday improvements carried over into Saturday as hoped. After much searching, he finally found his groove aboard the #95 Yamaha MT-07 DT at mid-distance. Using that line to pick his way up the field, he finally dispatched the reigning Mission SuperTwins Champion with two laps remaining to claim the final spot in the top five.
Teammate Carlile had a tough start to the day with a technical issue in the first qualifying session, which put him at the back of the grid. He and the team kept working, and he gained ground as well as the premier-class Main Event evolved. The New Yorker opened the race in 10th and worked his way forward to an eventual eighth-place result.
A fully confident Estenson Racing squad will now carry huge hopes and equally high expectations as they travel to next weekend’s Peoria TT at the iconic Peoria Motorcycle Club in Daniels’ home state of Illinois.
Estenson Racing Team Manager
“We had a pretty good night here at the second round at Weedsport in both classes. It was good to see Dallas back up his strong finish from yesterday with another podium. That was definitely good for his championship hopes; to leave here leading in the points is a big turnaround and a big positive on the day. Mikey made some progress today but still wasn’t where we know he can be. We learned some stuff and he made improvements on a track he wasn’t comfortable on, but some of the upcoming tracks are going to suit him better.
“On the Twins side, both guys were consistently competitive throughout the day. In the Main Event, they battled back from not-so-great starts to move toward the front. JD ended up fifth and Kolby eighth – that’s definitely one of our stronger performances on an oval. This is the type of track that in the past we haven’t done so well at. So to come out of here with two pretty solid results and not too far behind the leaders is a positive. We hope to carry this momentum through the rest of the year.”
Estenson Racing AFT Singles
“It was a bit of a challenging night. The day started off well. We had a good qualifying and won our Semi and had the second pick for the Main Event, so I was feeling pretty confident, but the track was a little different than it was last night. It was a little bit slicker, and we were going lower and lower, chasing the moisture. That kind of went away in the Main Event. I got a pretty bad start in the Main, and that didn’t help me at all. I got off about fourth or fifth and was finally able to bring myself up to third and missed out on second by about a wheel at the finish line.
“It’s definitely a little bit disappointing because I wanted to win both of them, but it was a really good weekend and very important for the championship. We were 15 points down coming in and now we’re two points up. A big thanks to the whole Estenson Racing team. Those guys bust their butts and continue to believe in me. Like I said before, we were kind of in a slump and we persevered and had a great weekend. What better weekend to have than one like this right before the Peoria TT? That’s my favorite track, so I’m looking to go there and have some fun.”
Estenson Racing Mission SuperTwins
“The race was crazy today! All-day long everyone was running around the bottom of the track, and we really didn’t think we would get off of there. Then in the 450 race, Morgen (Mischler) went straight to the top and was rolling really well. So before our Main, you could see all the SuperTwins riders checking the track out to decide where to go. My game plan was to go straight to the bottom and let them all go up top. Well, that went right out the window when the green light went, and I went to the top. I kept searching between the top and the bottom of the track, trying to decide where I wanted to run. Once I committed to the bottom and got in a good groove, I started moving forward. I had no idea what place I was in but knew I was closing in on Briar (Bauman) and wanted to get by him. At the end of the race, I found out we got fifth, and I was over the moon. We came into this weekend thinking it wasn’t going to be good because of how slick this track is, but we had a great one in the end. A big thanks to my crew who worked so hard all weekend.”
Estenson Racing Mission SuperTwins
“I started the day off not feeling super comfortable on the bike. It’s kind of the feeling I had since the Semi yesterday, and we didn’t really know which direction to go. We all came together and really came up with a good plan. We made one decision, and it worked out well, and we kept going that way. Sadly, I missed the first qualifying session, which was the faster one, and that put me in the last qualifying position for the rest of the night. In the Semi, I felt really good. I had the same pace as everyone else, but I just wasn’t able to make my way up through the field. When it came time for the Main, I got a good start and found a line pretty quickly. I finished in eighth place, but that was only seven seconds behind the winner, and it felt like a really good, competitive eighth-place finish, and I’m super happy with it.”
Estenson Racing AFT Singles
“It was a tough weekend. The track was super slick, and I never really found my comfort zone. I used my provisional to get into the Main. We kept working, and I was able to fight my way from the back to 13th. It wasn’t the weekend I was hoping for, but we were able to salvage some points. I’m looking forward to moving on to Peoria.”
