Strong performance at the Progressive American Flat Track for Yamaha

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Once again Dallas Daniels has put his Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F on top of the box. He expanded his points lead with a strong performance in the Progressive American Flat Track AFT Singles Championship at Friday night’s Dallas Half-Mile I in Mesquite, Texas. His teammate Mikey Rush soldiered on to finish eighth in challenging conditions. AFT SuperTwins riders JD Beach and Kolby Carlile finished 11th and 13th, respectively.

For most of the riders, it was a new track with the series’ last appearance dating back to 1995. Daniels hit the ground running at the unfamiliar venue, winning his Semi by a healthy margin. In the Main Event, the 17-year-old slotted into second after the start and quickly took the lead. Daniels put in some fast laps, building a comfortable gap to cross the line 2.4 seconds ahead of the competition. The young rider from Illinois is on a hot streak with his second-straight win and fourth of the season, expanding his lead in the championship to 22 points.

Teammate Rush also showed early speed. He qualified third and backed that up with a third-place finish in his Semi. The Californian got a good start from the second row in fourth and moved up into the top three by lap four. Shortly after, he got his leg caught in a hole and ran wide, losing a couple of positions. Rush did what he could to push forward but ultimately was shuffled back to eighth.

On the AFT SuperTwins side of the tent, the team got off to a great start with Beach taking third in the first qualifying session, ultimately qualifying ninth. He then put on a good showing in his Semi, battling for third and finishing fifth. As the temperatures cooled, the track changed for the Main Event making for a challenging race in slick conditions. Starting from the third row, Beach moved up to eighth. A few laps later he made his way to seventh but as the race wore on he found himself in 11th.

Teammate Carlile was the only rider on the team to race a non-American Flat Track event at Devil’s Bowl Speedway and went into the weekend hoping to use that experience on the D-shaped track to his advantage. He made a mistake early in his Semi, regrouping to finish seventh. Unfortunately, the changing conditions for the Main Event were also a challenge for the young Carlile and 13th was the best result on the day.

The Estenson Racing team looks forward to more racing at Saturday’s Dallas Half-Mile II in Mesquite, Texas.

Tommy Hayden
Estenson Racing Team Manager
“We had a mixed night in Dallas. On the AFT Singles side, the day started off well with both guys running near the front in qualifying and looking good in their Semis. In the Main Event, both got off to a good start. Dallas got out front quick and rode a really consistent smooth race with no mistakes to bring home another win. We are really happy with that as it stretched his points lead out a little bit more. Mikey got a good start and was running up front early, but caught his foot in a hole and was having trouble keeping the same pace after that, fading back a bit.

“On the SuperTwins side, we had our best start to the day all year with JD coming out of the gate strong. He was third in the first qualifying session and was looking pretty competitive in the Semi, but in the Main, the track got more slippery and both riders found themselves searching for grip. The end result wasn’t what we were looking for but there were some positives on the day with the pace we had early on. We just have to figure out how to keep that up into the night to get some better results tomorrow.”

Tommy Hayden
Dallas Daniels
Estenson Racing AFT Singles
“We had a great day at the Dallas Half-Mile. We won our Semi and the Main Event. I struggled earlier in the day trying to adapt to this new track but I was able to quickly get to grips and get our bike set up just right. It was great to grab another win and extend the points lead. I can’t wait for tomorrow and the rest of the season.”

Dallas Daniels
Mikey Rush
Estenson Racing AFT Singles
“Today was pretty challenging. The track was a lot different than any other track that we’ve been to, with the shape of it. Each corner was different, so it was kind of hard to find a good setup and I kind of chased it all day. I got a good start from the second row in the Main Event and worked my way to third. Then, unfortunately, I caught my leg in a hole going into Turn 3 and tweaked my knee and hip a bit and I ended up falling back to eighth. We’ve got some stuff to try for tomorrow to improve. We’ve got another day of racing so I’m not going to dwell on it.”

Mikey Rush
JD Beach
Estenson Racing AFT SuperTwins
“For me, the day started off well when the track had some grip in it. We had some good pace, but the conditions in the Main weren’t great for us. Once the sun went down the moisture started coming up which made the track slick and we lost all our grip. That’s been the story all year; once we lose the grip we go backward.”

JD Beach
Kolby Carlile
Estenson Racing AFT SuperTwins
“I really liked the track in the Semi. I made a mistake on lap one that set me back, but I was able to march forward from it. Then the track was completely different in the Main Event and I missed the mark there. It was tough conditions and I’m not happy with how I rode tonight. We’re going to work to find something tomorrow and try again.”

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