Estenson Racing Scores Big at American Flat Track Volusia Opener
March 17, 2021
By Kali Kotoski
Photos by Scott Hunter and Kristen Lassen
Estenson Racing started the 2021 Progressive American Flat Track season with a bang. On the first night of the doubleheader at Volusia Speedway Park, the team scored three podium finishes.
The Mission SuperTwins racer JD Beach won his Semi and backed that up with an impressive second-place finish in the four-lap dash for cash. Beach proved convincingly his capabilities to compete in the premier class Main Event. His second-place finish was a little less than half a second off from the winner, Brandon Robinson, during the Volusia Half-Mile I.
“It’s great to start off the year like this to be on the podium after the year we had last season. I just can’t thank the whole team enough. They worked so hard this winter and just kept plugging away and kept trying to think of new things to try to make the bike better. They never gave up,” said Beach.
Like Beach, Kolby Carlile gave a strong showing, storming up to sixth place during the race’s final lap.
On the AFT Singles front, young Dallas Daniels and Mikey Rush powered through to a second and third-place finish, respectively. The two trailed early on in the Main Event until it was momentarily halted by a red flag. Upon restarting, class Champ Daniels made an all-out push for the podium and quickly executed a pass to track down the leader.
The 17-year-old phenom nipped at the front runner’s heels after reeling them in, but ran out of time, finishing a blink short of victory by passing the finish line a mere 0.131 seconds behind the winner, Shayna Texter.
For Rush, he slogged his way up to third and found himself leading a five-rider freight train gunning to secure the final podium spot. Rush held strong in third, crossing the finish line a fraction of a second ahead of his fourth-placed rival.
Estenson Racing had another trophy-winning evening during the Volusia Half-Mile II, with Rush securing a second-place finish on the AFT Singles podium while Daniels ended the night in fourth. SuperTwins riders Beach and Carlile finished ninth and tenth, respectively.
“In the Singles race, both riders were right there fighting for the win but were not able to make it happen. Mikey and Dallas both rode well and left the weekend in a good position in the championship,” said Estenson Racing Team Manager Tommy Hayden. “On the SuperTwins side […] we did not adapt as well as we needed to. Overall, it was not a bad start to the season, and we are looking forward to the next one.”
Estenson Racing is now preparing for Yamaha’s home race at the Atlanta Super TT on May 1.