JD takes podium at 2021 American Flat Track opener

Estenson Racing opened the 2021 Progressive American Flat Track season in dream fashion on Friday night, scoring three podium finishes at Volusia Speedway Park. The Mission SuperTwins duo of JD Beach and Kolby Carlile were in particularly great form with Beach taking the runner-up position and his younger teammate ending the night sixth. The AFT Singles team also had a top night, with Dallas Daniels in second and Mikey Rush third.

Beach won his Semi and then backed that up with a second place in the four-lap dash for cash. He proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that those performances were no fluke by putting forth a race-long challenge for victory in the premier class Main Event. That effort ultimately concluded in a hugely rewarding runner-up result just 0.487 seconds removed from victory. Like Beach, Carlile also showed strength, storming up to sixth position on the race’s final lap.

Meanwhile, AFT Singles teammates Daniels and Rush were every bit as impressive. The two ran in third and fourth, respectively, early in the Main Event until it was momentarily halted by a red flag. Reigning class champ Daniels made a concerted push off the restart and quickly executed a pass for position with an eye on tracking down the leader. The 17-year-old ace successfully reeled in the front runner but simply ran out of time, finishing a scant 0.131 seconds short of victory at the finish line.

Rush worked his way up to third, where he found himself at the head of a five-rider freight train contending for the final spot on the podium. The experienced rider held strong in that position, hitting the flag 0.072 seconds ahead of his fourth-placed rival.

The Estenson Racing team will look to build on its spectacular start to the year in tonight’s second half of the season-opening Volusia Half-Mile doubleheader.

JD Beach
“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. I’m just so excited. We still have a long way to go, and it’s a long year, but we’re definitely starting off on the right foot. I also have to thank my family and friends back home. They’ve had to put up with a really grumpy guy. When the race weekend doesn’t go well, it goes back home with me, and they’ve had to deal with me. So I have to thank them for staying behind me and to keep pushing me. I couldn’t have done it without them. I’m really pumped about today, but we’ve still got to wake up and do it again tomorrow.”