Estenson Racing Ready to Kick Off the 2020 American Flat Track Season
After months of waiting, Estenson Racing heads into the much anticipated 2020 American Flat Track season eager to start its campaign for the crown in the AFT SuperTwins and AFT Singles Championships at the Volusia Half-Mile doubleheader on Friday, July 17, and Saturday, July 18, in Barberville, Florida.
Leading the charge in the premier AFT SuperTwins class is multi-time road race champion JD Beach. The road racer with dirt track roots enters his first full-season in American Flat Track looking to build on last season’s results. He scored a pair of wins in the debut season for the Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT and made history at the SuperTT with the first victory for Yamaha in the series’ premier Twins class since 1981. With the season’s start being delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Beach and the rest of the team have been hard at work at the continued development of their flat tracker and he is eager to get back to racing.
Kolby Carlile returns with the team for his fourth season and makes the step up to the premier class in 2020. The 2017 AFT Singles Champion had a solid debut on the Twin last season, overcoming an early season injury and scoring a pair of wins in the AFT Production Twins class to end the year third in the standings. Carlile now has his eyes set on a top finish in the premier class and has put in the hours to come out swinging.
Joining the team for 2020 to lead the way in the AFT Singles Championship is veteran Mikey Rush. The Californian made the switch to the class last year and came just shy of the title in 2019. He and the team have spent the winter and the extended off-season fine-tuning the Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F. Rush is quite at home with his new team and is looking to stand on top of the box at the Volusia Half-Mile doubleheader.
Young flat track phenom Dallas Daniels returns for his first full season in American Flat Track. The fast kid from Illinois turned pro last June after his 16th birthday and turned a lot of heads with his dominant debut win at the Peoria TT. He went on to score a pair of podiums at the season’s end and looks to pick up where he left off to launch his title offense in 2020.
In addition to increased support from Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA (YMUS) the team has gone through some restructuring and brought on board personnel with championship-winning experience. The team also returns with the support of some powerhouse partners: Monster Energy, Yamaha Racing, Yamalube, WPS, FLY, Dainese, Motion Pro, Vortex, Pilot Flying J, Truline, and Utility trailers.
Tommy Hayden – Estenson Racing Team Manager
“We’re definitely excited to finally get the 2020 season started. I feel like we’ve had a productive winter and very productive extended off-season in which we were able to do some more development and testing on both the 450 and the Twin. We made a lot of changes to the team and restructured how the program looks on both sides. I’m really happy with how that’s come together and the way the crew is working together going into this season. I’m confident that we’ve made some steps forward, but until you get out there with everyone and line up, you never really know for sure. We’re looking forward to that.
“We’re really happy to have Yamaha back and for them to step up for us. It’s good to have Monster Energy on board as well, and all of our other sponsors. They are a big part of the program and we’re looking forward to going into the year representing them well.”
JD Beach – Estenson Racing
“I’m so excited to finally be back racing. This extended off-season felt like forever. I’d like to thank American Flat Track for doing everything in their power to get the show going during this difficult time.
“This break has been great for the team and myself to keep working on the Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT. With the new team structure and the new crew, it’s been good to have the extra time for them to get their feet wet. Luckily for me, the team gave me a practice bike that I’ve been doing a ton of laps on at my house. It’s been great not only for me but for my crew chief, Josh Day, to get more formalized with the bike as well.
“I think with this long off-season we have taken some good steps forward with the bike. It will be interesting to get on track with everyone else because I know everyone is dying to get back to racing. I think this weekend it will be really important to not get too worked up and let the adrenaline get pumping too hard once we’re out there. I’m hoping with the improvements that we’ve made that we can fight at the front even when there are no right handers and jumps.”
Kolby Carlile – Estenson Racing
“If any good came out of us having an extended break is that as a team, and myself individually we have been able to progress forward and bring a better package into Round 1. I’ve had success at Volusia over the years at the (Steve Nace) All-Star events, and hopefully can bring that into this weekend. It will be a new format with the doubleheader and a majority of the qualifying on Thursday for SuperTwins, so that will be a new experience. I am really just excited to get racing and showcase all the hard work that we have been doing since last fall.”
Mikey Rush – Estenson Racing
“I’m looking forward to finally getting the season started. It’s awesome to be a part of this new team. I am really satisfied with the progress that we’ve made on the bikes. I’m super excited to get back with the team at the races this weekend and I’m pumped to get back on my YZ450F.”
Dallas Daniels – Estenson Racing
“I’m more than excited to get this season started! It has been such a weird year for everyone, but that hasn’t stopped the team and myself from putting in the work to be better. We’re looking for a good result this weekend.”
