Beach showed strength straight away as the fastest qualifier in the Mission SuperTwins class and then backed that up with a comfortable win in his Semi to give him pole position for the Main Event. The proceedings at the iconic TT track in Thunder Valley were delayed with afternoon rain, but the track crew went to work to get the races in, and the order was changed to start with the premier class. After the lights went out, Beach quickly moved into the lead and built a gap up front. As the race wore on, the defending champion closed back in, but Beach kept cool under pressure to lead every lap en route to his fourth career win in the premier class.
Carlile struggled to find his comfort zone earlier in the day, which gave him a less than ideal starting position for both the Semi and Main Event. He and the team kept working, and they made some changes for the final race of the day. Starting from the back row, the “Flying Tomato” worked his way forward and battled for sixth, coming just shy in the end in seventh.
On the AFT Singles side of the tent, Rush also struggled to find his comfort zone, but he and his crew kept making progress, and he had a solid Semi result in the top five. With all of the drama and multiple restarts in the Main Event, the Californian rode a smart race to finish inside of the top 10 in eighth.
The day started out well for Daniels. The defending champion was on pace for a top result and won his Semi. He then fired the first shot in the Main Event and grabbed the holeshot. On Lap 2, he landed sideways off of the infamous jump and gathered it back up, but went off track into the wet grass and went down. He rejoined a lap down and kept pushing to try and salvage some points. Before the halfway mark, the red flag was drawn with a downed rider, and they lined up for a staggered restart with Daniels at the back. He got a good start and made his way to midpack but unfortunately had a big crash on the front straight on the first lap and was unable to restart. He went to the local hospital for evaluation and was cleared. The Illinois rider is going to seek further evaluation after the weekend, and an update will follow.
Next up for the Estenson Racing squad is an action-packed Labor Day weekend in Springfield, Illinois. The AFT Singles team will battle Friday night at the Progressive American Flat Track Springfield Short Track doubleheader on September 3. Then the Mission SuperTwins team will head over to the legendary Springfield Mile for the doubleheader on September 4-5.
