American Flat Track rookie Dallas Daniels raced his Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F to another AFT Singles podium finish on consecutive race weekends in his home state of Illinois, crossing the line third at the Springfield Short Track. Teammate Ryan Wells overcame adversity to finish seventh.
Daniels showed speed straight away, qualifying third. The 16-year-old then went on to finish second in his Heat and take the win in his Semi to start to the Main Event on pole position. He didn’t get the flying start he was hoping for, but Daniels put his head down and worked his way back from seventh to fourth before the halfway mark. As laps started to run out, he made an attempt on second. He got shuffled back again to fourth but ultimately was able to secure third to add another podium to his credit on the heels of his win at the Peoria TT.
On the flip side, Wells’ day didn’t start out as smoothly. The 2016 AFT Singles Champion was struggling to find his comfort zone early on. He and the team put their heads together and made solid strides forward come race time. Wells went on to finish third in his Heat, but having to take an outside position on the grid, didn’t get the start he was hoping for in the Semi, finishing seventh. Starting from the third row of the grid, the New Yorker put his head down and worked his way through the pack to cross the line seventh.
“The day started out well. We were fastest in free practice and qualified third overall. We got second in the Heat race and won the Semi. I was holeshotting all day long, but in the Main Event, I almost jumped the start and that kind of set me back a little bit. I put on a charge from seventh and tried to make my way up as far as I could. By that time, once I got up there Dalton (Gauthier) kind of set sail out front. I was trying to work my way up to second, but Dan (Bromley) put a move on me and passed me and Chad Cose. I was able to get by Chad and bring home third. It wasn’t really what I wanted but to get two podiums in a row, and at my two hometown races in front of family and friends… it’s awesome for my rookie season.”
Ryan Wells – AFT Singles #94:
“Definitely big steps for us today. We started off not too great in qualifying, but we made some pretty drastic changes before the Heat race and was immediately faster. On a short track like this, you kind of got to be fast all day so that you get inside starts in the Heat, Semi and Main. Unfortunately, most of the day we were on the outside. I got some really good starts, but the inside guys had the advantage. In the Main Event, I started towards the back and worked my way up to seventh. At the end of the day, we made some crazy good headway. I was racy and felt way more comfortable than in the past couple weeks. The guys definitely helped me get some more of my confidence back. I’m looking forward to next weekend on a fast, clay Half-Mile.”