LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 3, 2018) – Estenson Racing’s Kolby Carlile left Springfield looking to back up his win at Sacramento and take another “W” on the Mile at Kentucky on his Yamaha YZ450F. However, a personal tragedy – his young dog Jax passing right before the event – made earning that win so much more important; and more personal.
The untimely loss of his young pet was a tough blow for Carlile and those close to him, but the defending AFT Singles Champion dug deep and he and the team came together for the common goal of going after that win. Even though a slick, narrow groove was predicted, it really meant that riders and their crews had their work cut out for them. Carlile did his homework earlier in the day during practice and qualifying and went on to score a pair of seconds, in both the Heat and Semi, but that was one short of what he was looking for in the Main. As to be expected in the AFT Singles class, it was an absolute dogfight from start to finish, with three riders trying to lead each lap. Carlile put everything he had into it and came away with the win by .012 of a second.
Kolby Carlile – AFT Singles #1:
“Absolutely amazing. Just so many emotions. It’s awesome to get a race win, but when you’re emotional and you’re trying to win for and my family…(choked up)
“We had a terrible week leading up to this race, but last night I promised Samantha that I was going to win today and I was going to give her and Jax’s jersey a victory lap. I kept my promise. There were a few times today where I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do it. Even in that Main event, I started to fall off the pace a little bit. But I really put my head down and charged hard and got back up to the lead. I made a pretty big move on the last lap. It’s not what I planned strategy-wise, but somehow it worked out for the race win, so that’s awesome.”
Catch the Red Mile on NBCSN, June 16 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
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