Small Short Tracks aren’t really Kolby Carlile’s cup of tea. Even so, the defending AFT Singles Champion went into the 15th round of the American Flat Track season with a positive mindset, looking for top results on his Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F.
But anything goes on a Short Track, but unfortunately, it did not go Carlile’s way Saturday evening. A fifth-place finish in his Heat gave him a less-than-ideal starting position in his Semi, which carried through the Main. The “Flying Tomato” put his head down and worked his way back from 11th to ultimately finish ninth on a difficult track to pass.
At the end of the day, Carlile was happy to leave healthy and looks forward to the final stretch of the season on bigger tracks.
Kolby Carlile – AFT Singles #1:
“I’m not a huge fan of the Springfield Short Track. Looking at the schedule at the beginning of the year, it’s probably my least-favorite track to come to, honestly. I went in with a good mindset though, and I did a lot of practice this week so I could do better at it. I think I honestly performed well. It’s a short track so you never know what’s going to happen. I put myself in a bad spot in my Heat race, and that kind of put me behind all day. Then I was on the second row for the Main event.
“It took me a while, but I made quite a few passes. I was able to get up to eighth at one point, and then I kind of got knocked around at the end. So, I’m happy. There were a lot of riders who crashed and I was able to make it through clean all day. I’m looking forward to returning to the bigger tracks for the rest of the season.”
Catch the Springfield ST on NBCSN, September 22 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
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