ROUND 12 / AUGUST 14, 2022
CASTLE ROCK RACE PARK / CASTLE ROCK, WASHINGTON
P90
FLAT TRACK I PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK
KING OF
CASTLE ROCK
BY CHRIS MARTIN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM LESTER/AFT
E
ven with no recent track
history to base the as-
sumption on due to the
Castle Rock TT's absence from
the Progressive AFT schedule
since 2014, that JD Beach would
be crowned the "King of Castle
Rock" before a massive, sellout
crowd, seemed all but inevitable.
His TT form had been so
overwhelming as of late—with
five wins in the six TT's leading
up to the return to the Pacific
Northwest—and his motivation
so obvious—Castle Rock Race
Park serving as a seminal training
ground for the Washington native
as a boy racer—it felt as if there
was no other possibility.
And, in the end, there wasn't.
The Estenson Racing Yamaha
star was fastest in every practice
and qualifying session, won both
his semi and the four-lap Mission
Challenge, and then sat on pole
for the main event, his superiority
growing with each subsequent
session. All he had to do was get
away cleanly and a sixth-career
TT victory was a fait accompli.
The real drama took place
just behind him.
If there was any rider who had
a genuine shot to beat Beach
straight-up on the night, it was his
rookie teammate Dallas Daniels.
The two lined up side-by-side on
the inside of the front row, and
the nature of the track meant that
whichever rider entered turn one
with the lead would be extremely
difficult to displace.
JD BEACH CONTINUES TO
DOMINATE THE TTS, THIS
TIME AT THE RETURN OF THE
CASTLE ROCK TT
