Chris Blose Wins AX Night One In Baltimore

The second round of the 2016 AMSOIL Arenacross got underway on Friday night, kicking off the first doubleheader stop of the championship from Royal Farms Arena.

Nearly one week after his teammate took the overall win in the Arenacross Class, Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Chris Blose made it two-in-a-row for the team with an impressive overall victory.

In the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event, Custom Powersports Kawasaki's Austin Stroupe captured his first career AMSOIL Arenacross victory with a flawless race in which he led every lap aboard.

The first Arenacross Class Main Event is where Blose gained the edge that would ultimately carry him to victory. Blose captured the holeshot and was able to secure an early advantage over Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna Factory Racing presented by FMC and OTSFF rider Kyle Regal and his Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki teammate Jacob Hayes.

The top three remained the same for several laps until the action heated up for third with Hayes, Team Babbitt's Gavin Faith, the points leader, and Austin Stroupe. Hayes and Stroupe would find themselves on the ground briefly coming to complete Lap 5, allowing Faith to take over third, but both riders recovered quickly.

Stroupe maintained a hold of fifth and Hayes remounted in sixth, while Blue Buffalo/Slater Skins Yamaha's Benny Bloss slotted into fourth. Hayes would encounter more misfortune in the whoops a few laps later and drop to the tail end of the field.

Blose continued to set the pace out front as Faith's forward progression soon saw him make the pass on Regal for second on Lap 9. Two laps later, Bloss was able to make the pass on Regal and move into podium position. When the checkered flag flew, Blose edged out his hard-charging teammate Faith by just over a second to take the win, leading all 15 laps. Bloss, a Ricky Carmichael Road to Supercross competitor, earned his first career podium result in third while Regal finished fourth, Stroupe fifth and TiLUBE/Tuf Racing Honda's Jace Owen in sixth.

As the Main Event winner Blose had the distinction of selecting one of three briefcases to determine the inversion for the second Main Event. The Kawasaki rider selected the case with the number 16, meaning the entire field would be inverted for the final race of the evening and adding even more drama to the eventual outcome of the race.

When the gate dropped on the second 15-lap Main Event, Woodstock/TZR KTM's Travis Sewell raced to the holeshot just ahead of Hayes and NST/Spinechillers KTM's Lane Staley. Blose emerged from the fray in sixth, with Faith 11th and Bloss 12th.

Owen, who started fourth, made quick work to move past Staley into third. After jockeying for position over the first handful of laps the field settled in and the running order went unchanged inside the top five. Blose was able to break into the top five and maintain the position, while Faith and Bloss both made impressive climbs from outside the top 10.

Sewell kept Hayes at bay and took advantage of lapped riders in the closing stages of the Main Event to become the first two-time Main Event winner of the 2016 season and bounce back from a 13th-place finish in the first Main Event. Hayes' rebounded nicely from his troubles in the first Main Event as well, while Owen capped off his AMSOIL Arenacross debut with a strong performance. Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna Factory Racing's Gared Steinke was fourth, with Blose fifth, Faith sixth and Bloss seventh.

When the final points were tallied Blose's 1-5 finishes gave him the overall win by two points over Faith (2-6). The battle for third came between the young guns of Owen (6-3) and Bloss (3-7), who finished with the same point total.

However, by virtue of his podium finish in the second Main Event Owen was awarded the position. Nevertheless, it was a memorable night for Bloss who proved that he has the speed to battle for wins as he continues chasing his Road to Supercross points. Steinke rounded out the top five overall (7-4). Defending AMSOIL Arenacross Champion Regal was sixth (4-9).

In the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge earlier in the evening, Hayes outdueled Blose for the win, earning an extra championship bonus point that helped him finish eighth overall for the evening.

Back-to-back overall podium performances by the Team Babbitt's duo of Faith and Blose have them atop the Arenacross Class standings after two races. Faith holds just a one-point lead over Blose heading into the second night of action in Baltimore. Steinke is third, six points out of the lead.