AMSOIL Arenacross kicked off its first ever triple-header on Thursday night, with the first of three nights of action inside Broadmoor World Arena.
After a highly competitive evening of competition, Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Gavin Faith stood atop the overall podium with his second win of the season.
Before the Main Event action in the Arenacross Class got underway, Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Jacob Hayes, who entered as the points leader for the first time this season, outdueled his Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna Factory Racing presented by FMC and OTSFF rival Kyle Regal for the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge win. The additional championship bonus point Hayes received for his triumphant effort would pay dividends in the overall classification.
When the first of two Arenacross Class Main Events got underway, the 16-rider field converged into the first turn, creating some congestion. GEICO Honda's Chase Sexton emerged with holeshot in his AMSOIL Arenacross debut, leading Faith and Regal on the opening lap.
Hayes got the worst of the bottleneck in the first turn and completed the first lap at the tail end of the field in 15th. The battle at the front of the field settled in until a red flag on Lap 6 for a downed rider brought the race to a halt. The field would eventually line up for a single-file restart.
When racing resumed, Faith wasted little time taking advantage of his experience over Sexton and slipped under the Ricky Carmichael's Road to Supercross rider to take control of the lead. Once in front Faith was able to keep Sexton at bay and ultimately took the win more than two seconds ahead of the Honda rider. Regal maintained possession of third for the entirety of the Main Event, with Woodstock/TZR KTM's Travis Sewell in fourth. Behind them, Hayes put forth an impressive ride to not only bounce back from his start at the tail end of the field, but claw his way up to fifth, moving from 10th to the top five in a matter of just three laps.
Faith's first Main Event win of the season allowed him the opportunity to select the inversion for the second Main Event by picking one of three cases. With the help of the Colorado Springs fans, he selected the case with the number 0, meaning there would be no inversion.
When the gate dropped on the second Main Event, Regal secured the holeshot only to lose the early lead to Hayes with Sewell close behind in third. Sexton slotted into fourth, followed by Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Chris Blose in fifth. Faith emerged in eighth. On Lap 6 Regal went off the track while running second, which also allowed Sewell to pass Sexton and slot into second. Regal reentered in 12th.
With Hayes comfortably out front, Faith made a late charge and moved into the top five on Lap 9. Three laps later he picked up another spot by passing his teammate Blose for fourth and set his sights on Sexton for third, in what would ultimately be the battle for the overall win. Hayes cruised to his series leading fifth Main Event win, six seconds ahead of Sewell in second, but Sexton experienced misfortune on the final lap, falling all the way to eighth. That allowed Faith to make an improbable run to third, followed by Blose and TiLUBE/Tuf Racing Honda's Ben Lamay.
The podium finish helped Faith secure the overall win (1-3) by just a single point over Hayes (5-1), who's Head 2 Head victory and Main Event win nearly put him atop the final standings. Sewell rounded out the overall podium in third (4-2). Blose finished fourth (6-4), while Sexton's late heartbreak dropped him to fifth (2-8), narrowly missing out on what would have been a historic achievement by winning his pro debut.
Hayes maintained control of the Arenacross Class standings and currently holds a four-point lead over Faith, who moved into second with the win. Blose keeps it a Team Babbitt's 1-2-3 in third, nine points out of the lead. Sewell is fourth with Regal fifth.
In the opening race of the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship, A&Y Racing Honda's Daniel Herrlein captured his second consecutive victory.
It was Shawnee Motors/Justified Cultures KTM's Cheyenne Harmon who raced to the holeshot of the first Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event of the 2016 season, leading Race Tech KTM's Ben Nelko and Herrlein out of the first turn. As Harmon opened an early cushion, Herrlein began his march to the front, taking over second from Nelko on Lap 4.
Just two laps later Herrlein applied pressure on Harmon and assumed control of the Main Event. Once out front Herrlein settled into the lead, but the battle for the remaining spots on the podium heated up. On Lap 7 Nelko dropped from third to fifth, with veteran Dave Ginolfi putting his Town & Country Cycle Center Husqvarna into third. Ginolfi continued his upward climb, making the pass on Harmon for second. On the ensuing lap Harmon lost several spots and dropped off the podium, KTM rider Carlen Gardner moving into third.
Herrlein, the current Eastern Regional Championship leader, went on to win by more than three seconds for his third Arenacross Lites victory of the season. Ginolfi was second, with Gardner third. Nelko rebounded to finish fourth with Woodstock/TZR KTM's Cody VanBuskirk rounding out the top five.
Ginolfi's podium finish makes him the early leader in the Western Regional standings, holding a slim two-point lead over Nelko. VanBuskirk is third, three points behind.
The three-night visit to Colorado Springs continues tomorrow inside Broadmoor World Arena.
Arenacross Class Overall Results (Main Event Results)
Gavin Faith, Duncombe, Iowa, Kawasaki (1-3)
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (5-1)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (4-2)
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (6-4)
Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (2-8)
Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna (3-10)
Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (10-5)
Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM (9-7)
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda (14-6)
Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM (11-9)
Arenacross Class Championship Standings
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki - 167 (5 Main Event Wins)
Gavin Faith, Duncombe, Iowa, Kawasaki - 163 (1 Main Event Win)
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki - 158 (1 Main Event Win)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM - 148 (3 Main Event Wins)
Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna - 132
Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda - 104
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna - 82
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 80
Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda - 77
Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, S.C., Husqvarna - 74
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda
Dave Ginolfi, Midvale, Utah, Husqvarna
Carlen Gardner, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM
Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM
Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
Collin Jurin, Monroe, Wash., Kawasaki
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM
Chase Evans, Glenwood, Iowa, Yamaha
Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Standings
Dave Ginolfi, Midvale, Utah, Husqvarna - 15
Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM - 13
Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM - 12
Collin Jurin, Monroe, Wash., Kawasaki - 11
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM - 10
Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM - 9
Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM - 7
Cheyenne Harmon, Colleyville, Texas, KTM - 6
Jake Locks, Dixon, Calif., KTM - 5
Brandon Marley, McEwen, Tenn., KTM - 4
Top Image: Faith earned his second overall win of the 2016 season.
Credit: ShiftOne Photography
