AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael‰Ûªs Road to Supercross, hosted its final night of action inside Tingley Coliseum, in Albuquerque, N.M., on Saturday night to conclude the second round of the season-ending Race to the Championship.
After narrowly taking the Arenacross Class victory on Friday night, Babbitt‰Ûªs Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis rider Tyler Bowers made it a sweep in Albuquerque with a more convincing effort on Night Two.
Bowers moved into the early lead to start the first 15-lap Arenacross Class Main Event, with PBR/TiLube/TUF Racing Honda‰Ûªs Jacob Hayes in second and his Babbitt‰Ûªs Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki teammate Zach Ames in third. Bowers set a torrid pace over the first few laps to establish a multi-second lead over his rivals.
Behind him, Hayes and Ames engaged in a battle for second with Ames ultimately making the pass on Lap 3. From there, the three riders broke away from the field and maintained their positions. Bowers finished just over two seconds ahead of Ames, with Hayes in third.
Bowers selected the inversion for the second Main Event, picking 16 and inverting the entire field.
Motosport.com/MJM Express/Spinechillers Racing Kawasaki‰Ûªs Michael McDade took advantage of the inversion to grab the early lead in the second Main Event, followed by Team Faith/FLY Racing KTM‰Ûªs Cheyenne Harmon and TZR/Woodstock KTM‰Ûªs Travis Sewell in second and third. Hayes emerged with the best start of the podium finishers from the first Main Event in sixth, while Bowers followed in ninth and Ames in 10th.
It didn‰Ûªt take long for Hayes to make his way up front, moving into third place by Lap 3 and eventually into the lead on Lap 6. As he made his upward progression, so did Bowers, breaking into the top five on Lap 5, into podium position on Lap 6, and then behind Hayes in second on Lap 8. Despite his best efforts, Bowers couldn‰Ûªt track down his rival.
Hayes took the Main Event win by a narrow margin over Bowers, while McDade held on to finish third. Ames worked his way through the field to finish fifth.
Bowers‰Ûª 1-2 finishes were better than Hayes‰Ûª 3-1 results, giving him the overall by just two points. Ames duplicated the overall podium from Friday night in third (2-5) and maintained his lead in the Race to the Championship.
Earlier in the evening, Ames defeated Bowers in Head-to-Head Bracket Racing to give him an additional championship bonus point.
By virtue of Bowers‰Ûª win, Ames‰Ûª lead in the Race to the Championship has been trimmed to just three points. Hayes maintains control of third, 11 points out of the lead. Just two rounds and three nights of racing remain in the Race to the Championship.
In the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class, Team Faith/FLY Racing KTM‰Ûªs Kelly Smith once again led every lap of the Main Event en route to a dominant third consecutive victory.
Smith‰Ûªs continued dominance in the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship began by capturing the early lead in the Main Event, followed by AJ Oilfield Services Kawasaki‰Ûªs Gray Davenport in second and KMS KTM‰Ûªs Dave Ginolfi in third.
The trio paced the front of the field for the first 14 laps of the 18-lap Main Event until Ginolfi bobbled and allowed BWRengines.com Honda‰Ûªs Maxx Malatia to take advantage and move into podium position. Out front, Smith comfortably took the checkered flag over five seconds ahead of Davenport while Malatia held on for third.
BWRengines.com Honda‰Ûªs Kyle White, who finished fourth, continues to lead the Western Regional standings by just three points over Davenport. Malatia sits just six points back in third with three races remaining.
The AMSOIL Arenacross season continues next weekend with its inaugural visit to Hidalgo, Texas. Two nights of action inside State Farm Arena commences on Friday, March 14th, and continues on Saturday, March 15th.
Arenacross Class Results ‰ÛÒ Overall (Main Event Finishes)
1. Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki (1-2)
2. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda (3-1)
3. Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki (2-5)
4. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM (5-6)
5. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (9-4)
6. Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki (4-9)
7. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki (7-7)
8. Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki (12-3)
9. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (8-8)
10. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (6-14)
Arenacross Class Race to the Championship (Race 3 of 6)
1. Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki ‰ÛÒ 94 Pts
2. Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki ‰ÛÒ 91 Pts
3. Jacob Hayes, Greensboro, N.C., Honda ‰ÛÒ 83 Pts
4. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki ‰ÛÒ 68 Pts
5. Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki ‰ÛÒ 65 Pts
6. Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki ‰ÛÒ 64 Pts
7. Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda ‰ÛÒ 62 Pts
8. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM ‰ÛÒ 60 Pts
9. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM ‰ÛÒ 59 Pts
10. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki ‰ÛÒ 45 Pts
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
1. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich, KTM
2. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki
3. Maxx Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda
4. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda
5. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
6. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
7. Vance Wofford, Alamogordo, N.M., Yamaha
8. Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM
9. Tanner Moore, Auburn, Kan., KTM
10. Coby Adair, Azter, N.M., Kawasaki
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 7 of 10)
1. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda ‰ÛÒ 88 Pts
2. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki ‰ÛÒ 85 Pts
3. Maxx Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda ‰ÛÒ 82 Pts
4. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM ‰ÛÒ 70 Pts
5. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki ‰ÛÒ 64 Pts
6. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM ‰ÛÒ 53 Pts
7. Brian Alquist, LaGrange, Calif., KTM ‰ÛÒ 33 Pts
8. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda ‰ÛÒ 32 Pts
9. Lane Staley, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM ‰ÛÒ 26 Pts
10. Josh Struebig, Crown Point, Ind., KTM ‰ÛÒ 24 Pts
