Bowers Sweeps Night Two in Worcester
WORCESTER, Mass. – Night two of the season-opening round of AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross from the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., proved to be a showcase evening for defending champion Tyler Bowers, of Danville, Ky. The Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis rider swept the pair of Main Events for the overall win and also assumed control of the points lead in the process. In the Arenacross Lites Class, Ticketwow Honda’s Michael Lang, of Saugerties, N.Y., made a last-lap pass for the win.
A packed house was on hand on Saturday night to watch the brand new, action-packed competition format of AMSOIL Arenacross. To add to the excitement of the evening, the race was broadcast live on SPEED for the first time, bringing the close, bar-to-bar racing into hundreds of thousands of homes across the country, kicking off a groundbreaking broadcast schedule for AMSOIL Arenacross.
With a pair of Main Events and Head-to-Head Bracket Racing all awarding points toward the championship, winning and racing well is at a premium as the season heads towards the Race to the Championship, which begins at the seventh round of the season.
In the first Main Event of the evening, opening night winner Zach Ames, of Prospect, Ohio, jumped into the early lead with the holeshot aboard his Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki. Bowers asserted himself into second behind his teammate and began to position himself for a late race pass. After maintaining a gap of about one second, Bowers made a textbook inside pass on Lap 8 of 12 and carried it through to the finish. Ames held on for second, while Mosites Motorsports Kawasaki’s Michael McDade, of Edinburg, Pa., finished third.
With his second Main Event win in three attempts, Bowers awaited the outcome of the inversion for the second Main Event, where zero, eight, or the entire 16-rider field will have their gate selection reversed from their finishing order in the first Main Event. On Saturday night, the inversion changed the position of all 16 riders, meaning Bowers needed to come from the worst gate pick in order to win. To make matters even more challenging, the Babbitt’s team discovered following the first Main Event that Bowers’ engine blew, forcing them to replace it in a matter of 21 minutes between Main Events to make sure Bowers was on the line.
In the final Main Event, Kawasaki rider Patrick Massie, of Washington Court House, Ohio, grabbed the holeshot and the early lead, but was passed by Motosport Hillsboro Kawasaki’s Gared Steinke, of Woodland, Calif., shortly thereafter. On Lap 8, Bowers completed his climb through the field by making the winning pass on Steinke and racing to the finish. Friday’s second Main Event winner McDade made a late pass to finish in the runner-up spot, with Steinke in third.
In the overall classification for the evening, Bowers secured maximum points from the Main Events for first overall, with McDade second, and Ames third.
The captivating Head-to-Head Bracket Racing left one championship point up for grabs. The top four finishers from each respective Heat race battled in an eight-rider showdown featuring two-lap elimination races until one rider remained. On Saturday night, the top two riders from last year’s championship, Bowers and Team Faith/FLY Racing/Pilot Travel Centers KTM Jeff Gibson, of Pataskala, Ohio, battled in the final pairing with Gibson prevailing to capture the available point.
In the battle for the Race to the Championship, Bowers now holds a three point lead over McDade in second, while Ames, the points leader after Friday night, now sits in third, seven points from the lead.
In the Arenacross Lites Class Main Event, TZR Woodstock KTM’s Scott Zont, of Algonquin, Ill., captured the holeshot and led the first six laps of competition. On Lap 7, Patrick Massie moved into the lead and then engaged in battle with Lang through the remainder of the Main Event. On the final lap, Massie went down in the last corner, allowing Lang to take the win. Massie rebounded to finish second with BWRengines.com Honda’s Maxx Malatia, of Itasca, Ill., in third.
AMSOIL Arenacross continues next weekend with the second round of the 2013 season from Baltimore’s 1st Mariner Arena. Two nights of action kick off on Friday, January 11, beginning at 7 p.m. ET and continue on Saturday, January 12, also scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET. Television coverage from Baltimore can be seen on Sunday, January 13, on SPEED, beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 1 (Worcester, Mass.)
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Michael McDade, Edinburg, Pa., Kawasaki
- Jeff Gibson, Pataskala, Ohio, KTM
- Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM
- Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., Suzuki
- Dave Ginolfi, Budd Lake, N.J., KTM
- Chris Canning, Coventry, Conn., Honda
- Robby Marshall, Stow, Mass., KTM
- Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 2 (Worcester, Mass.)
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
- Michael McDade, Edinburg, Pa., Kawasaki
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
- Patrick Massie, Washington Court House, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Michael Lang, Saugerties, N.Y., Honda
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Jeff Gibson, Pataskala, Ohio, KTM
- Fredrik Noren, Perris, Calif., KTM
- Robby Marshall, Stow, Mass., KTM
Arenacross Class Overall (Main Event Finishes)
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki (1,1)
- Michael McDade, Edinburg, Pa., Kawasaki (3,2)
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki (2,7)
- Jeff Gibson, Pataskala, Ohio, KTM (4,8)
- Michael Lang, Saugerties, N.Y., Honda (12,5)
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (11,6)
- Patrick Massie, Washington Court House, Ohio, Kawasaki (14,4)
- Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., Suzuki (6,12)
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki (16,3)
- Robby Marshall, Stow, Mass., KTM (9,10)
Arenacross Lites Class Results (Worcester, Mass.)
1. Michael Lang, Saugerties, N.Y., Honda
2. Patrick Massie, Washington Court House, Ohio, Kawasaki
3. Maxx Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda
4. Fredrik Noren, Perris, Calif., KTM
5. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
6. Zachary Newberry, Fincastle, Va., Suzuki
7. Brice Klippel, Bradford, Tenn., KTM
8. Travis Delnicki, Woodstock Valle, Conn., Suzuki
9. Konnor Buffis, Pittsfield, Mass., Honda
10. Vaughn Mays, Genoa City, Wis., KTM
Arenacross Class Points (After Race 2 of 16)
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki – 61
- Michael McDade, Edinburg, Pa., Kawasaki – 57
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki – 55
- Robby Marshall, Stow, Mass., KTM – 42
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki – 39
- Jeff Gibson, Pataskala, Ohio, KTM – 36
- Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., Suzuki – 35
- Michael Lang, Saugerties, N.Y., Honda – 29
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM – 29
- Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM – 29
Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 2 of 8)
- Michael McDade, Edinburg, Pa., Kawasaki – 16
- Derrick Barnaby, Sterling, Conn., Honda – 13
- Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM – 10
- Travis Delnicki, Woodstock Valle, Conn., Suzuki – 9
- Jeremy Pronovost, St. Philippe, Canada, KTM – 5
- Vaughn Mays, Genoa City, Wis., KTM – 4
- Nick Hardacre, Dayton, Ohio, Kawasaki – 2
- Dave Ginolfi, Budd Lake, N.J., KTM – 1
Live timing and scoring from each round of the AMSOIL Arenacross season returns for the 2013 season! To follow the intense racing action live, log onto www.Arenacross.com.
For more information on the 2013 AMSOIL Arenacross season, log on to www.Arenacross.com. For all media requests, please contact Brandon Short brandon@nextlevelsportsinc.com or 949-365-5750.
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