SACRAMENTO, Calif. – AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, made its west coast debut on Saturday night from the California state capital inside Sleep Train Arena. The sixth round of the 2014 season produces a dominant performance from defending Arenacross Class Champion Tyler Bowers who swept each of the night’s Main Events to capture his championship-leading fourth overall win of the season aboard his Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis machine. In the first round of the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class, Sacramento-area native Gared Steinke, of Woodland, took the victory aboard his Motosport Hillsboro KTM.
Bowers grabbed the holeshot in the first Arenacross Class Main Event with his teammate, and championship points leader, Zach Ames in second and TiLUBE/PBR/TUF Racing Honda’s Jacob Hayes in third. The trio of riders opened a gap on the field and maintained their spots throughout the 15-lap Main Event to finish 1-2-3.
Bowers selected the inversion for the second Main Event, picking no inversion and setting the tone for an intense battle for victory.
As the gate dropped on the final Main Event, Bowers once again asserted himself in the lead with Ames on his rear fender. This time, local rider Daniel Blair, of Lodi, positioned himself in third aboard his Frontier Lubricants KTM. Hayes got shuffled out of the gate and emerged in eighth place, never factoring into the battle up front. Bowers held a consistent advantage over his teammate throughout the race and the duo widened their margin on the field every lap. Behind them, Farmers Insurance/Reynard Mods Suzuki’s Cory Green took over third on Lap 2 and maintained the spot through to the finish.
Bowers’ wire-to-wire effort in each Main Event resulted in his most dominant effort of the season, but the advantage he gained in the championship standings was minimal as Ames’ pair of runner-up finishes gave up just two points. TiLUBE/PBR/TUF Racing Honda’s Kyle Regal (4-4) grabbed the final spot on the overall podium.
In Head-to-Head Bracket Racing, Bowers defeated Motosport.com/MJM Express/Spinechillers Racing Kawasaki’s Michael McDade to give him one additional championship point on the evening.
Ames’ lead in the Arenacross Class standings now sits at three points over Bowers.
The opening round of the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship kicked off a 10-race battle for the title that will ultimately end at the final round of the season. With the hometown crowd behind him, Blair moved into the early lead of the 18-lap Main Event with KMS KTM’s Dave Ginolfi and TZR Woodstock KTM’s Scott Zont in tow. Steinke began the race in fourth. Blair led the first six laps of the Main Event but experienced misfortune while fending off Ginolfi and dropped to seventh. Ginolfi, Zont, and Steinke assumed the top three spots and began a captivating battle at the front of the field that carried on through the remainder of the race. Ginolfi began the final lap with the lead in hand, but the battle intensified as Steinke, who moved into second, applied pressure and made an aggressive move to steal the win. Gateway Cycles Kawasaki’s Steven Mages, who fought his way into podium position, slipped past for second, while Ginolfi fell to third.
AMSOIL Arenacross continues next weekend with the seventh round of the season from Nampa, Idaho, and the Idaho Center. Two nights of racing begin on Friday, February 14, and Saturday, February 15, at 9 p.m. ET each night.
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 1
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda
- Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
- Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
- Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki
- Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 2
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
- Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
- Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
- Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki
- Jacob Hayes, Greensboro, N.C., Kawasaki
Arenacross Class Results – Overall (Main Event Finishes)
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki (1-1)
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki (2-2)
- Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda (4-4)
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (5-5)
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (7-6)
- Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM (6-7)
- Jacob Hayes, Greensboro, N.C., Kawasaki (3-10)
- Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (13-3)
- Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki (9-9)
- Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Kawasaki (8-12)
Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
1. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., KTM
2. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
3. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
4. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda
5. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
6. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
7. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., Honda
8. Lane Staley, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM
9. Ryan Breece, Athol, Idaho, Kawasaki
10. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki
Arenacross Class Points (After Race 9 of 19)
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki – 239
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki – 236
- Jacob Hayes, Greensboro, N.C., Kawasaki – 198
- Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki – 177
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM – 169
- Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki – 152
- Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda – 150
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM – 146
- Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki – 138
- Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM – 125
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 1 of 10)
1. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 15
2. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 14
3. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda – 13
4. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM – 11
5. Lane Staley, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM – 9
6. Ryan Breece, Athol, Idaho, Kawasaki – 8
7. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki – 7
8. Travis Smith, Lancaster, Calif., Honda – 6
9. Maxx Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda – 4
10. Kyle Tigert, Vacaville, Calif., Kawasaki – 1
