ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, began the second of the final four rounds of the season-ending Race to the Championship on Friday night inside Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, N.M. Defending Arenacross Class Champion Tyler Bowers relied on the championship bonus point awarded in Head-to-Head Bracket Racing to secure his seventh overall victory aboard his Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis machine. In the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class, Team Faith/FLY Racing KTM’s Kelly Smith led every lap of the Main Event to capture his second straight win.
Motosport.com/MJM Express/Spinechillers Racing Kawasaki’s Michael McDade assumed the early lead in the first 15-lap Arenacross Class Main Event, with Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers in second, PBR/TiLube/TUF Racing Honda’s Jacob Hayes close behind, and Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Zach Ames, the championship leader, in fourth. Bowers surged into the lead on Lap 1, bringing Hayes with him into second and dropping McDade to third. The following lap, Ames passed McDade to take over third. Bowers and Hayes stayed mere bike lengths apart for many laps until Hayes was able to make a move for the lead on Lap 12 and make the pass stick. He fended off Bowers over the final couple laps for the win, with Ames not far behind in third.
Hayes selected the inversion for the second Main Event, picking eight, meaning half the field would be inverted.
Motosport.com/MJM Express/Spinechillers Racing KTM’s Willy Browning took advantage of his prime starting spot for the second Main Event to grab the lead, edging out McDade and Bowers. Ames emerged in sixth, with Hayes in seventh. On the opening lap, Bowers moved into second and set his sights on Browning up front. Hayes made his way past Ames for fifth on Lap 2 and then began a charge to the front, eventually making his way into the top three on Lap 4. A short time later on Lap 8, Bowers made his move on Browning for the lead and Hayes followed just one lap later. Hayes pressured Bowers for the lead over the final handful of laps but was unable to make the move. Browning held on for third. Ames finished fifth.
With identical Main Event finishes, Bowers (2-1) and Hayes (1-2) tied for the overall but thanks to his victorious effort in Head-to-Head Bracket Racing earlier in the evening, Bowers earned an extra bonus point to move him into sole possession of first. Ames grabbed the final spot on the podium in third (3-5) to maintain his lead in the Race to the Championship.
Ames' lead in the Race to the Championship sits at six points over Bowers, who moved from fifth to second. Hayes sits 13 points back in third, moving up from ninth.
Smith began his dominant outing in the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship Main Event by grabbing the early lead with KMS KTM’s Dave Ginolfi and Frontier Lubricants KTM’s Daniel Blair in tow. On the opening lap, BWRengines.com Honda’s Maxx Malatia moved past Blair for third and the top three established themselves up front. Smith consistently pulled away for his second straight wire-to-wire victory, leading all 18 laps and crossing the checkered flag nearly seven seconds ahead of Ginolfi. Malatia rounded out the podium in third to duplicate the top three finishers from the previous round.
BWRengines.com Honda’s Kyle White leads the Western Regional standings by five points over AJ Oilfield Services Kawasaki’s Gray Davenport.
The action from Albuquerque continues tomorrow for Night Two inside Tingley Coliseum. Racing begins at 7 p.m. MT.
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 1
- Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
- Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM
- Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 2
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
- Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
- Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda
- Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki
- Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Arenacross Class Results – Overall (Main Event Finishes)
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki (2-1)
- Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda (1-2)
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki (3-5)
- Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM (6-4)
- Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki (4-7)
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (8-3)
- Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda (7-6)
- Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (5-9)
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (10-10)
- Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki (15-8)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
1. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich, KTM
2. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
3. Maxx Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda
4. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki
5. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda
6. Cheyenne Harmon, Olivia, Texas, Honda
7. Jeremy Pronovost, St. Philippe, Quebec, KTM
8. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., Honda
9. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
10. Josh Struebig, Crown Point, Ind., KTM
Arenacross Class Race to the Championship (Race 2 of 6)
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki – 65
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki – 59
- Jacob Hayes, Greensboro, N.C., Honda – 52
- Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda – 52
- Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki – 50
- Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki – 45
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM – 45
- Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki – 43
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM – 37
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki – 25
Arenacross Class Points (Race 15 of 19)
- Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM – 247
- Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 124
- Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Kawasaki – 116
- Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 99
- Jeff Gibson, Pataskala, Ohio, Honda – 90
- Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda – 90
- Robby Marshall, Stow, Mass., KTM – 85
- Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 75
- Keith Tucker, Fuquay Varina, N.C., Yamaha – 57
- Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM – 47
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 6 of 10)
1. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda – 75
2. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki – 70
3. Maxx Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda – 68
4. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 58
5. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 53
6. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM – 51
7. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda – 32
8. Brian Alquist, LaGrange, Calif., KTM – 27
9. Lane Staley, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM – 26
10. Josh Struebig, Crown Point, Ind., KTM – 24
