HIDALGO, Texas – AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, completed its inaugural round from Hidalgo, Texas, on Saturday night inside State Farm Arena. One night after assuming control of the Race to the Championship, Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis rider Tyler Bowers swept the Arenacross Class Main Events for the second straight evening to capture his 10th overall win of the season. In the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class, grabbed his fourth win in five races and his third of the Western Regional Championship.
Bowers grabbed the early lead in the first 15-lap Arenacross Class Main Event, with Smith and PBR/TiLube/TUF Racing Honda’s Kyle Regal in second and third. PBR/TiLube/TUF Racing Honda’sJacob Hayes started fifth while Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Zach Ames crossed the line in 10th after having to once again qualify for the Main Event through the Last Chance Qualifier for the second straight evening. On Lap 4, Smith encountered trouble while running second, which allowed both Regal and Hayes to assume second and third. By that point, Bowers had opened a lap of nearly five seconds and went on to take the win. Hayes moved past his teammate for second on Lap 6, and the pair maintained their positions through to the finish. Ames finished in seventh.
Bowers selected the inversion for the second Main Event and ultimately chose zero, meaning the field would remain as is for gate selection.
Bowers took control of the second Main Event by taking advantage of his first gate pick to move into the early lead. Regal and Farmers Insurance/Reynard Mods Suzuki’s Cory Green followed him, while his championship rivals Ames and Hayes started in 12th and 13th, respectively. Bowers dominated out front, leading all 15 laps and finishing over eight seconds ahead of Regal in second, while Green maintained control of third. Both Hayes and Ames slowly worked their way through traffic, with Hayes passing Ames and working his way into ninth. Ames finished 11th.
Bowers’ fifth 1-1 sweep concluded his most dominant weekend of the season, leading 59 of 60 laps across four Main Events. Regal finished second overall (3-2), while Green landed third (5-3). Hayes finished fifth overall (2-7) with Ames in 10th (7-11).
Bowers’ perfect night was capped off with a win over Regal in Head-to-Head Bracket Racing, adding another championship point to his total.
Bowers’ 10 wins and successful weekend in Hidalgo have moved him into control of the Race to the Championship with just one round remaining. Bowers holds an 18-point lead over Hayes, while Ames sits 27 points behind in third.
Smith raced to the front of the start of the 18-lap Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event, with BWRengines.com Honda’s Kyle White and KMS KTM’s Dave Ginolfi in tow. Smith established a gap of over a second on the field in the early going and White asserted himself in second. Ginolfi encountered misfortune on the opening lap, which allowed AJ Oilfield Services Kawasaki’s Gray Davenport, the championship points leader, to move into third. Out front, Smith maintained his lead and led every lap to win by nearly two seconds with White in second and Davenport in third.
Davenport maintained control of the Western Regional points lead, but White’s second place finish moved the two riders to within a single point of one another.
Earlier on Saturday afternoon, Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki rider Vicki Golden made AMSOIL Arenacross history, adding to her legacy in the sport. Golden qualified to race the night program in the premier Arenacross Class, securing her third and final point in Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross to become the first woman in history to earn a 250SX Class endorsement to compete in Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship.
The 2014 AMSOIL Arenacross season will take a break from competition next weekend before returning for the 12th and final round of the championship on Saturday, March 29th, from Salt Lake City’s EnergySolutions Arena. The 2014 AMSOIL Arenacross Champion will be crowned as the Race to the Championship comes to a dramatic conclusion, as will the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship. Racing begins at 9 p.m. ET.
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 1
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
- Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda
- Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda
- Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
- Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 2
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
- Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda
- Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
- Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki
- Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda
- Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
- Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki
Arenacross Class Results – Overall (Main Event Finishes)
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki (1-1)
- Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda (3-2)
- Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (5-3)
- Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki (4-6)
- Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda (2-7)
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (8-4)
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (9-5)
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki (6-9)
- Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM (10-8)
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki (7-11)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
1. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM
2. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda
3. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki
4. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
5. Cheyenne Harmon, Olivia, Texas, KTM
6. Maxx Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda
7. Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM
8. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
9. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., Honda
10. Davey Sterritt, Athens, N.Y., KTM
Arenacross Class Race to the Championship (Race 5 of 6)
- Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki – 158
- Jacob Hayes, Greensboro, N.C., Honda – 140
- Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki – 131
- Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda – 121
- Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki – 110
- Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki – 104
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM – 103
- Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM – 102
- Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki – 90
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki – 89
Arenacross Class Points (Race 18 of 19)
- Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM – 301
- Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 136
- Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 116
- Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Kawasaki – 116
- Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda – 98
- Jeff Gibson, Pataskala, Ohio, 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 – 55
- Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki – 55
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 9 of 10)
1. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki – 113
2. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda – 112
3. Maxx Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda – 104
4. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 96
5. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM – 78
6. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 69
7. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM – 63
8. Brian Alquist, LaGrange, Calif., KTM – 37
9. Josh Struebig, Crown Point, Ind., KTM – 35
10. Cheyenne Harmon, Olivia, Texas, KTM – 33
