Gavin Faith Wins Third Straight in Lafayette

March 13, 2016 9:45am | by: Press Release

LAFAYETTE, La. - The 10 riders that will battle for the Ricky Carmichael Cup in AMSOIL Arenacross' Race to the Championship were decided on Saturday during the series' debut inside the CAJUNDOME. Following a pair of highly competitive Arenacross Class Main Events, Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Gavin Faith emerged with his third straight overall win following the most consistent effort in the field, solidifying his top seed heading into the playoff. In the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class, Ricky Carmichael's Road to Supercross competitor Sean Cantrell raced to his second win of the season aboard in convincing fashion, leading every lap of the Main Event aboard his Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM.

Fresh off his Arenacross Lites Class win, Cantrell carried the momentum into the start of the first Arenacross Class Main Event by taking the holeshot ahead of Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Chris Blose and Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna Factory Racing presented by FMC and OTSFF rider Kyle Regal. Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Jacob Hayes slotted into fourth, with TZR/Woodstock KTM's Travis Sewell in fifth. Faith was forced to come from behind after starting 10th.

Blose made quick work of Cantrell and assumed control of the Main Event on Lap 1. From there Cantrell would gradually lose additional spots, dropping second to Regal on Lap 2 and then both third and fourth place to Hayes and Sewell on Lap 3. As all this unfolded out front Faith was making quick work in his march up the standings and soon passed Cantrell for fifth on Lap 5.

Out front Blose asserted himself as the leader, while Hayes applied pressure on Regal for second and took over the position on Lap 7. One lap later Sewell moved into third, with Faith then passing Regal for fourth on Lap 9. Blose went on to lead every lap of the Main Event and took the checkered flag just over four seconds ahead of Hayes, with Sewell third, Faith fourth and Regal fifth.

Streaking Faith is the top seed in the Race to the Championship. ShiftOne

Blose then had the opportunity to select the inversion for the second Main Event, picking one of three cases. The Kawasaki rider ultimately chose the case with the number eight, meaning half the field would be inverted.

The inversion proved to work against both Blose and Hayes at the start of the second Main Event, as both riders found themselves on the ground in the first corner. Hayes completed the first lap in 12th, with Blose in 13th. Out front, TiLUBE/Tuf Racing Honda's Ben Lamay claimed the holeshot over Sewell and Faith. The early jump and clear track allowed Lamay to open a lead that he would never relinquish, leaving the battle for second, and what would ultimately be the battle for the overall win, between Sewell and Faith.

Sewell kept his rival at bay and appeared to be in control of the position, but a crash right before the whoops handed the spot over to Faith. Sewell remounted quickly and lost only one spot, but it would be the deciding factor in the final classification. Lamay led every lap to claim his first career AMSOIL Arenacross Main Event win, with Faith second and Sewell third. TiLUBE/Tuf Racing Honda's Jace Owen was fourth, followed by Custom Power Sports/Slakawear Kawasaki's Steven Mages in fifth. Hayes fought his way back to seventh, while Blose ended up 11th.

Faith's 4-2 finishes tied him with Sewell's 3-3 effort in the overall classification, but by virtue of his better finish in the second Main Event Faith was given the tiebreaker for the win. Hayes' resiliency in the second Main Event, combined with a triumphant effort in the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge earlier in the evening, helped him finish third overall (2-7). Lamay was fourth (7-1) with Mages fifth (5-5).

Faith's championship-leading five overall wins, and his surge of three straight victories, place him as the top seed in the Race to the Championship. The points for the top 10 riders have been reset, with just five points separating Faith, in first, from TZR/Woodstock KTM's Cody VanBuskirk, in 10th.

Three riders entered Saturday night's race with a chance to secure the final two spots in the standings. When all was said and done, Regal, the defending AMSOIL Arenacross Champion, and VanBuskirk clinched births in the Race to the Championship while Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna Factory Racing's Kyle Bitterman dropped from ninth to 11th in the standings, just missing out on a qualifying spot.

The Race to the Championship field is set. ShiftOne

As the top seed, Faith is followed by Sewell (2nd), Hayes (3rd), Blose (4th), Lamay (5th), Owen (6th), Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna Factory Racing's Gared Steinke (7th), Regal (8th), A&Y Racing Honda's Daniel Herrlein (9th), and VanBuskirk (10th).

In the 15-lap Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event, Cantrell grabbed the holeshot ahead of Team DirtBike Mike/KTM Sportscenter of Little Rock's Brandon Marley and Shawnee Motor Company/Justified Cultures KTM's Cheyenne Harmon. The top three settled into their positions during the first half of the race, but things changed on Lap 7. While in a battle for third, Harmon and DrivenMX/MEPMX KTM's Jared Lesher were involved in a three-rider incident that took both riders out of podium contention, allowing Team DirtBike Mike/KTM Sportscenter of Little Rock's Ben Nelko to assume control of third. Cantrell started to extend his lead in the late stages of the Main Event, leaving the Team DirtBikeMike teammates to battle for second. The Road to Supercross rider took the win while Nelko finished second following a last-lap pass on Marley. Husqvarna rider Mathew Weakley was fourth, with KTM rider Isaac Teasdale rounding out the top five.

With the Eastern Regional Championship already clinched by Daniel Herrlein, the field will next race at the final round of the 2016 season in Las Vegas' Orleans Arena on Friday, May 6.

The highly anticipated opening round of the Race to the Championship will take place in Ontario, California's Citizen's Business Bank Arena with two nights of action on Friday, April 1, and Saturday, April 2. Racing for both nights will begin at 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET.

Arenacross Class Results - Main Event 1

1.     Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki
2.     Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
3.     Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
4.     Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
5.     Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
6.     Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna
7.     Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda
8.     Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM
9.     Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda
10. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM

Arenacross Class Results - Main Event 2

1.     Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda
2.     Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
3.     Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
4.     Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda
5.     Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
6.     Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM
7.     Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
8.     Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna
9.     Isaac Teasdale, Robbinsville, S.C., KTM
10. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM

Arenacross Class Overall Results (Main Event Results)

1.     Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (4-2)
2.     Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (3-3)
3.     Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (2-7)
4.     Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (7-1)
5.     Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki (5-5)
6.     Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (1-11)
7.     Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (9-4)
8.     Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna (6-8)
9.     Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM (8-6)
10. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM (10-10)

RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results (bonus points)

1.     Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (2 points)
2.     Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (1 point)
3.     Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1 point)
4.     Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (1 point)
5.     Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (1 point)
6.     Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna (1 point)
7.     Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, S.C., Husqvarna (1 point)
8.     Sean Cantrell, Murrieta, Calif., KTM (1 point)

Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results

1.     Sean Cantrell, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
2.     Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM
3.     Brandon Marley, McEwen, Tenn., KTM
4.     Mathew Weakley, Atoka, Tenn., Husqvarna
5.     Isaac Teasdale, Robbinsville, S.C., KTM
6.     DJ MacFarlane, Pinellas Park, Fla., Yamaha
7.     Tallon LaFountaine, Banning, Calif., KTM
8.     Addison Emory IV, Owasso, Okla., Yamaha
9.     Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM
10. Josh Struebig, Crown Point, Ind., KTM

Race to the Championship Standings

1.     Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki - 6 (6 Main Event Wins)
2.     Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM - 5 (5 Main Event Wins)
3.     Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki - 4 (8 Main Event Wins)
4.     Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki - 4 (2 Main Event Wins)
5.     Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda - 3 (1 Main Event Win)
6.     Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda - 3
7.     Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna - 2
8.     Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna - 2
9.     Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 1
10. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM - 1

Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Standings

1.     Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 105 (2 Main Event Wins)
2.     Dylan Walker, Lancaster, Ohio, Honda - 63
3.     Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki - 49 (1 Main Event Win)
4.     Sean Cantrell, Murrieta, Calif., KTM - 46 (2 Main Event Wins)
5.     Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki - 43
6.     Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha - 42
7.     Lane Staley, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM - 39
8.     DJ MacFarlane, Pinellas Park, Fla., Yamaha - 38
9.     Tyler McSwain, Shelby, N.C., Yamaha - 35
10. Henry Miller, Rochester, Minn., Honda - 34