ELLENTON, Fla. - After numerous Main Event laps, endless bar-to-bar battles and the personal fight to stay healthy through it all, the top 10 riders in AMSOIL Arenacross have reached the season's most pivotal moment in their hopes of winning the coveted Ricky Carmichael Cup. This weekend the annual Race to the Championship will kick off in the heart of the motocross racing industry, Southern California, for two nights of action inside Ontario's Citizens Business Bank Arena on Friday, April 1, and Saturday, April 2.
Sitting atop the Race to the Championship field and carrying the momentum into Ontario is Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Gavin Faith. The Iowa native has posted three consecutive overall wins to cement his place atop the point standings and is arguably riding the best he has all season at perhaps the most important time. If history is any indication, Faith is in an enviable position as the top seed in the Race to the Championship has gone on to win the title each season.
While Faith does have momentum and history on his side, there are still only five points sitting between himself and the 10th and final rider in the Race to the Championship, TZR/Woodstock KTM's Cody VanBuskirk. With a total of four Main Events scheduled for the opening weekend in Ontario, there is ample opportunity for a dramatic shakeup in the standings to occur.
Faith will surely get a stiff challenge from his two biggest rivals, TZR/Woodstock KTM's Travis Sewell and Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Jacob Hayes, a back-to-back championship runner-up. Collectively, these three riders are the winningest competitors in AMSOIL Arenacross this season, claiming all but five Main Event wins and all but two overall victories. Week after week they've been a fixture in the battle for victory and have even shown an ability to rebound from the inevitable misfortune that occurs in AMSOIL Arenacross. Given how strong each rider has performed to this point in the season, it would be easy to consider him a favorite to become the first recipient of the Ricky Carmichael Cup.
Given the playoff-like nature of the Race to the Championship, it's also likely that other riders have patiently waited for their opportunity to take their riding to the next level. Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Chris Blose has an overall win to his credit and has even led the championship. Based purely on numbers alone, Team Babbitt's odds of claiming the title are higher than their competitors since they are the only team to place three riders in the Race to the Championship. Team Babbitt's has also swept the overall podium with its trio of riders on three occasions this season.
Broadcast Alert: The opening round of AMSOIL Arenacross' Race to the Championship will air Monday, April 11, at 3:00 p.m. ET / 12 Noon PT on FS1.
TiLUBE/TUF Racing Honda's Ben Lamay broke through for his first Main Event win at the previous round and is trending upward heading into the Race to the Championship. Despite his absence from competition for a major part of the 2016 season, it would be impossible to count out Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna Factory Racing presented by FMC and OTSFF rider Kyle Regal, the reigning AMSOIL Arenacross Champion. Up until this point Regal had yet to be fully healthy and while he hasn't tasted victory yet this season, he knows better than anyone what it takes to win a championship. Add in TiLUBE/TUF Racing Honda's Jace Owen, who is inching closer to victory each time out, a refreshed Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna Factory Racing's Gared Steinke, who is returning from injury, and budding star VanBuskirk and the battle for the Ricky Carmichael Cup is perhaps more wide open than it has ever been before.
The debut in Ontario also signifies the return of the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship, which will race each of the remaining rounds on the schedule. This title fight has been compelling to start, with VanBuskirk and Team DirtBike Mike/KTM Sports Center of Little Rock rider Ben Nelko trading victories. Currently, Nelko holds a slim three-point lead over VanBuskirk in the point standings, but VanBuskirk took the win at the previous round. While Nelko enters Ontario in control and has shown the speed to secure his first career title, it will be interesting to see how the added track time for VanBuskirk in the Race to the Championship influences his hopes of an inaugural championship.
The opening round of AMSOIL Arenacross' Race to the Championship from Ontario's Citizens Business Bank Arena will kick off at 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET on Friday, April 1, and Saturday, April 2.
