ONTARIO, Calif. - The opening round of the Race to the Championship is in the books as AMSOIL Arenacross hosted the second of two nights in Southern California on Saturday. A highly energetic crowd cheered on the title contenders inside Citizens Business Bank Arena as Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Chris Blose capped of an impressive start to the Race to the Championship by sweeping the overall wins in Ontario. In the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class, DrivenMX Yamaha's Stone Edler posted a wire-to-wire effort, resulting in back-to-back nights of first-time winners in the division.
For the second straight night, the unique outdoor start at Citizens Business Bank Arena proved to be critical to success. Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Gavin Faith proved this in the first Arenacross Class Main Event, surging to an early lead with the holeshot ahead of TZR/Woodstock KTM's Travis Sewell and TiLUBE/TUF Racing Honda's Ben Lamay. Blose had his work cut out for him after starting sixth.
Faith set a strong pace early that allowed him to open a comfortable margin over Sewell, who settled into second while Lamay did the same in third. Blose moved into the top five on Lap 1 and then passed his Team Babbitt's teammate Jacob Hayes for fourth on Lap 4.
On Lap 12 the race took a dramatic turn when an incident involving defending champion and Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna Factory Racing presented by FMC and OTSFF rider Kyle Regal collected Sewell and Lamay, taking both riders out of their podium spots. As the field navigated around them Hayes was able to make the pass on Blose for third. Faith went on to lead all 15 laps and take the win, with Hayes second and Blose third. TiLUBE/TUF Racing Honda's Jace Owen was fourth, while Sewell recovered from the crash to finish fifth.
When the field surged into the arena to start the second Main Event it was Regal who raced to the holeshot ahead of Owen and Blose, while Faith was forced to battle his way back from sixth. Despite his start outside the top five, Faith made quick moved to get into the lead pack and was fourth by the conclusion of the second lap. On Lap 4, Regal came up short on a jump in the rhythm section, allowing Owen to take over the lead. On the following lap Blose passed Regal for second and Faith followed suit moving into third.
Once in the lead, Owen settled into a comfortable pace out front and carried on to his first career AMSOIL Arenacross Main Event win. Blose endured some pressure from his teammates late, but held on for second. Faith briefly lost control of third to Hayes on Lap 13, but retook the spot to grab the final spot on the podium. Hayes settled for fourth, with Lamay fifth.
Earlier in the evening Blose (3-2) took his second straight RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge win and the additional championship bonus point moved him into a tie with Faith (1-3) in the overall classification. As a result a tiebreaker was needed to determine the overall winner and by virtue of his second-place finish in the second Main Event, Blose was awarded the win over Faith, who finished third in the second Main Event. Owen's big win helped him finish third overall (4-1), with Hayes fourth (2-4) and Sewell fifth (5-6).
"I definitely feel good and the bike is awesome right now. I struggled a little in the second Main Event but I made it work," said Blose. "Everyone was riding really well but I was able to hold them off. If I can keep riding like this it would definitely make winning this championship much easier."
As a result of the tie in points for the night, Blose maintained his two-point lead in the Race to the Championship standings over Faith. Owen moved up into third, nine points out of the lead, with Hayes fourth (-11) and Sewell fifth (-18).
The start of the 15-lap Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event saw Edler in front of Shawnee Motor Company/Justified Cultures KTM's Cheyenne Harmon, last night's winner, and TZR/Woodstock KTM's Scott Zont for the holeshot. The top two riders in the championship standings, Team DirtBike Mike/KTM Sports Center of Little Rock KTM's Ben Nelko and TZR/Woodstock KTM's Cody VanBuskirk, started in sixth and seventh, respectively.
Zont was able to slip by Harmon for second early, with Thousand Oaks/Elusive Graphics Yamaha's Blake Green following into third. Green moved into the runner-up spot just after crossing the line on Lap 3, dropping Zont to third. On the following lap Green crashed out of second, handing the position back to Zont and putting Harmon back into podium contention. Harmon paced Zont for a couple laps before making the pass for the position on Lap 6. A hard-charging VanBuskirk then seized the moment to pass his teammate for third.
Edler took the first win of his pro career with a near-perfect Main Event, while Harmon followed up his win on Friday night with a runner-up finish. VanBuskirk rounded out the overall podium in third, followed by DrivenMX/MEPMX KTM's Jared Lesher in fourth and MX Athletics KTM's Carlen Gardner in fifth.
"I've been riding really well, but I just couldn't put it all together," said Edler. "Tonight I got a good start and rode my own race. It was good." VanBuskirk's podium result, combined with a sixth-place finish by Nelko, moved the Team DirtBike Mike rider into the points lead. He now has a one-point lead over Nelko, while Harmon sits third, nine points back.
The second round of the Race to the Championship will take place next weekend with AMSOIL Arenacross' inaugural visit to Salinas, California. The race from Salinas Sports Complex will be a special one, serving as the first ever Sunday afternoon race on April 10th. Racing kicks off at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET.
Arenacross Class Results - Main Event 1
1. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
2. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
3. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki
4. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda
5. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
6. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna
7. Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, S.C., Husqvarna
8. Jon Ames, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha
9. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
10. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM
Arenacross Class Results - Main Event 2
1. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda
2. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki
3. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
4. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
5. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda
6. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
7. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna
8. Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna
9. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM
10. Jon Ames, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha
Arenacross Class Overall Results (Main Event Results)
1. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (3-2)
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1-3)
3. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (4-1)
4. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (2-4)
5. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (5-6)
6. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna (6-7)
7. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (14-5)
8. Jon Ames, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha (8-10)
9. Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna (12-8)
10. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM (10-9)
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results (Bonus Points)
1. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (2 points)
2. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (1 point)
3. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1 point)
4. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (1 point)
5. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (1 point)
6. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (1 point)
7. Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna (1 point)
8. Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, S.C., Husqvarna (1 point)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
1. Stone Edler, Destrehan, La., Yamaha
2. Cheyenne Harmon, Colleyville, Texas, KTM
3. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
4. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM
5. Carlen Gardner, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM
6. Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM
7. Dave Ginolfi, Midvale, Utah, Kawasaki
8. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
9. Dillon Cloyed, Papillion, Neb., Honda
10. Blake Green, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha
Race to the Championship Standings
1. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki - 68 (3 Main Event Wins)
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki - 66 (7 Main Event Wins)
3. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda - 59 (1 Main Event Win)
4. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki - 57 (8 Main Event Wins)
5. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM - 50 (5 Main Event Wins)
6. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda - 46 (2 Main Event Wins)
7. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna - 45
8. Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna - 36
9. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM - 15
10. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 1
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Standings
1. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM - 86 (1 Main Event Win)
2. Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM - 85 (2 Main Event Wins)
3. Cheyenne Harmon, Colleyville, Texas, KTM - 77 (1 Main Event Win)
4. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM - 63
5. Carlen Gardner, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM - 58
6. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM - 57
7. Dave Ginolfi, Midvale, Utah, Husqvarna - 56
8. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM - 50
9. Brandon Marley, McEwen, Tenn., KTM - 29
10. Dillon Cloyed, Papillion, Neb., Honda - 26
