SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - AMSOIL Arenacross made its return to the Landers Center on Friday with the first of two nights of action in Southaven. Following a perfect evening in which he won both 250AX Class Main Events and the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge, current championship leader and TiLUBE/Jack Link's/TUF Racing Honda rider Jace Owen cruised to his sixth overall victory of the season. In the return of the Western Regional AX Lites Class, championship leader Ryan Breece put his Team Babbitt's/GPF/Monster Energy Kawasaki/MMCR machine atop the podium.
In the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge, the precursor to the pair of 250AX Class Main Events, Owen faced off against Rockstar Energy/OTSFF/Yamaha, in association with Cycle Trader and Rock River, rider Chris Blose. After grabbing the upper hand early, Owen fended Blose off to take the win and claim a championship bonus point.
Owen carried the momentum into the start of the first 250AX Class Main Event, leading Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki, presented by AP Design, rider Gavin Faith and Woodstock KTM's Daniel Herrlein around to complete the opening lap. The lead trio immediately settled in, with Faith mirroring the lap times of Owen and staying within striking distance. As Owen began to approach lapped riders in the later stages, his ability to navigate through the traffic allowed him to pull out a margin of nearly three seconds over Faith. From there, Owen managed his advantage and went on to claim his championship-leading ninth Main Event win of the season, 3.2 seconds ahead of Faith. Herrlein went unchallenged for third, with Blose in fourth and Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Travis Sewell in fifth.
The TiLUBE/Jack Link's/TUF Racing Honda was out front yet again to start the final 250AX Class Main Event of the evening, with Herrlein slotting into second, and Blose into third. Faith wasn't far behind in fourth. Owen pushed in the early stages of the race, but Herrlein was able to match his lap times, keeping the deficit to within 1.5 seconds. However, as they approached the tail end of the field to put riders a lap down, Owen pulled away over the final two laps to ultimately cross the finish line and clinch the overall win by 1.6 seconds over Herrlein, who posted a career-best Main Event result without facing a significant challenge from Blose in third. Faith remained fourth, while Sewell once again followed in fifth.
Owen's perfect night easily clinched the overall victory for the sixth time in 2017, further extending his lead in the championship standings. Herrlein pair of strong Main Events (3-2) earned him the best 250AX Class finish of his career in second, with Faith settling for third (2-4). Blose was fourth (4-3), while Sewell rounded out the top five (5-5).
Owen added five points to his lead in the 250AX Class standings, which now sits at 25 points over Faith with the Race to the Championship looming in just a couple weeks. Rockstar Energy/OTSFF/Yamaha's Matt Goerke, who finished sixth on Friday (6-6), remains third, 38 points out of the lead.
The second 15-lap Western Regional AX Lites Class Main Event of the season saw Breece put his Kawasaki out front early, with Kawasaki rider Samuel Redman in second and Sportland 2/TZR/Kawasaki Team Green's Scott Zont in third. Breece was able to open a half-second lead by the completion of the opening lap, while Redman came under fire from Zont, who moved into second on Lap 1. The clear track allowed Breece to build his lead over Zont, who settled into second, but the battle continued for Redman as he then battled with Woodstock KTM's Hunter Sayles for third. After a couple laps of heavy pressure, Sayles assumed control of the final podium spot on Lap 3. From there the top three riders settled into their respective positions and carried through to the finish, where Breece took the win 4.8 seconds ahead of Zont. Sayles rounded out the top three.
After entering the night with just a one-point lead in the Western Regional standings, Breece ended the evening with a six-point advantage over Sayles, who jumped from fifth to second, and DrivenMX Racing KTM's Jared Lesher, who finished fifth. Sayles and Lesher are tied for second.
AMSOIL Arenacross' action from Southaven continues tomorrow night with a second night of racing inside the Landers Center. The battle for victory gets underway at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET.
250AX Class Results - Main Event 1
1. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
3. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM
4. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha
5. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., Kawasaki
6. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., Yamaha
7. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
8. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
9. Josh Osby, Valparaiso, Ind., Kawasaki
10. Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki
250AX Class Results - Main Event 2
1. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda
2. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM
3. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha
4. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
5. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., Kawasaki
6. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha
7. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
8. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
9. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda
10. Josh Osby, Valparaiso, Ind., Kawasaki
250AX Class Overall Results (Main Event Results)
1. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (1-1)
2. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM (3-2)
3. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (2-4)
4. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha (4-3)
5. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., Kawasaki (5-5)
6. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha (6-6)
7. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki (7-7)
8. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM (8-8)
9. Josh Osby, Valparaiso, Ind., Kawasaki (9-10)
10. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (11-9)
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results (Bonus Points)
1. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (2 points)
2. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha (1 point)
3. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., Kawasaki (1 point)
4. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1 point)
5. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (1 point)
6. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM (1 point)
7. Josh Osby, Valparaiso, Ind., Kawasaki (1 point)
8. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM (1 point)
Western Regional AX Lites Class Results
1. Ryan Breece, Athol, Idaho, Kawasaki
2. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ind., Kawasaki
3. Hunter Sayles, Merrill, Wis., KTM
4. Jerry Robin, Corcoran, Minn., Yamaha
5. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM
6. Isaac Teasdale, Robbinsville, N.C., KTM
7. Nick Schnagl, Stillwater, Minn., Honda
8. Samuel Redman, Clarksville, Tenn., Kawasaki
9. Dylan Bolinger, Corona, Calif., Yamaha
10. Donny Brown, Hermitage, Tenn., Yamaha
250AX Class Championship Standings
1. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda - 286 (10 Main Event Wins)
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki - 261 (5 Main Event Wins)
3. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha - 248 (1 Main Event Win)
4. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha - 218 (1 Main Event Win)
5. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki - 215
6. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM - 192
7. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda - 187 (1 Main Event Win)
8. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM - 136
9. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., Kawasaki - 123
10. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki - 89
Western Regional AX Lites Class Championship Standings
1. Ryan Breece, Athol, Idaho, Kawasaki - 31
2. Hunter Sayles, Merrill, Wis., KTM - 25
3. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM - 25
4. Dylan Bolinger, Corona, Calif., Yamaha - 22
5. Jeramy Taylor, Canton, Ohio, KTM - 16
6. Hunter Hilton, Youngsville, La., Husqvarna - 9
7. Parker Fleming, Quinlan, Texas, Husqvarna - 5
8. Brandon Marley, McEwen, Tenn., KTM - 4
9. Miles Daniele, Clovis, Calif., KTM - 2
10. Dustin Winter, Clearwater, Kan., Yamaha - 2
