Ames Makes First Statement in Race to the Championship with Second Win of the Season in Tulsa

2014-03-01 23:43
AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, kicked off its Race to the Championship on Saturday night inside the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Entering the night in second, Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis rider Zach Ames took over the championship lead with his second overall victory of the season. Team Faith/FLY Racing KTM’s Kelly Smith grabbed the win in the final round of the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class.



Ames started off the night by taking over the early lead in the first 15-lap Arenacross Class Main Event, with PBR/TiLube/TUF Racing Honda’s Kyle Regal and Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers in third. On Lap 3, Bowers moved into the lead but crashed on Lap 8, allowing Ames to reclaim the position. Regal took over second, while Bowers fell to 13th. Ames held on to take the win with Regal in second, while Farmers Insurance/Reynard Mods Suzuki’s Cory Green finished third.



Ames selected the inversion for the second Main Event, picking zero.



Green capitalized on a strong start to take the lead in the second Main Event, with Regal and Ames close behind. Bowers started just outside the top five. Green paced the field for most of the race, but gave way to Ames on Lap 10. Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Colt Nichols made a strong charge into the top three halfway through the Main Event and took over second on Lap 13. In the closing two laps, Bowers also surged forward, moving from fifth to third to give the Babbitt’s squad a 1-2-3 finish.



Ames’ 1-1 effort was his most impressive outing of the season on a night when championship momentum is key. Nichols secured his best career overall result in second (4-2), while Green rounded out the podium in third (3-4). Bowers, who entered the night as the championship leader, finished sixth (13-3).



Earlier in the evening, Bowers defeated Regal to win Head-to-Head Bracket Racing, earning a valuable championship bonus point.



Ames assumes control of the Race to the Championship and is currently the points leader, holding a seven-point lead over Regal and Nichols. The pair both have 31 points, but Regal sits in second by virtue of higher finishes, while Nichols sits third. Green is in fourth, eight points out of the lead, while Bowers is fifth 12-points behind Ames.



Smith was dominant in the final Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship Main Event of the season. KMS KTM’s Dave Ginolfi started the race in second, but was never able to challenge Smith for the lead, maintaining the spot throughout to finish in the runner-up position. BWRengines.com Honda’s Maxx Malatia started the race in third, but battled with Team Faith/FLY Racing Honda’s Cheyenne Harmon for the spot early. Malatia quickly reclaimed the spot and held on to it through the remainder of the race.


AMSOIL Arenacross continues next weekend for the second round of the Race to the Championship from Albuquerque, N.M., and Tingley Coliseum for two nights of racing. Action begins next Friday, March 7th, and continued on Saturday, March 8th.

Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 1
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM
Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki
Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda

Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 2
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki
Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda
Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda

Arenacross Class Results – Overall (Main Event Finishes)
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki (1-1)
Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki (4-2)
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (3-4)
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda (2-6)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (5-9)
Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki (13-3)
Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki (9-7)
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (7-8)
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda (14-5)
Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM (8-12)

Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
1. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich, KTM
2. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
3. Maxx Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda
4. Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM
5. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
6. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., Honda
7. Josh Struebig, Crown Point, Ind., KTM
8. Jeremy Pronovost, St. Philippe, Quebec, KTM
9. Cheyenne Harmon, Olivia, Texas, Honda
10. Davey Sterritt, Athens, N.Y., KTM

Arenacross Class Race to the Championship
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki – 38
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda – 31
Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki – 31
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki – 30
Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki – 26
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM – 22
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM – 22
Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki – 21
Jacob Hayes, Greensboro, N.C., Honda – 20
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki – 15

Arenacross Class Points
Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM – 222
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 124
Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Kawasaki – 116
Jeff Gibson, Pataskala, Ohio, Honda – 90
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 89
Robby Marshall, Stow, Mass., KTM – 85
Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda – 81
Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 75
Keith Tucker, Fuquay Varina, N.C., Yamaha – 57
Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM – 47

Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 9 of 9)
1. Tony Archer, Waldorf, Md., Kawasaki – 101
2. Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM – 83
3. Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki – 69
4. Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Yamaha – 65
5. Michael Lang, Saugerties, N.Y., Honda – 41
6. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM – 36
7. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., Honda – 34
8. Jeremy Pronovost, St. Philippe, Quebec, KTM – 34
9. Keith Tucker, Furgacy-Varina, N.C., Yamaha – 33
10. Chad Wages, Frederick, Md., KTM – 28

Source: Feld Motor Sports

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