Bowers Dominates En Route to Ninth Overall Win During Night One in Hidalgo, Now Leads Race to the Championship

2014-03-15 15:59
The penultimate round of the AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, season marked the championship’s first visit to Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and State Farm Arena on Friday night. With just three races remaining in the Race to the Championship, the drama on the track intensified with Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis rider Tyler Bowers sweeping the Arenacross Class Main Events to capture his ninth overall victory of the season and take over the points lead. In the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class, Frontier Lubricants KTM’s Daniel Blair captured his fourth win of the season and his second of the Western Regional Championship.

Bowers began the first Arenacross Class Main Event of the night by grabbing the early lead with the PBR/TiLube/TUF Racing Honda duo of Jacob Hayes and Kyle Regal in tow. Bowers and Hayes opened a slight gap over Regal, which allowed Hayes to make a pass for the lead on Lap 5, successfully edging out Bowers at the line, but losing the spot just a short time later. Although he was tested early on, Bowers never faltered once back in the lead and took the win over Hayes, with Regal in third. Race to the Championship leader Zach Ames endured a challenging beginning aboard his Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki machine. Ames was forced to transfer into the Main Event through the Last Chance Qualifer, started the Main Event in 11th, and was only able to fight his way to a ninth-place finish.

Bowers selected the inversion for the second Main Event, picking eight and inverting half of the field.

Out of the gate for the second Main Event, it was Bowers once again assuming the early lead with Hayes and Regal on his rear fender. This time, Ames got a better start and slotted himself into fourth. Just like the first Main Event, Bowers and Hayes ran close the entire race. The pair swapped quick lap times throughout, but Hayes was unable to mount a challenge. Bowers took the checkered flag nearly a second ahead of Hayes, while Regal was able to maintain possession of third for the entire Main Event. Ames followed in fourth.

Bowers’ fourth 1-1 sweep of the season easily earned him the overall after leading 29 of 30 Main Event laps. Hayes finished second (2-2), while Regal put both TUF Honda riders on the overall podium in third (3-3). Ames’ 9-4 results landed him sixth overall.

Earlier in the evening, Hayes earned an additional championship bonus point by edging out Bowers in Head-to-Head Bracket Racing.

With Bowers’ ninth win of the season, he overcame a three-point deficit to Ames in the Race to the Championship and now carries a nine-point lead over his teammate into the second night of action. Hayes’ additional bonus points in the Head-to-Head Bracket Racing also helped moved him into a tie with Ames for second, which Ames currently holds by virtue of better finishes this season.

Blair opened the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event by edging out Team Faith/FLY Racing KTM’s Kelly Smith, who was in search of his fourth consecutive victory. The duo established a blistering pace in the opening portion of the 18-lap Main Event, which allowed them to comfortably battle out front for the lead, while TJ’s KTM rider Tyler Livesay asserted himself into podium position in third. On Lap 8, TZR/Woodstock KTM’s Josh Struebig crashed, which brought out a red flag and halted the race. The field lined up single file for a restart and when racing resumed, Blair and Smith again opened a gap on their competitors. AJ Oilfield Services Kawasaki’s Gray Davenport slipped past Livesay for third to cement his spot on the podium. Smith pressured Blair throughout the remainder of the race, with mere tenths of a second separating the two, but Blair held on to win by just under a second. Davenport followed in third.

By virtue of his podium effort, Davenport took over the Western Regional points lead and now holds a slim two-point lead over BWRengines.com Honda’s Kyle White, who finished eighth. BWRengines.com Honda’s Maxx Malatia sits in third, six points out of the lead.

The inaugural Hidalgo stop of AMSOIL Arenacross continues tomorrow with a second night of action inside State Farm Arena. Racing begins at 8 p.m. ET.
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 1

Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 2

Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki
Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM
Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM

Arenacross Class Results – Overall (Main Event Finishes)

Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki (1-1)
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Honda (2-2)
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda (3-3)
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki (5-6)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (7-5)
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki (9-4)
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (6-10)
Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki (12-7)
Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki (10-9)
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (4-16)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results

1. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
2. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM
3. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki
4. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
5. Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM
6. Maxx Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda
7. Tyler Livesay, Floresville, Texas, KTM
8. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda
9. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., Honda
10. Cheyenne Harmon, Olivia, Texas, KTM

Arenacross Class Race to the Championship (Race 4 of 6)

Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki – 124
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki – 115
Jacob Hayes, Greensboro, N.C., Honda – 115
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda – 91
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki – 83
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM – 82
Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki – 80
Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki – 79
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM – 79
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki – 69

Arenacross Class Points (Race 17 of 19)

Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM – 284
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 136
Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Kawasaki – 116
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 109
Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda – 98
Jeff Gibson, Pataskala, Ohio, Honda – 90
Robby Marshall, Stow, Mass., KTM – 85
Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 75
Keith Tucker, Fuquay Varina, N.C., Yamaha – 57
Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki – 55
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 8 of 10)

1. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki – 99
2. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda – 97
3. Maxx Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda – 93
4. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 83
5. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM – 69
6. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 67
7. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM – 47
8. Brian Alquist, LaGrange, Calif., KTM – 33
9. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda – 32
10. Josh Struebig, Crown Point, Ind., KTM – 29

The entire AMSOIL Arenacross season will air on FOX Sports 1, including re-airs on FOX Sports 2.
Live timing and scoring from each round of the AMSOIL Arenacross season returns for the 2014 season! To follow the intense racing action live, log onto www.Arenacross.com.

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About AMSOIL Arenacross
AMSOIL Arenacross is sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association. The AMA sanctions more amateur motorsports events than any other organization, as well as Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship. For more information about AMA-sanctioned competition events, see www.americanmotorcyclist.com/racing.

About Feld Motor Sports®
Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is the world leader in specialized arena and stadium-based motor sports entertainment. Feld Motor Sports productions include Monster Jam®, Monster Energy Supercross, AMSOIL Arenacross and Nuclear Cowboyz®. Feld Motor Sports is a division of Feld Entertainment, the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment. For more information on Feld Entertainment, visit www.feldentertainment.com.

About AMSOIL®
AMSOIL® manufactures premium synthetic lubricants for all automotive, diesel and power sports applications. AMSOIL is formulated specifically for equipment life, maximum power and optimal all-weather performance and have been tested and proven for over 40 years and billions of miles of service. For more information on AMSOIL, visit www.amsoil.com or www.amsoilracing.com.

About the American Motorcyclist Association
Since 1924, the AMA has protected the future of motorcycling and promoted the motorcycle lifestyle. AMA members come from all walks of life, and they navigate many different routes on their journey to the same destination: freedom on two wheels. As the world's largest motorcycling rights organization, through member clubs, promoters and partners, the AMA sanctions more motorsports competition and motorcycle recreational events than any other organization in the world. AMA advocates for motorcyclists' interests in the halls of local, state and federal government, the committees of international governing organizations, and the court of public opinion. AMA members receive money-saving discounts from dozens of well-known suppliers of motorcycle services, gear and apparel, bike rental, transport, hotel stays and more. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, the AMA honors the heroes and the heritage of motorcycling for future generations. For more information, please visit www.americanmotorcyclist.com.

Source: Feld Motor Sports

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