Reshuffled Race to the Championship Field Continues Season-Ending Battle in Austin

2015-03-24 14:51
With its short six-round run, the Race to the Championship serves as the ultimate free-for-all battle, as every point and every position could potentially make or break a rider's title hopes. Last weekend AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael's Road to Supercross, began its version of the playoffs in New Orleans, pitting the top 10 riders in the championship point standings against one another. In the end Team Babbitt's Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Chris Blose swept the evening's Main Events to take over the Arenacross Class points lead for the first time since the opening round and will lead the way into the Race to the Championship's second weekend from Austin, Texas, and Frank Erwin Center on Saturday, March 28, beginning at 8 p.m. EDT/ 7 p.m. CDT/ 5 p.m. PDT.

Race to the Championship Broadcast Alert:
Last weekend's race in New Orleans premieres on FOX Sports 1
this Sunday, March 29, at 9:00 a.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT

New Orleans Photos
New Orleans Highlights
Interview with New Orleans Winner Kyle Regal



Chris Blose is back atop the AMSOIL Arenacross championship standings.
Photo: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

Blose has been one of the most formidable contenders in 2015, his first full season of AMSOIL Arenacross competition. He's had to endure injury and dramatic ups and downs en route to the Race to the Championship, but after the top 10 points were reset the opportunity was there for Blose to once again become the focal point of the title fight. After entering the Race to the Championship as the sixth seed, Blose captured the win in each Arenacross Class Main Event for the second time this season and with his perfect effort, jumped into the points lead with a three-point advantage over his Team Babbitt's teammate Matt Goerke heading into Austin.

Goerke was the runner-up in New Orleans and is the only rider in the Race to the Championship that did not change his place in the standings after the race. He remains second overall and continues to enjoy consistent success in his first full season of AMSOIL Arenacross. Goerke's ability to contend for the podium is a major reason why he's been a fixture in the championship all season and it's not a surprise that trend has continued into the most important part of the season.



Matt Goerke's consistency is keeping him in the thick of the championship battle.
Photo: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

The rider who arguably lost the most momentum in New Orleans was Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing's Kyle Regal, who entered the Race to the Championship as its top seed. Regal experienced some misfortune in each Main Event, which ultimately hindered is results, but he still emerged with a fourth-place effort to fall just two spots into third. He faces a six-point deficit coming into Austin and likely brings a chip on his shoulder after the way his night went last weekend.

Regal's TUF Racing teammate Gavin Faith jumped from seventh to fourth in the Race to the Championship after a third-place effort in New Orleans and is just an additional point behind Regal, seven points out of the lead. Rounding out the top five is a three-way tie between Team Babbitt's Jacob Hayes, ThermoTec/FMC Racing Yamaha's Bobby Kiniry and Babbitt's Online Suzuki's Cory Green, who all sit 11 points behind Blose.



Kyle Regal lost control of the points lead and will do whatever it takes to get it back in Austin.
Photo: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

Fittingly enough, each of the season's former winners - Blose, Goerke, Regal, Faith, Hayes and Kiniry - remain in the thick of the title hunt, while Green, the 10th and final seed coming into the Race to the Championship, has given his title aspirations new hope heading into Austin. Entering last weekend's start of the Race to the Championship only five points separated first from 10th. With one weekend of action completed, the difference from Blose in first to Slaka Wear KTM's Steven Mages in 10th is just 18 points, meaning the title is still anyone's to win.

With the final round of the season looming in Las Vegas on May 1, there are only five rounds remaining. The tension within the Race to the Championship field is sure to intensify with each new weekend, meaning the on-track competition will be more aggressive and dramatic than its been at any point in 2015.



A third-place finish last weekend has Gavin Faith sitting fourth in the Race to the Championship.
Photo: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

AMSOIL Arenacross' visit to Austin also signifies the stretch run of the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship. Fresh off a runner-up finish last weekend, Motosport.com/Haeseker Racing KTM's Daniel Blair has had firm control of the title fight for the majority of the season. Blair's two wins and three podium finishes have helped him build a 19-point lead over TZR/Woodstock KTM's Cody VanBuskirk.

The 11th round of AMSOIL Arenacross and the second weekend in the Race to the Championship gets underway this Saturday, March 28, inside Austin's Frank Erwin Center. Racing begins at 8 p.m. EDT/ 7 p.m. CDT /5 p.m. PDT.



Daniel Blair looks to inch closer to his first AMSOIL Arenacross Lites Class title.
Photo: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

Previous Round Results
Smoothie King Center - New Orleans, Louisiana
March 21, 2015

Arenacross Class Results - Overall (Main Event Finishes)

Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki (1-1)
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (4-2)
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna (3-5)
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna (8-4)
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (5-6)
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha (6-7)
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (2-12)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (7-8)
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM (13-3)
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM (9-9)

Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results

1. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM
2. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
3. Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki
4. Drayke Sizemore, Tamaroa, Ill., Honda
5. Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM
6. Jason McConnell, Canonsburg, Pa., KTM
7. Brian Alquist, LaGrange, Calif., KTM
8. Jake Lowry, Pearl, Miss., Kawasaki
9. Jonah Locks, Dixon, Calif., Kawasaki
10. Clay Elliott, Buford, Ga., KTM

Race to the Championship Standings

Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki - 36
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki - 33
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna - 30
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna - 29
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki - 25
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha - 25
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki - 25
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM - 23
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM - 20
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM - 18

Arenacross Class Points (Race 15 of 20)

Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM - 156
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM - 148
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 110
Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM - 102
Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM - 76

Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 10 of 11)

1. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM - 134 (2 Main Event wins)
2. Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki - 79
3. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM - 75
4. Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki - 65
5. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki - 63 (2 Main Event wins)
6. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 56
7. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM - 45
8. Dave Blanchet, Quebec, Canada, Kawasaki - 41
9. Drayke Sizemore, Tamaroa, Ill., Honda - 36
10. Darian Sanayei, Orting, Wash., Kawasaki - 35 (2 Main Event wins)

Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 5 of 10)

Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM - 69 (2 Main Event wins)
Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM - 50
Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM - 48
Jake Locks, Dixon, Calif., KTM - 26
Mason Wharton, Brush Prairie, Wash., Kawasaki - 24
Clay Elliott, Buford, Ga., KTM - 22
Dalton Oxborrow, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki - 18
Benjamin Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM - 18
Jason McConnell, , Canonsburg, Pa., KTM - 18
Tanner Moore, Auburn, Kan., KTM - 17

Tickets for each round of AMSOIL Arenacross are on sale now!

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 2015 season! To follow the intense racing action live, log onto www.Arenacross.com.
For more information on the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross season, and to purchase tickets, log on to www.Arenacross.com. For all media requests, please contact Brandon Short brandon@nextlevelsportsinc.com or 949-365-5750.

Never miss out on the latest news! For more information on AMSOIL Arenacross, please log on to www.Arenacross.com. To follow AMSOIL Arenacross on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, long on to www.facebook/com/AMAarenacross, www.twitter.com/Arenacross and www.instagram.com/Arenacross. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/ArenacrossLive.

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. Official Monster Truck Series only at Monster Jam. For more information on Feld Entertainment, visit www.feldentertainment.com.

Source: Feld Motor Sports

Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story