NEW ORLEANS (March 21, 2015) – The first round of the playoff-inspired, season-ending Race to the Championship of AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, fittingly featured a wild night of competition inside Smoothie King Center on Saturday night. In the end, following a pair of Arenacross Class Main Events, it was Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Chris Blose who emerged victorious with a dominant 1-1 effort to make the first statement of the Race to the Championship and take control of the point standings. In the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class, Slaka Wear KTM’s Steven Mages earned his fourth Main Event win of the season.
Broadcast Alert:
Southaven round of 2015 season premieres on FOX Sports 1
this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT
New Orleans Photos
New Orleans Highlights
Interview with New Orleans Winner Kyle Regal
While Blose was able to seize the moment and control his own destiny in New Orleans, the battle for the remaining positions in the Main Event featured wild competition, setting the stage for what is sure to be a tremendously competitive run to the championship. In the first Arenacross Class Main Event, Team Babbitt’s Jacob Hayes raced to the holeshot ahead of Blose and points leader Kyle Regal aboard his Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing machine. Blose made a quick pass on Hayes in the whoops to take the lead from his teammate. Regal made an aggressive move on Hayes for second shortly before the catapult, taking the position, but the contact between the two caused the entire field to miss the finish line jump and allowed Blose to pull away.
Blose maintained his impressive pace out front and maintained his gap over the field, which left the battle for second between Regal, Babbitt’s Online Suzuki’s Cory Green, Hayes and TUF Racing’s Gavin Faith. After Hayes was able to work his way around Green for third, he and Regal engaged in a heated battle for second. Hayes slipped past Regal heading to the line on Lap 10, and just moments later Regal encountered trouble in the whoops and went down, dropping to ninth. Blose retained control through to the checkered flag, while Hayes was able to lock in a runner-up finish. Faith claimed third with Team Babbitt’s Matt Goerke and Green rounding out the top five. Regal did his best to recover with an eighth-place effort.
Thanks to the win, Blose had the opportunity to pick the inversion for the second Main Event and relied on the assistance of the Smoothie King Center crowd to select the case with the number zero, meaning there would be no inversion heading into the second and final Main Event of the evening.
The Race to the Championship has officially begun and the Main Event was filled with all 10 contenders, sporting green backgrounds on their numbers. (Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography)
With the first gate pick to his advantage, Blose kicked off the second Main Event by grabbing the holeshot out of the gate ahead of Hayes, Regal, Goerke and Faith. As the field shuffled into place, Regal made the pass on Hayes for second before the whoops. The pass allowed Faith to make time on Hayes, who he attempted to pass with an inside line through the whoops. The two made contact, which forced Hayes to go down before the rhythm section and drop to the tail end of the 16-rider field, losing a lap in the process. That pass allowed Faith to move into third and set his sights on his teammate, Regal, in second. After making the pass on his teammate for second on Lap 5, Faith lost control in the whoops and went down, falling to eighth. Regal briefly retook control of second while Goerke moved into third.
After he and Goerke made their way around Faith, Regal then lost control of second to Goerke and soon would have to deal with Motosport.com/Haeseker Racing KTM’s Gared Steinke in fourth. Blose cruised to his second Main Event win of the night to earn the overall in definitive fashion, while Goerke followed in second. Steinke was able to make a late pass on Regal for third after the Husqvarna rider went down in the whoops on Lap 12, losing just one spot, while Faith rebounded from his earlier trouble to earn fifth.
Blose’s 1-1 effort easily gave him the overall win, while Goerke’s runner-up effort in the second Main Event helped him secure second overall (4-2). Despite his trouble in the second Main Event, Faith captured third overall (3-5).
Earlier in the evening the New Orleans crowd saw Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing teammates Regal and Faith do battle for the win in the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge. Regal outdueled his teammate in the two-lap sprint to earn a much-needed win and extra championship bonus point. As a result of that win in the Head 2 Head Challenge, Regal finished fourth overall (8-4) with Green rounding out the top five (5-6).
Regal entered the night as the points leader, but fell to third in the standings after a fourth-place finish. (Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography)
Regal entered the night as the top seed in the Race to the Championship, but Blose’s dominance allowed him to jump from sixth to first in the points. The Kawasaki rider holds a three-point lead over his Team Babbitt’s teammate Goerke, in second, and a six point lead over Regal, in third. Faith (-7) and Hayes (-11) round out the top five.
Mages took a convincing win in the Arenacross Lites Class. (Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography)
Fresh off his championship-winning effort the week prior, College Hunks Hauling Junk/Spinechillers Racing KTM’s Dave Ginolfi raced to the holeshot in the Metro PCS Blazing Fast Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event, but after a crash in his Heat Race earlier in the night left him with a sore wrist, he pulled off. That allowed Mages to take control of the race and once out front, he was able to maintain his advantage throughout the entirety of the 15-lap Main Event. Motosport.com/Haeseker Racing KTM’s Daniel Blair was impressive, overcoming an off-track excursion on the opening lap that resulted in a sixth-place start to move into podium position on Lap 1 and into the runner-up spot on Lap 2. Blair kept Mages honest, but Mages held him off for the win. Team Babbitt’s/MMCR Kawasaki’s Jacob Williamson made a pass on Sizemore’s Garage Honda’s Drayke Sizemore for third on Lap 3 and held on to the spot through to the finish.
Local legend Kevin Windham served as Grand Marshal and rode for the fans during opening ceremonies. (Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography)
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 1
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 2
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
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)
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna (2 points)
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna (1 point)
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (1 point)
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki (1 point)
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (1 point)
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM (1 point)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (1 point)
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM (1 point)
Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM
Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki
Drayke Sizemore, Tamaroa, Ill., Honda
Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM
Jason McConnell, Canonsburg, Pa., KTM
Brian Alquist, LaGrange, Calif., KTM
Jake Lowry, Pearl, Miss., Kawasaki
Jonah Locks, Dixon, Calif., Kawasaki
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)
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 134 (2 Main Event wins)
Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki – 79
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM – 75
Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki – 65
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 63 (2 Main Event wins)
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda – 56
Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM – 45
Dave Blanchet, Quebec, Canada, Kawasaki – 41
Drayke Sizemore, Tamaroa, Ill., Honda – 36
Darian Sanayei, Orting, Wash., Kawasaki – 35 (2 Main Event wins)
The 11th round of the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross, and the second round of the Race to the Championship, begins next Saturday, March 28, with the inaugural visit to Austin, Texas. Racing from Frank Erwin Center kicks off at 5 p.m. PDT / 7 p.m. CDT / 8 p.m. EDT.
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 2014 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.