AUSTIN, Texas (March 28, 2015) – The second round of the playoff-inspired, season-ending Race to the Championship on Saturday night produced some of the wildest action of the season as AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, visited Frank Erwin Center. While his path to victory wasn’t easy, Texas resident and Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing rider Kyle Regal was able to emerge with his class-leading fifth overall win of the season in front of the hometown crowd and reclaim the top spot in the Race to the Championship. In the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class, Motosport.com/Haeseker Racing KTM’s Daniel Blair earned a dominant win to extend his lead in the championship.
Race to the Championship Broadcast Alert:
Last weekend’s race in New Orleans premieres on FOX Sports 1
this Sunday, March 29, at 6:00 a.m. PDT / 9:00 a.m. EDT
Austin Race Photos
Austin Race Highlights
Interview with Austin Third-Place Finisher Bobby Kiniry
Regal set the stage for his triumphant effort in the first Arenacross Class Main Event. The Husqvarna rider took the lead out of the gate ahead of Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Chris Blose, the Race to the Championship leader coming into Austin, and ThermoTec/FMC Racing Yamaha’s Bobby Kiniry. The pace of Regal and Blose was exceptional and while they were able to stay mere bike lengths from one another, Kiniry slowly lost touch and asserted himself into third.
Things remained the same until Lap 12, when Regal made incidental contact with Slaka Wear KTM’s Steven Mages as he went to put him a lap down. The contact occurred right before the finish, causing Regal to miss the jump and taking Mages to the ground on the face of the jump. As Mages went down he made contact with Blose, who was about a half-second behind Regal, and as a result, ended up damaging Blose’s header pipe, forcing him out of the race with three laps remaining.
While Regal lost some time to Kiniry, who took over second, he was still able to race to a comfortable win. Team Babbitt’s Jacob Hayes made an impressive climb to third after starting sixth. Motosport.com/Haeseker Racing KTM’s Gared Steinke and TZR/Woodstock KTM’s Travis Sewell were part of a wild battle for a spot inside the top five involving four riders, and ultimately finished in fourth and fifth, respectively. Blose fell to 14th after recording a DNF.
Thanks to the win, Regal had the opportunity to pick the inversion for the second Main Event and with the help of the Frank Erwin Center crowd he selected the case with the number 16. Much to Regal’s dismay, the entire field would be inverted, giving him the last gate pick.
Hayes’ runner-up effort vaulted him to third in the Race to the Championship. (Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography)
Regal’s back row starting position made him vulnerable to misfortune out of the gate in the second Main Event and the Husqvarna rider went down in the first turn, completing the opening lap in 13th. Out front, Blose rebounded from his heartbreak in the first Main Event to take over the lead ahead of his Team Babbitt’s teammate Matt Goerke and Locks Racing KTM’s Jake Locks. Kiniry started in sixth, while Hayes found himself all the way down in 10th.
Blose and Goerke sat comfortably out front while Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing’s Gavin Faith moved into third. Behind them, both Hayes and Regal were on a torrid march to the front, closing in on the top five when a red flag on Lap 4 brought the Main Event to a brief halt and resulted in a staggered, single-file restart. When racing resumed, Blose, Goerke and Faith continued their battle out front while Hayes and Regal took advantage of the proximity to the front of the field to slot into fifth and sixth, behind Kiniry in fourth.
Faith began pressuring Goerke for third and made numerous pass attempts before taking an aggressive inside move before the finish line on Lap 9, which brought the two together and took both riders to the ground. As this happened, Hayes made the pass on Kiniry to jump from fifth to second. Kiniry and Regal then battled for third for a couple laps before Regal finally took control of the spot for good on Lap 11. Blose bounced back from his first Main Event hardship to take an easy win, with Hayes second and Regal third. Kiniry was fourth while Babbitt’s Online Suzuki’s Cory Green rounded out the top five. Goerke battled back to six after his crash, while Faith crossed the line in eighth.
When the overall results were tallied, Regal’s Main Event win proved to be the deciding factor, giving him a one-point edge (1-3) over Hayes in second (3-2). Kiniry’s consistency landed him third overall (2-4), with Green fourth (7-5) and Sewell fifth (5-7).
Earlier in the evening Blose and Regal did battle in the final matchup of the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge. Blose came away with the win and the additional championship bonus point helped him finish sixth overall (14-1).
Regal entered the night third in the Race to the Championship standings, but the showdown’s top seed reclaimed first place with his win. He currently sits four points ahead of Blose, who lost just one spot, and six points ahead of Hayes, who jumped from fifth to third. Kiniry is an additional point back in fourth (-7), while Goerke is fifth (-10).
A much-needed win in the second Main Event allowed Blose to lose just one spot in the Race to the Championship. (Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class points leader Blair entered Austin with a comfortable 19-point lead in the championship standings, but that didn’t keep him from laying it all on the line in the Main Event. Blair, College Hunks Hauling Junk/Spinechillers Racing KTM’s Dave Ginolfi and TZR/Woodstock KTM’s Scott Zont started the Metro PCS Blazing Fast Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event in heated contention for the top spot, but Blair was able to assert himself in the lead with Ginolfi on his rear fender. Once the top three slotted into position, the running order up front stayed the same through the entirety of the 15-lap race. Blair and Ginolfi were in a class of their own, consistently distancing themselves from Zont, and while Ginolfi was able to keep Blair honest, keeping the gap within a second or so, the points leader led every lap en route to his third Main Event win of the championship.
Blair added to his lead in the standings, which now sits at 35 points over TZR/Woodstock KTM’s Cody VanBuskirk.
Daniel Blair appears to be well on his way to the first title of his career. (Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography)
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 1
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 2
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM
Arenacross Class Results – Overall (Main Event Finishes)
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna (1-3)
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (3-2)
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha (2-4)
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (7-5)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (5-7)
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki (14-1)
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna (8-6)
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM (4-10)
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (6-11)
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM (10-8)
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki (2 points)
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna (1 point)
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (1 point)
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha (1 point)
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (1 point)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (1 point)
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (1 point)
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna (1 point)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
Jake Locks, Dixon, Calif., KTM
Clay Elliott, Buford, Ga., KTM
Brian Alquist, LaGrange, Calif., KTM
Josh Struebig, Crown Point, Ind., KTM
Bradley Lionnet, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki
Jonah Locks, Dixon, Calif., Kawasaki
Steven Lopez, Los Banos, Calif., Yamaha
Race to the Championship Standings (Race 2 of 6) (R2C Main Even Wins)
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna – 61 (1)
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki – 57 (3)
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki – 55
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha – 54
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki – 51
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna – 50
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki – 48
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM – 46
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM – 40
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM – 34
Arenacross Class Points (Race 16 of 20)
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 164
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM – 156
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda – 110
Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM – 102
Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM – 76
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 6 of 10) (Main Event wins)
Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM – 85 (3)
Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM – 50
Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM – 48
Jake Locks, Dixon, Calif., KTM – 39
Clay Elliott, Buford, Ga., KTM – 34
Josh Struebig, Crown Point, Ind., KTM – 26
Mason Wharton, Brush Prairie, Wash., Kawasaki – 24
Jason McConnell, Canonsburg, Pa., KTM – 23
Jonah Locks, Dixon, Calif., KTM – 19
Dalton Oxborrow, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki – 18
Benjamin Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM – 18
The 12th round of the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross, and the third round of the Race to the Championship, begins Saturday, April 11, with the inaugural visit to Spokane, Washington. Racing from Spokane Arena kicks off at 7 p.m. PDT / 10 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.
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