Don't expect the crowning of a Champion this weekend for Round 14 of the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross series and maybe that's what makes the "Race to the Championship" format so intriguing.
Thanks to the points reset, everyone in the Top 10 remains in contention mathematically though realistically for those in the bottom half it'll be tough to pass the leaders in points. But this is Arenacross where the front-runners early in the season went down, paving the way for someone else, who then, after a rough weekend, dropped back down in the standings and someone else took the lead.
Chris Blose led the charge after Round 9 when the "Race to the Championship" kicked in and reset the points for those in the Top 10. He swept Round 10 erasing the slim lead Kyle Regal inherited after sitting on top of the standings prior to the points reset. But three rounds later, Regal is back in command and Blose, after a rough Round 13, is in fourth-place, 15 points from first. Jacob Hayes, who after sweeping Tacoma last week, jumped from fourth to second.
So anything can happen and everyone is still in it.
If the gloves aren't off now, they'll be off on Saturday at Save Mart Center in Fresno, CA. Only five riders have Main event wins since the points reset, including three by Blose, and 45 points separate Steven Mages in 10th from Regal in first with 64 on the line for the rest of the series. Just 34 points separate 10th from third-place. Compare that to Regal's 140 point lead over the tenth-place Cory Green heading into Round 9. Now Green is in sixth-place 20 points back from Regal.
MotoSport rider Gared Steinke, who won his first career Main event in Spokane and followed up with a third-place in Tacoma, is in eighth place with 86 points just 16 from the Top 5. The Race in Fresno is "home" to him as he lives just a few hours from the track.
"He's been able to ride everyday working on his fitness, whoops and starts," said Kirk Lauerman, team manager for the MotoSport.com/Lauerman MX team. "The Top 10 guys are all so fast and without a good start it's so hard to catch up when most of them are running around the same lap times."
Lauerman said Steinke's plan for Round 14 is to nail down solid lap times, finish in the Top 4 for his Heat race which gives him a better start in the Main, and finish both Mains on the podium.
Daniel Blair
Though the West Lites Class is already wrapped up with MotoSport rider Daniel Blair holding the crown, competition seems as stiff as ever. Blair finished fourth in Tacoma thanks to a bad start where he lined up on the outside and got pushed off the track on the first turn. He did work his way from 12th to fourth but was still unhappy with the results. After taking the Championship in Spokane he said he had no plans to slow down and wanted to win out.
Arenacross Round 14 starts at 7 p.m. Saturday at Save Mart Center on the Fresno State University campus. Buy tickets online or at the box office, 2650 E. Shaw in Fresno, CA.
2015 Race to the Championship Standings
- Kyle Regal (117)
- Jacob Hayes (109)
- Matt Goerke (106)
- Chris Blose (102)
- Gavin Faith (102)
- Cory Green (97)
- Travis Sewell (92)
- Gared Steinke (86) - MotoSport rider
- Bobby Kiniry (83)
- Steven Mages (72)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points
- Daniel Blair (112)- 2015 West Lites Champion
- Jake Locks (56)
- Cody VanBuskirk (51)
- Brandon Glenn (48)
- Jason McConnell (38)
- Clay Elliott (34)
- Josh Struebig (34)
- Mason Whartom (33)
- Jonah Locks (27)
- RJ Wageman (22)
