A three-way points battle is brewing in the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross series as riders make an all-out push to remain in the Top 10 before the "Race to the Championship" rounds commence.
Round 8 in Council Bluffs, IA should help mix things up with two Motos each on Friday and Saturday which can easily make or break a season with just one round remaining before the points reset for those who clinch their way into the Championship rounds.
Discounting any further crashes, which is hard to do in Arenacross, Jacob Hayes, Matt Goerke and Kyle Regal, 1-2-3 in the standings, are within less than 10 points of each other, and will compete for the #1 position to start the "new" season in Round 10. Just one point separates Hayes and Goerke and the three combined have 11 Main event wins between them.
Another battle involves the fourth- through seventh-place positions are within 22 points of each other and less than 10 points separate seventh-place Chris Blose from fifth-place Steve Mages. Finally, the last three positions, which includes MotoSport rider Gared Steinke, are within seven points of each other. Cory Green, in 11th place is nearly 30 points back.
Gared Steinke - Photo: Mike Vizer
Though points are reset for the Top 10 riders it's not an across the board wiping out. The rider in first-place begins the "Race to the Championship" with six points, second place gets five points, third and fourth place start with four points, fifth and sixth get three points, seventh and eighth get two points and ninth and 10th starts with one point.
Entering the "Race" with as many points as possible can be crucial to a Championship run with just six rounds in the chase. Steinke started 10th last year and finished the season in eighth just 13 points from landing in the Top 5.
Rolling into Iowa is a hot Goerke who won the overall last week and closed the points gap to one against his teammate Hayes. Regal is a consistent podium threat and with three wins on the season can easily get into the #2 or even the #1 spot with solid racing on Friday and Saturday.
Steinke had one of his best rounds of the season in Kansas City with a seventh overall which helped put him in ninth-place just five from Gavin Faith, who has three wins this season but a couple of crashes that kept him out of same races and missing valuable points.
"I'm feeling confident for this weekend's race. I got to ride twice during the week and also got to spend a day in the gym," Steinke said. "I also practiced over 25 starts to improve on those."
Daniel Blair - This and top photo: AMSOIL Arenacross
The stop in Iowa marks the second-straight round for the West Lites class where MotoSport.com/Lauerman MX Race team rider Daniel Blair leads the field with 41 points. Blair started the West Lites series with a third-place finish and a win. Last week he settled for sixth-place but the Top 3 riders did not garner points as they compete in the East Lites class. Regardless, Blair only leads Brandon Glenn by five.
"I worked my ass off this week," Blair said. "I'm not satisfied with anything except wins from here on out. I'm focused 100 percent on starts."
Arenacross Round 8 starts at 7 p.m. Friday and continues with two more Motos at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Mid-America Center. Buy tickets online or at the box office, One Arena Way in Council Bluffs, IA.
Arenacross Class Points
- Jacob Hayes (259)
- Matt Goerke (258)
- Kyle Regal (250)
- Bobby Kiniry (212)
- Steven Mages (199)
- Travis Sewell (198)
- Chris Blose (190)
- Gavin Faith (163)
- Gared Steinke (158) - MotoSport rider
- Willy Browning (156)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points
- Daniel Blair (41) - MotoSport rider
- Brandon Glenn (36)
- Cody VanBuskirk (26)
- Mason Wharton (17)
- Chase Marquier (13) - MotoSport rider
- Jake Locks (13)
- Travis Bannister (12)
- Josh Struebig (12)
- Dalton Oxborrow (11)
- Clay Elliott (11)
