Hello race fans! We are back to Arenacross racing after a week off. I was very lucky to get the chance to go to Jamaica for the week.  It was everything I imagined, and more. Crystal clear warm water, amazing white beaches, and 85 degrees!! It was very relaxing, and a lot of fun.  I was sad to leave but I was also excited that we were still in the middle of a championship arenacross series and with the points the closest they have been all year as we headed to Pikeville, KY.

Pikeville, KY is a small town east of the West Virginia border. There is no airport in Pikeville, so we had to fly into Huntington, WV and drive just about 2hours to downtown Pikeville.  From the moment we landed I noticed how incredibly nice and friendly the people are in Huntington. The town was full of Mom and Pop stores and restaurants; the arena was the biggest building in town. 
The dirt was soft so the track was modified to work with the dirt. No whoops, more like rollers, and a small but challenging rhythm section. I like watching the ruts because it usually makes for some unexpected mistakes and really good racing. The track did however seem to hold up very well throughout practice, a lot better than I was expecting! The championship chase was only separated by 9 points between Kelly Smith in 2nd and Chad Johnson in 1st.  So the racing was sure to be exciting between the close points and the soft dirt.

Pikeville was part of the Arenacross Lites East coast region, with Tyler Bright in the points lead and Dave Ginolfi in 2nd. But anyone can race the class, as long as you are not in the top 8 of the Arenacross Class, so there were a lot of riders that could change the results of the East Coast championship. But Tyler Bright was riding really well; he looked comfortable in the whoops and charged easily through the track. Gray Davenport and Cory Green also looked really good in the ruts, both winning their heat races, trying different lines than other riders.  The holeshot went to Tyler Bright and he was on a mission. Gray Davenport also got a good start, but Ginolfi and the others were mid-pack. Cory Green was actually able to work through the pack and started to gain on both Gray and Tyler. Tyler was still out front and was making hardly any mistakes. But 18 laps made for a long Lites main event, with ruts as deep as their foot pegs in every corner. The lap traffic was very bad for the guys out front, but Tyler knew what he had to do to secure the championship and led all 18 laps and came out on top of the podium again! Gray Davenport finished 2nd and Cory Green 3rd.  The track had got rough and there were riders down all over, it was a good race to watch! 

Brock Sellards and Chad Johnson both won their heat races in the Arenacross class on Friday night.  The track was going to get really deep ruts in 25 laps of the Arenacross Main. Brock Sellards got the holeshot and a check from Toyota Certified Used Vehicles, with Travis Sewell and Chad Johnson right behind him. Kelly Smith got around a 9th place start and was going to have to work his way through the crowd in order to keep the gap close for the championship. It didn’t take Chad long to get passed Travis Sewell and on the rear wheels of Brock’s Kawasaki. You could see Chad trying to find the right place to go for the pass, and it finally happened in the tight right hand turn to the straight. It was a smart pass by Chad; you could tell that Brock was frustrated. Travis Sewell also found himself in trouble when he shot off the track out of the sweeper corner; he was in 3rd before it happened too! So Teddy Maier took over 3rd with Gray Davenport on his tail.  Teddy made a mistake and Gray took over the 3rd place spot. In the end Chad Johnson came over the finish in 1st, Brock took 2nd and Gray with one of his best finishes of the year in 3rd. Kelly Smith worked his way back to 4th only losing about 10 points to Chad. But Chad felt a little better with a little more breathing room for Saturday night’s race in Pikeville.

Friday night’s races were great races as usual, but Saturday night always has a different feel to it no matter what. The crowd is always more into the show and the races. The riders are all pumped up from Friday night’s races and of course the energy is passed throughout the building making the races that much more exciting. During opening ceremonies when we talked to the top three riders, it seemed like Kelly and Brock were really psyched for the race.  It was time to go racing!

The Lites heat races again were won by Gray Davenport and Cory Green. Tyler Bright almost had to go to the LCQ, he got an terrible start in the heat and he almost didn’t have enough laps to make it to the front of the pack before the heat was over. He luckily made it to the final transfer spot in 7th. Tonight was the night that Tyler had to make sure and finish towards the front of the pack to secure his East Coast region championship. When the gate dropped for the main, the Kawasaki of Gray Davenport jumped out front with the holeshot, Ginolfi in 2nd and Cory Green in 3rd.  Gray was definitely riding a lot of difficult lines, but Ginolfi made it by Davenport and took over the lead. Davenport ended up falling over, and Cory Green took over 2nd. Cory kept Ginolfi honest for a while before passing him and taking over the lead. Davenport was charging hard through the pack and worked his way back up to about 4th. Tyler Bright was towards the back, with his back row start, but he was not giving up! He charged his way past riders left and right. Cory Green made it through lappers better than Friday night and held onto the lead the remainder of the race. He was smiling and happy with his finish and his ride. Gray Davenport made his way back to 2nd right behind Cory with a really good race; he crashed and still came back to 2nd! Tyler also charged his way to the podium, and also the East Coast Lites Region #1 plate! Tyler Bright got the call last week to take over in place of the injured Jeff Alessi in Supercross, so he will be starting off next week in Atlanta at Supercross! I am excited for him but I will miss him and wish him the best of luck!

Brock Sellards and his Babbitt’s Monster Kawi came out for his heat race on fire! He was riding really aggressive and trying new stuff. You could tell he was frustrated from letting Chad pass him for first on Friday night. He was trying new lines and figuring out exactly what he had to do for the main.  Tommy Hofmaster took a hard fall in the first turn of that heat race, almost taking out Cory Green with him. Both would have to go to the LCQ. Chad Johnson won the 2nd heat race, again. It almost looked like a repeat of Friday night qualifiers. It was a stressful night for the Suzuki rider Robbie Reynard, while his bike was being warmed up the motor stopped working.  They had to somehow change the motor within 15 minutes so he could make it to the line for the 2nd heat race. It was great to see other mechanics helping Robbie’s dad, as they scrambled to get the bike fixed. Somehow they got it changed and he was on the line for the 2nd heat race.

The track crew did a ton of work between the lites main and the Arenacross main, making the track perfect for the start. When the bikes lined up, everyone took a deep breath and the gate dropped. Brock was on the inside of a lot of the riders, but instead of getting the holeshot like Friday he went in a little too aggressive, he took himself, his teammate Kelly Smith and several other riders down and off the track in the first turn. Chad survived and was out front along with Gray Davenport and Kevin Johnson. Kelly Smith was in dead last the first couple of laps looking down at his bike several times, he was having bike problems but knew there was no way he could afford to pull off the track. Gray Davenport went faster than Chad through the whoops and took over the lead, it wasn’t long before Chad used his arenacross skills and took back over the lead.  Kevin was riding a lot better in the ruts than he has before, he ended up taking over 2nd and Teddy Maier took over 3rd. Gray Davenport was now back in 4th.  Chad rode a solid 25 laps and made the win look easy, Kevin Johnson was pumped to take 2nd, and Teddy Maier took the final podium spot in 3rd. Gray Davenport was the Toyota Certified Used Vehicles holeshot winner, but ended up 4th overall.  Chad Johnson took his 7th win of the season, and also expanded his points lead by 33 points to Kelly Smith, giving him a little bit more breathing room for the last 3 stops!

Next week, the Arenacross series heads to both Sacramento, CA and Greensboro, NC for a Saturday night only race weekend. I will be in Sacramento for the race, but I know there is going to be some top riders who will go to Greensboro for that round. We only have 3 more rounds until the final 2 rounds in Green Bay on March 14-16. So we are getting down to the wire with the championship!! I cannot wait to see what is going to happen. If you are around Sacramento this weekend I encourage you to come to the race on Saturday, and if you do please stop by and say hi! Also set your reminders that the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series starts on the Speed February 24th. Don’t miss it! I wish everyone a safe and fun week, can’t wait to see you at the races!

XOXO
Ashley Miss Arenacross