Hello race fans! I can hardly believe that the 2008 Arenacross season is coming to an end. We just finished off our second to last weekend in Denver, CO. Denver is usually a crazy place to race because every racer is psyched out about the altitude, and the bike running slow. It is a hard place to keep the bikes and yourself running properly. In the mile high city it is harder to breathe, making it more difficult to push yourself all the way through the entire weekend of racing. The mechanics also have their work cut out for them, from overheating to “bogging” down lazy bikes, they go nonstop all weekend to try and figure out the best possible solution to keep both the bike and the rider happy. Needless to say the pits are a wild place to be in Denver, CO.
The dirt is really hard packed in Denver, so the dirt crew was able to make some table tops and different obstacles this weekend on the track. Mostly everyone in practice on Friday was taking the same lines, although it seemed most of the lap times were very close so predicting the outcome of the race was nearly impossible.
The Lites class was stacked with a ton of local pro Colorado riders, and they were going really fast. some of the riders that I talked to said that they are constantly struggling with the power of the bikes, but they do have a small advantage because they have the ability to breath at that altitude. The competition in the Lites class was definitely very strong. It was all about who could get a good start and who can keep their endurance going the entire main event. Colt Humphrey and Ivo Steinbergs, two of our regular Lites riders, were both the first to make it into the first turn. Colt Humphrey was riding really well but it wasn’t long before the Denver boys came charging around the track, the Meyer brothers, Travis Bannister and Kyle Calderini were all heading to the front of the pack. The rider to watch was the Suzuki/ Reynard Mods #480 Cory Green; he was trying different lines, and using the whoops to take advantage of other riders mistakes. It wasn’t long before he was up in the front of the pack. The battle now was between Cory Green and the Colorado boys, especially #809 Kyle Calderini. There were only two laps left of the 18 lap main event and Cory Green was going for the win, but there was lapped traffic ahead, and Cory Green took the worst part of it. Coming into the second part of the rhythm section a lapped rider jumped right into Cory’s line and pushed him into the hay bales. He went down and unfortunately could not get back up in time to remain on the podium. It was an action packed race and Kyle Calderini went to the lead, Travis Bannister took home 2nd and Colt Humphrey took the final spot on the Lites podium.
Once again the Freestyle team took over the show between the two main events, Team Faith riders and their special guest Jeff Banks were catching some serious air and winning over the crowd with their exciting performance. At the end of the freestyle exhibition the boys do a train of jumps, where one takes off does a trick and the other takes off when the first one is landing. Jeff Banks was the final jumper and he pulled off a sick back flip. The crowd was definitely in shock and requested one more jump! Great performance by Team Faith and special guest Jeff Banks!!
The Arenacross boys were on the line, and the tension was running high. Kelly Smith was only 30 points behind the championship point’s leader Chad Johnson. With Denver being the second to last stop on the tour it was extremely important to gain championship points before time runs out. So the bikes were revved up on the gate and out they charged into the first corner. Kevin Johnson, Keith Johnson and Kelly Smith were all out front early. Kevin Johnson was blocking as best he could to try and not let his older brother Keith take over the race. Keith was showing him some wheel but Kevin was not giving in, so Keith finally just went inside of Kevin and passed him like he would anyone else on the track. Keith took over the lead Kevin and Kelly were right there behind him. Chad Johnson started a little towards the back-mid pack and was charging hard to get to the front. But soon Kelly Smith saw the opportunity to pass Keith Johnson for the lead and off he went. Kelly Smith was out front and soon he began to pull away, Keith and Kevin both were still running 2nd and 3rd. Kelly hung on the entire race and gained some points on the championship chase. Keith Johnson ended the night in 2nd and Kevin Johnson was the 3rd place finisher, and the point’s leader Chad Johnson finished up 4th. Great racing in Denver and there was still one night left.
Saturday was an amazing day outside in Denver, it was unseasonably warm at 76* F on the first day of March. We were all soaking up the sun and getting ready for another night of Arenacross action!! The riders looked great and the track had been changed up a little from Friday night trying to make it a little less one lined. It made for some more exciting passes and action on the track!
The Lites class once again was dominated by the local Colorado pros and they were coming out charging. Travis Bannister was going really fast in his heat taking the win; he said his bike was finally feeling better on the track. Another guy to mention was Kurt McCabe Ti-Lube/ Moto XXX team rider was taking the holeshot almost every race and running away with it. When the gate dropped for the Main event the riders all jumped out of the gate and into the whoops. Travis Bannister and Colt Humphrey were out to an early lead, with Kurt McCabe and the other Colorado boys. Travis Bannister began to charge forward and take off with the lead, but then his buddy Kyle Calderini came from behind and gave Bannister some company. Kurt McCabe and some others got tangled up in the corner between the rhythm sections giving Bannister and Calderini even more of a lead. Calderini and Bannister were both running a fast pace, but Calderini decided to go in for a block pass on Bannister and took over the lead, Bannister answered back giving him a little slam and took back the lead. Calderini decided to stay back and keep himself safe. When Bannister’s bike started to have problems in the whoops, he went down at the end of the whoops and Calderini took over the lead! Hunter Meyer also moved up a position to second and his little brother Rustin Meyer went into 3rd. All the Colorado boys with the exception of Bannister were out front and taking home the Arenacross Lites class trophies in Denver. So they finished up Calderini, Hunter Meyer and Rustin Meyer! Great race for the Denver crowd to see their hometown pros take home the top three trophies! Also congratulations to Colt Humphrey finishing up the Arenacross Lites Regional West Coast Championship taking home the West Coast #1 plate!
Brock Sellards and Teddy Maier both won the Heat races in the Arenacross class, getting the first two gate picks of for the Arenacross Class main event. Kevin Johnson had to go to the LCQ due to some bike problems in his Heat race. But it was no problem for him to take the win out of the LCQ and into the Main Event. Bikes were on the line and the Toyota Certified Used Vehicle holeshot was on everyone’s mind. First one to the holeshot line takes the check and is the first leader of the race. It was the Monster Energy/ Team Babbitt’s Kawi of Brock Sellards to the line and out front, but there was a 7 rider pile up in the first turn, with Kurt McCabe slamming into the wall, and several others going down with him, including Keith Johnson, Robbie Reynard, Teddy Maier and a ton of the other top riders. It was crazy to see how many guys went down. But Brock Sellards, Chad Johnson, Gray Davenport and Kevin Johnson all kept out of the carnage and into the front of the race. Kelly Smith also had some bad luck coming into the whoops in the hair pin turn he stalled his bike, and couldn’t get it started right away; he was in the back of the pack! Brock and Chad had a great battle going on, Chad went to the inside of Brock and took over the lead, but Brock was not quick to give up, after a lap or so Brock came to the inside of Chad and knocked him right out of his way, took back over the lead. Chad didn’t go down so I figured he would answer back to Brocks pass, but he didn’t really have the opportunity and it was probably better for him to ride smart and stay up front to gain more points toward the Championship. Brock started jumping through the whoops and pulling away from Chad and Gray Davenport. It was a great race, Davenport started getting close to Chad Johnson then Chad would pull away and get close to Brock and Kevin Johnson sat back in 4th place trying to stay patient and wait for his move. Brock stayed out front for the remainder of the Main event, taking home the first place trophy, the Toyota Certified Used Vehicle holeshot check, and the Toyota Certified Used Vehicle $250 gas card. The 2nd place finisher was the points leader Chad Johnson and taking the final spot on the podium was Gray Davenport. Kelly Smith finished the race back in 6th place giving Chad the chance to earn back the points he lost toward the 2008 Championship.
The final round of Arenacross is March 14-16 in Green Bay, so we have one weekend off next week and then we will finish off the 2008 series. The Championship is still separated by only 30 points between Chad Johnson and Kelly Smith; there are 50 points up for grab in the final weekend, so anything can happen in Green Bay. It is going to be another championship chase to the final lap of the final round in the Toyota AMA Arenacross tour; we have the most incredible racing. I would like to send my thoughts and prayers out the my good buddy Cory Green, he took a hard crash in practice on Saturday and broke his right femur, he went into surgery to get a rod put in and should be able to ride again in a couple months. Keep him in your thoughts and wish him a speedy recovery!
We also had a special appearance once again this weekend in Denver Coliseum; Jeremy McGrath is becoming a regular at the Toyota AMA Arenacross series! The crowd was so surprised to see him, and the energy was unbelievable! I am so excited about the way the series is going and developing in to such an amazing production! Don’t forget the series has started on Speed so make sure to check the schedule. We will see everyone in Green Bay for the final weekend of the series! Have a safe week off, keep it on two wheels and don’t forget your smiles!
XOXO
Ashley
