Arenacross Tour, Round 9
Story and photos by Steve Bruhn

“Lewis Wins Finale, Thompson is Champion in Close Race for Title”
February 27, 2010; Jackson, MS-

The Bomb Squad's Colton Moore does a "Rock Solid" in Jackson.

Jase Lewis makes it look easy...

The Arenacross Tour wrapped up its 2009/2010 season in Jackson, MS, with another strong performance by Jase Lewis for the win, and a tie in points for the Clash for Cash champion between Justin Thompson and Cameron Stone. The final decision on who would be champion and get a $1,500 cash bonus came down to who had the most second-place finishes, and that meant Justin Thompson would take the top honor.  

The final round filled the stands at the Kirk Fordice Equine Center in Jackson, and rider turnout was heavy. Many didn’t want to miss the series award banquet the following day (separate story to follow).

The Bomb Squad ATV freestyle team was back again to finish the show. Colton Moore took care of the backflips, and Dylan Mason’s part got cut short when his engine crapped out during the show.

The father-son relay race was a lot of fun, but the best race of the night had to be Quad Pro, when Wesley Holifield got stuck on the gate and had to get past both Nathan Hibbs and Kevin Day to win it, and it wasn’t easy.

Moore (#107) is trying to get around Hibbs (#88) but he's not having any luck.

Finally Moore hucks the triple and passed Hibbs in the air!

In the next turn, they get stuck, and Day (#77) almost gets by.

Holifield got past Day pretty quick, but he was all over Hibbs and just couldn’t get around him. They would rub tires in the turns, but Hibbs took good lines and held the lead for several laps. Finally, with about a lap to go, a frustrated Holifield went wide in the turn before the triple and pinned it, passing Hibbs in the air and making it to the next turn first for the lead. In the very next turn, just before the finish double Hibbs ran into Holifield’s ATV, and the two sat there stuck in the middle of the track, looking at each other while Day nearly got by both of them. Holifield got loose just in time, and led the last lap and took the win.  

Show opening for the last round.

One of the more fun finishes was in Vet Plus 25, when “Stormin” Norman Hall won the series, and stopped by the stands to celebrate, toss his gloves to the cheering crowd, then he tossed them his chest protector! (Rumors were that they tossed it back, but this is unconfirmed.)

Jase Lewis won both of his earlier motos, going 1-1 in AX Pro, so he was ready for a repeat in the Clash for Cash. Johnny Marley went 1-1 in AX Pro Lites.

Marley wins the Ax Lites Pro motos.

Going into the Clash for Cash, the last race of the series that decides the series champion, Justin Thomson led by just 4 points over Cameron Stone. To take the title, Stone would have to win and Thompson get 3^rd or lower, or he would have to finish three spots ahead of him, since 2^nd through 5^th have a 2 point spread in points.

That set the stage for an interesting Clash for Cash, which was both a race for money (with Lewis undefeated in the 3 rounds he participated in so far), and a race for the title.

Lewis took care of the race for money part. He got the jump off the gate and nailed the holeshot, and left the pack in the whoops after the first turn. He just checked out and no one caught him. Thompson was second in the beginning, with Stone close behind. Marley got a bad start, with Jason Perry, Ronnie Ramsical, and Justin Clapp in between him and the leaders.  

With Thompson’s mind on the title, he slipped to third behind Stone, and eventually Marley charged up to third, and then he got past Thompson as well.

Lewis won, Stone was 2nd, Marley 3rd, and Thompson 4^th. That left the title score a tie. The tie breaker came down to who had the most second-place finishes, and Thompson has three to Stone’s two, It was that close!

Profiles:

Thompson is the 2009/2010 Arenacross Tour Champion, and he noted that the series was this close before.. “It’s been three years,” he said after the final race, “Three years ago I tied with Johnny in the points chase and he had more victories, this year it was the same thing. I had a good points lead going in 2 rounds ago and had a little trouble, a lapper incident. [This year] I thought 9 rounds was going to be better the way it started out, but I think a couple more would have been better. It came down to the last round again. We were close in points. I don’t like doing that. I knew I would be OK as long as I stayed where I was. I knew I had more seconds. I didn’t want to win that way.”

Thompson admitted he wasn’t at his best in the Clash for Cash because he was thinking about the title. “Honestly when I got on the track, it was like I never rode a dirt bike before,” he said, “I rode loose during the day then in the Clash I rode tight. I guess the pressure got to me. I had the math done last night. I knew what I had to do. I wanted to win straight up and have a couple points lead, but a win is a win. I won it 4 or 5 years ago and after that, Johnny [Marley] has won it three years in a row. I won it again this year. It was close for a couple of years there.”

Thompson will be back next year, either as defending champion/track builder, or maybe just as track builder. “I’m debating whether to ride,” he said, “I will be here. I have a little daughter now and the family is on the road. I would like to race, but we will see.”

Jase Lewis just did 4 rounds of the Arenacross Tour, but he won all 4 of those. “It probably looked easy but it’s harder than you think,” he said, “It’s all in the start. As long as you can get a good start the race is all yours pretty much.”

The lapper situation has been a topic in the 20 lap Clash for Cash finals in recent weeks, but Lewis said this time it didn’t change the outcome. “The lapper situation was pretty decent tonight,” he said, “Nobody really got in the way. Everybody moved over. I got caught behind a couple of people but there are so many people out there and the track is so short you catch people pretty fast. I think I caught somebody by about the 6^th or 7^th lap. You are just going through them the whole moto after that.”

Lewis knew there was a battle for the title going on behind him but he said “I didn’t pay attention to that. I just ride my own race and have fun. It seems like that has worked out for me.”

Speaking of his plans after this, Lewis said, “I’m going to try and do the outdoors. I am just waiting to see what comes up. After this I am going back to Georgia and racing a Red Bull team race at Bremen.”   

Johnny Marley was the Arenacross Tour Clash for Cash Champion for the last three seasons, but this time an injury at Round one in December set him back. Once he returned, he just focused on getting results and making some money.

Speaking about the final race, Marley said, “I was probably dead last I (off the gate) guess. I came through the first turn and left it on a little longer than everybody and tried to dive in there and get through the pack. It didn’t work out as well as I thought. I just put my head down and charged the whole race. I eventually ran out of laps. I was doing pretty good. I was wishing I had 20 more laps out there.”

Marley was on his way back home to Oklahoma and as far as his plans after this, he said he would do “Local money races, whatever I can find. Maybe some local amateur stuff, Ponca City, Oak Hill maybe, I don’t know.”

Cameron Stone talked about his final night in the series. “It was pretty good I guess,” he said, “I got second in the AX Pro Lites class overall. I had a decent night. I got better starts than usual. A better start for me is like 4^th (laughs), which for some people is a terrible start. I just rode my own race.”

As far as the tight race for the title, Stone said, “I wasn’t really trying to think about it. I just rode. I didn’t think I would be where I was at. I hadn’t been riding good. I did good tonight and it ended up a tie. I am not sure what they are going to do about it.”

Stone passed Thompson in the Clash for Cash, but he wasn’t going to try anything to mess up Thompson to improve his chances. “I passed him right after the finish line,” he said, “It could have been dirty but I didn’t try to take him out to make points up. I’m not really like that. I just let it go then Marley got between us and that tied us in points. I thought about trying to catch Lewis but he was going way too fast. He got in the lappers and I started catching him. I figured they would let me by since they knew that some of us were coming through but no they battled with me just as much as they did with Jase [Lewis]. It wasn’t as bad as usual. They will race with you for a couple of corners and then get out of the way. They will hold you up a little bit.”

As far as his plans right after this and next year’s season, Stone said, “I might do some outdoor nationals. If I don’t do those I will definitely do Loretta’s. I will be back next year. Its good money and fun racing and we will see what we can do.”   

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” (Main Event)

1) Jase Lewis, Hon; 2) Cameron Stone, Kaw; 3) Johnny Marley, Yam; 4) Justin Thompson, Hon; 5) Ronnie Ramsical, Hon; 6) PJ Stratton, Hon; 7) Jason Perry, Hon; 8) Shane Mills, KTM; 9) Jansin McCoy; Kaw; 10) Matthew Stewart, Suz; 11) Justin Clapp, Suz; 12) Trevor Hayes, Kaw. 

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Pro (450s)
1) Jase Lewis, Hon, 1-1; 2) Justin Thompson, Hon, 2-2; 3) Cameron Stone, Kaw, 3-3; 4) Jason Perry, Hon, 5-4; 5) Ronnie Ramsical, Hon, 4-5; 6) Shane Mills, KTM, 6-6; 7) Justin Clapp, Suz, 7-7.

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Lites Pro 
1) Johnny Marley, Yam, 1-1; 2) Cameron Stone, Kaw, 2-2; 3) PJ Stratton, Hon, 3-3; 4) Matthew Stewart, Suz, 4-5; 5) Jansin McCoy, Kaw, 6-4; 6) Trevor Hayes, Kaw, 5-6.

Final Arenacross Tour Clash for Cash Points (Unofficial):

1) Justin Thompson, Cameron Stone, 169; 3) Johnny Marley, 122; 4) Johnny Moore, 121; 5) Kyle Gills, 120; 6) Jason Perry, 119; 7) Chris Tracy, 106; 8) Jase Lewis, 100; 9) Jake Lowry, 99; 10) Pj Stratton, 94; 11) Shane Mills, 47; 12) Chris Sandifer, 31; 13) Dustin Gills, 30; 14) Josh Hicks, 28; 15) Billy Wichers, Jonathan Dove, 26; 17) Brandon Powers, 25; 18) Jared Hicks, 22; 19) Matthew Stewart, Derek Rodgers, 16; 21) Ozzy Barbaree, Ronnie Ramsical, 16; 23) Jacob Saylor, 15; 24) Curtis Sloan, Buddy Brooks, 14; 26) Dustin Manuel, Janson McCoy, 12; 28) Justin Clapp, 10; 29) Brandon Powers, Trevor Hayes, 9.

Arenacross Tour General Manager Steve Myers, his daughter Whitney, and Miss Arenacross Tour Ashlee Smith are having fun at the races.

Fans lined up early to get in.

Heather Holifield, the anthem singer, got a birthday surprise during the show opening.

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Arenacross Tour, Round 8

Story and photos by Steve Bruhn

“Speed in Whoops Makes the Difference for Lewis at Starkville”
February 20, 2010; Starkville, MS-

Georgia’s Jase Lewis won his third Arenacross Tour Clash for Cash in three tries, edging out defending champion Johnny Marley in a close race for the money at the Mississippi Horse Park on Saturday night in front of a packed house of fans.

Dove, Lewis, and Thompson early in the first lap of the Clash for Cash.

Lewis combined a good start, speed in the whoops, and skill in working past lappers to hold off a charge by Marley for the win. Justin Thompson and Jonathan Dove were not as lucky.

Dove got the holeshot in the Clash for Cash, but after Lewis charged past him in the whoops after about a lap, Marley got past him as well, then Dove hit the face of a triple wrong, landed on a haybale, and took a dirt nap. Series points-leader Thompson was running near the front but tangled with a lapper and ended up a disappointing 7^th. Cameron Stone saw most of this and stayed out of trouble to finish 3^rd. Stone closed the points gap to just 3 with only one round to go next weekend in Jackson, MS.

Marley charged to catch up to Lewis when he got to second, but didn't get close enough to make a pass. This went on until they got into lapped traffic, when Marley got close, the Lewis got away again when he got through them. Lewis won it, and Marley rode by and shook his hand as they rode off the track.

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This amateur class had a totally full gate.

Announcer Dave Lyon dong the T-shirt gun thing.... 

Travis Moore won Quad Pro ahead of his rival Wesley Holifield, but Moore was out front and had a clear track while Holifield was trying to get past Nathan Hibbs. Hibbs gave Holifield just enough room in the corner before the triple for him to shove his way to the inside, and this pushed Hibbs off the track to the outside. Moore had too much of a lead for Holifield to make up and he won it without being challenged.

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The Bomb Squad ATV stunt team was back, featuring Caleb and Colton Moore jumping their 75 ft ramp. Caleb finished the show with two clean backflips on his ATV at a height of about 35 ft.

Fans at Arenacross Tour events are encouraged to get into things by waving their own checkered flags whenever a race is over. The first 300 kids in the door got free flags, so with the stands full, this added to the fun atmosphere. The father/son relay race had good participation, and for the first time in a while, it wasn’t freezing outside in the pits!

All the top pros said the track was hard to pass on, and the two top finishers, Lewis and Marley, planned their moves in the whoops. Lappers were a big part of the story too, because even thought the blue flag was waving, they still were a challenge to race past. At one point in the Clash for Cash, Lewis blitzed the whoops and split two of them right through the middle and passed them both.

Podium Profiles:

Cameron Stone’s 3^rd in the Clash for Cash kept him second in points, just 3 behind series leader Thompson, who had bad luck with a lapper. With so much going on in that race, he wasn’t sure he finished third at the end. “I haven’t been riding good in these last three events,” said Stone, “I don’t know why. I guess I got in a little slump. It worked out tonight. I thought I was in third but I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to run up there like I was in third and not be (laughs).”

Stone earlier motos went pretty well. He was second overall in AX Lites Pro. “I got second when Dove wrecked (moto 1), then I got like 4^th in the first 450 moto. This track was really different. Everyone was going the same speed but Lewis and Marley were just hauling in the whoops. That is where they were picking up all their time. They were just killing everyone out there.”

Stone was about 4^th when he saw Dove’s crash over the triple. “I was right behind him,” he said, “I had just caught up to him. He went around the corner, got a little sideways, went off the face (of the triple) sideways and landed on a haybale. Then he highsided and it flung him to the ground and it knocked him out, that’s what he told me afterwards.”

Stone also saw what happened to Thompson. “Thompson was going around a corner just fine and a lapper just took him out,” he said, “I don’t know why. It just took his front wheel right out. That was bad luck for him.”

Stone and Thompson are sure to be watching for each other at the final round in Jackson next weekend. With just three points between them, the title and an extra $1,500 are up for grabs. After Jackson, Stone is looking at a supercross. “I might do Daytona this year, I’m not sure,” he said.

Johnny Marley was doing an “Iron Man,” weekend. After finishing second in the Clash for Cash, he had a 13 hr drive back to Oklahoma to race in the Oklahoma State Championship Series.

Asked about his earlier motos, Marley said, “They went good. I got decent starts, got up front, rode smooth and smart and held on for the win. I knew it would get chewed up some and slippery, and get some ruts in the whoops. There weren’t any places to pass really, you just had to make people make mistakes to get by them. The whoops for the most part were the only passing spot.”

Marley pressuring Dove for second in the Clash for Cash.

In the Clash for Cash, Marley’s plan was to charge early, and use the whoops and lappers to his best advantage. “I started out with Lewis and Thompson in front of me, and Dove was there so I was 4^th, I’m not sure,” he said, “I made some quick passes and got up there pretty quick but by then Jase pulled a pretty good lead. I just put my head down and tried to catch him. We got into the lappers and I started picking up time there. Once he got around them I got stuck with them so I lost it.”

“[Lappers] are either an advantage or a disadvantage, he said, “You have to know where they are going to go before they go there. I’m going to go home and put in my work and we will see you next weekend.”

Jase Lewis has raced the Arenacross Tour 3 times this year and won all three, but he missed the last one. “[These events] have been treating me good,” he said, “I have been getting good starts just riding my own race. I was sick last week and was running a fever. I was planning on coming but got snowed in and couldn’t go anywhere.”

About the earlier motos, Lewis said, “I won my first [AX Pro] moto. I got a good start. It was only 8 laps. It was not that tough. After you get out front you just ride your own race and ride smart. In the second 450 moto I didn’t do that well. I was in second, Marley passed me then I made a mistake trying to pass Thompson. I was trying to pass Marley back and fell. That is how it goes though.”

“The dirt was really weird,” said Lewis, “It was good on top but underneath it was really slick. I actually like it. It was pretty much the same layout as Philadelphia [MS] except for one jump. I felt good on it all night. Every time I line up I think “You have to get a start.” After the first lap, you kind of settle in, either you have it or you don’t. Dove got the holeshot. We got together after the first corner and I got pushed to the outside. It’s all good. I just recovered and came back and rode my own race.”

To sum up, Lewis said, “Everybody was going fast tonight. It was just the whoops that separated everybody and that was one of my strong points. I split 2 guys, 2 250Fs through the whoops. I was thinking either I am going to pass them here or would have to wait for 2 more corners. I just went for it. For the whole race Marley was right there. He was riding good. The red cross flag came out for Dove, he fell. I didn’t see it on the first lap around and slammed the brakes on the face of the triple and the next lap we had to roll. Marley kept catching me then we got into lappers.”

After next week’s final in Jackson, MS, there will be an awards event Sunday afternoon for all classes, amateur and pro.

Just for fun-The Relay Race.

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” (Main Event)
1) Jase Lewis, Hon; 2) Johnny Marley, Yam; 3) Cameron Stone, Kaw; 4) PJ Stratton, Hon; 5) Jason Perry, Hon; 6) Curtis Sloan, Yam; 7) Justin Thompson, Hon; 8) Brandon Powers, Kaw; 9) Chris Sandifer, Hon; 10) Jonathan Dove, Kaw. 

 Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Pro (450s)
1) Johnny Marley, Yam, 1-1; 2) Jase Lewis, Hon, 1-4; 3) Jonathan Dove, Kaw, 3-3; 4) Justin Thompson, Hon, 6-1; 5) Cameron Stone, Kaw, 4-5; 6) Jason Perry, Hon, 5-6; 7) Brandon Powers, Kaw, 7-7.

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Lites Pro 
1) Johnny Marley, Yam, 1-1; 2) Cameron Stone, Kaw, 2-3; 3) PJ Stratton, Hon, 3-4; 4) Curtis Sloan, Yam, 5-5; 5) Chris Sandifer, Hon, 4-6; 6) Jonathan Dove, Kaw, DNF-2.

Arenacross Tour Clash for Cash Points (Unofficial):

1) Justin Thompson, 150; 2) Cameron Stone, 147; 3) Johnny Moore, 121; 4) Kyle Gills, 120; 5) Chris Tracy, 106; 6) Jason Perry, 105; 7) Johnny Marley, 102; 8) Jake Lowry, 99; 9) Pj Stratton, 79; 10) Jase Lewis, 75; 11) Shane Mills, 34; 12) Chris Sandifer, 31; 13) Dustin Gills, 30; 14) Josh Hicks, 28; 15) Billy Wichers, Jonathan Dove, 26; 17) Brandon Powers, 25; 18) Jared Hicks, 22; 19) Derek Rodgers, 6; 20) Ozzy Barbaree, 16; 21) Jacob Saylor, Curtis Sloan, 15; 23) Buddy Brooks, 14; 24) Dustin Manuel, 12; 25) Matthew Stewart, 10; 26) Brandon Powers, 9.

Johnny Marley when he was racing supercross, about 2002.. :)

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Arenacross Tour, Round 7

Story and photos by Steve Bruhn

“That was a Clash. That was Definitely a Clash”
February 13, 2010; Batesville, MS-

The Arenacross Tour returned to Batesville, MS for another exciting weekend, and just like at round one in December, the Clash for Cash earned its name.

Johnny Moore was back after missing one round, and he was nailing his starts and on the gas. He got a clean holeshot in the Clash for Cash final, but Justin Thompson wasn’t going to let him get away. Thompson got aggressive in the second turn and got up under Moore, causing him to let off and both Thompson and Kyle Gills got by him.

Moore losing the front end on the first lap of the Clash for cash.

Moore tried to make a move himself in the third turn by getting under Gills, but he lost the front end and went down, leaving Thompson with a clear track with Gills not far behind. Johnny Marley’s start wasn’t as good, but he quickly moved up and soon was right behind Gills and Chris Tracy in a 3-way battle for second. Moore got up near the back and started charging to catch up.

It would be a long 20 laps, and lappers would change the outcome for the leaders. Marley knew this and took advantage as best he could, planning his whole race around catching Thompson by the end.

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This track was unique. The start was short and on the end of the floor, so the racing was good on 4 lanes in the middle. Rider turnout was about 275, so most gates were pretty full. The father-son relay race even had a full gate and it was the best one so far.

Batesville featured a freestyle show by the Bomb Squad ATV team, featuring the Moore brothers, Caleb and Colton. Both did really good tricks you usually only see in bike freestyle shows, and Caleb finished off with 3 crowd pleasing backflips.

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Nice "Rock Solid!"

The south is still having a cold winter and it was freezing outside in the pits, so many riders were racing in sweatshirts over their jerseys.

The leaders in the Clash for Cash started catching lappers about the halfway point and it kept blue-flaggers busy. Even so, they would be part of the race’s outcome. Gills was having trouble with lappers and ended up tangling with one and he went down. Marley was looking ahead and waiting for a chance to use them to catch Thompson. With about 5 laps to go, he got close enough to Thompson to start trying to shake him up by charging him in the corners and revving his bike, but he would stop short of running into him.

Marley was getting this close every lap and revving his bike to make some noise.

Just before the white flag, Thompson and Marley ran up on Jake Lowry and Marley got inside of both of them for the lead. He just had to sprint the last lap to win the money.

Moore caught up to third, and Cameron Stone was 4^th. Thompson gained a few points on Stone for the series points, with 2 rounds to go.

Podium Profiles:

“I didn’t get the start I wanted to get,” said Johnny Marley about the Clash for Cash, “but I ended up up front after the first lap and it worked in my favor once we caught up with lappers. I used some different lines and got by him [Thompson].”

Marley talked about his early motos, which earned him the AX Lites Pro overall. “It went pretty good,” he said, “In the early races tonight I was second in the first one and won the second (AX Lites Pro) and got third in the other one (AX Pro) and started getting warmed up. When the main came around I turned it up a notch. The main race went really good. I knew there would be competition out there for sure. Johnny [Moore] and Justin [Thomson] have been getting great starts and I am struggling with them. I knew it was going to be tough right from the get-go. I knew I had the stamina to last the last the full 20 laps, to sprint the whole race. That is what I did and it worked out.”

Marley was focused on his own race and missed seeing what happened between Moore and Thompson in the second turn. “The first few laps were kind of a blur,” he said, “I was so focused and tuned in trying to work through, I was the only one on the track. I was probably mid pack, or almost dead last. I’m not sure. A couple of corners I worked through pretty good. A couple guys went down. I think Johnny [Moore] went down. A couple guys bumped together and I snaked my way through. I knew I had to put down some hard laps to catch Thompson. I figured halfway through we would be going through lappers and that worked to my advantage. I got around him through lappers and never looked back. The white flag was right after I passed him and it was over. We were close for about 5 laps. It took me the whole race to set it up. Once I saw that white flag I was relieved. I was pushing pretty hard at the start of the race and he was riding really good. It worked out.”

Marley was going to do the ironman thing and go back home to Oklahoma for a race the next day, but the weather gave him a break. “I was going to drive back tonight and race an Oklahoma state race,” he said, “but it was cancelled because of the weather so I am going to go ahead and get me a room and get some sleep and drive home in the morning.”

Justin Thompson was ready for a good result because he had his starts down and he wasn’t going to get pushed around. “I finally fixed my start problem with my bike. I’m finally getting good starts and it paid off tonight.”

About his early 450 motos, Thompson said, “I won the first one and was second in the second one. This track had a sideways start. That was to make it a little different for everybody. It made it exciting because it had 4 lanes of racing instead of one straightaway. It really made it different. The whoops were, I think they were mellow. A lot of people said they were struggling in them. I would rather have whoops like they were in Philadelphia where they were real big.”

“That was a clash. That was definitely a clash,” said Thompson about the last race and the move on Moore in the second turn, “You know what? I have been getting stuffed every week in the first or second corner so I was like “I ain’t having that tonight.” I came in a little aggressive. After that I just put my head down and opened up a little gap. I tried to keep that pace for a while. Then I started pulling back just a little bit and started screwing up.  I should have just kept my pace going. We go into a little bit of lapped traffic and it just caused havoc after that.  I knew he was there, I saw the number 900. We have had some close races over the years. We ride good together. It’s clean. He does the same thing I do. It’s old school motocross. If you come up on a rut or something, even if it’s a lapped rider and you just throw the throttle on wide open and scare them a little bit. It makes me chuckle a little bit because we are battling at the same time.”

About Marley’s strategy, Thompson said, “He was taking advantage when we were behind lappers. One particular lapper about three laps before I got passed is when he got close. I just couldn’t get by him. He is a buddy of mine too. It’s hard to stuff a lapper but I guess that is what you have to do. I haven’t been up front all year so I guess that is what I have to do.”

Thompson is leading the points and hopes to win the overall series after the next two rounds. “I am hoping to win this,” he said, “I won it years ago but I haven’t won it in a few years.”

Moore winning the second AX Pro moto.

Johnny Moore talked about his early races that led up to his good start in the Clash for Cash which wasn’t good for long. “In the afternoon races I ended up winning AX Pro Lites (first moto) and was second in the 450 class,” he said, “I was getting confident in the way I was riding out here. I was third in the 250 second moto and I ended up winning the 450 race. It was a pretty good night leading up to the Clash for Cash. I got the holeshot and I let Justin get up underneath me. That’s racing though, no hard feelings. When I came into the next corner, Gill had gotten by so I went up under him to block him and I just lost the front end and went down. Halfway through I started catching Kyle. I knew lappers would play a factor in it but I didn’t know that they were going to take Kyle out like that. That’s racing. He’s OK with it. He’s a little upset but we have all been through it.”

Moore is leaving the Arenacross Tour early to race supercross as a privateer, and talked about how doing the tour helped him get ready for it. “I will be in Indianapolis, Indiana next weekend for east coast supercross,” he said, “This Arenacross Tour has been good to me. This is a great stepping stone. They have great competition out here. I think I am ready for it.  I will be a full-on privateer. It’s me and my dad, my girlfriend and my mom, we will be driving to the races in a pickup truck and getting a hotel, so I’m a full-on privateer. I will be #140 in the Lites class.”

Also making the move to supercross will be Kyle Gills and Jake Lowry, riding for Pro Flow Kawasaki and Road Runner Transport. Wish them all the best of luck!

Caleb Moore's ATV backflip is just amazing.

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Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” (Main Event)
1) Johnny Marley, Yam; 2) Justin Thompson, Hon; 3) Johnny Moore, Hon; 4) Cameron Stone, Kaw; 5) Kyle Gills, Kaw; 6) Jake Lowry, Kaw; 7) Jason Perry, Hon; 8) Chris Tracy, Kaw; 9) PJ Stratton, Hon; 10) Shane Mills, KTM; 11) Chris Sandifer, Hon; 12) Logan Trusty, Kaw (DNS). Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Pro (450s)

1) Johnny Moore, Hon, 2-1; 2) Justin Thompson, Hon, 1-2; 3) Johnny Marley, Yam, 3-3; 4) Cameron Stone, Kaw, 4-4; 5) Chris Tracy, Kaw, 6-5; 6) Shane Mills, KTM, 5-7; 7) Jason Perry, Hon, 7-6.

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Lites Pro 
1) Johnny Marley, Yam, 2-1; 2) Johnny Moore, Hon, 1-3; 3) Kyle Gills, Kaw, 4-2; 4) Jake Lowry, Kaw, 3-5; 5) Cameron Stone, Kaw, 7-4; 6) PJ Stratton, Hon, 5-6; 7) Logan Trusty, Kaw, 6-8; 8) Chris Sandifer, Hon, 8-7.

Arenacross Tour Clash for Cash Points (Unofficial):

1) Justin Thompson, 136; 2) Cameron Stone, 127; 3) Johnny Moore, 121; 4) Kyle Gills, 120; 5) Chris Tracy, 106; 6) Jake Lowry, 99; 7) Jason Perry, 89; 8) Johnny Marley, 80; 9) Pj Stratton, 61; 10) Jase Lewis, 50; 11) Shane Mills, 34; 12) Dustin Gills, 30; 13) Josh Hicks, 28; 14) Billy Wichers, 26; 15) Jared Hicks, 22; 16) Chris Sandifer, 19; 17) Derek Rodgers, Ozzy Barbaree, 16; 19) Jonathan Dove, Jacob Saylor, 15; 21) Buddy Brooks, 14; 22) Brandon Powers, Dustin Manuel, 12; 24) Matthew Stewart, 10; 25) Brandon Powers, 9.

Links:

Arenacross Tour website: www.arenacrosstour.com

More Pics on Facebook: Arenacross Tour Round 6 Pics

Still more pics by Sherri Hudson: MX Track Photos

Even more pics by Ed Palanko: Exar Productions

Organizer Robby McQuary (L) and announcer/soundman Dave Lyon (R).

Post-show autograph session.

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Arenacross Tour, Round 6
Story and photos by Steve Bruhn

Lewis Cooks Again in Cookeville
February 6, 2010; Cookeville, TN-

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Jase Lewis scored his second win in the Arenacross Tour in front of a sold-out crowd at the Hyder-Burks Arena in Cookeville, TN Saturday night. Lewis took the holeshot in both AX Pro motos and the Clash for Cash 20-lap main event, and led every lap of each race. He joined the Arenacross Tour last weekend at Philadelphia, MS and won there as well.

Cookeville had snow and ice on the ground outside, but the winter weather didn’t keep the riders and fans away. Signups for pro and amateur classes combined was just short of 300, and the event sold out for the second year in a row.

Justin Thompson took the series points lead from Johnny Moore, who didn’t make the long drive from Mississippi and he dropped to 4^th. The Clash for Cash podium was the same as last weekend, with Lewis just ahead of Johnny Marley and Kyle Gills.

Travis Moore of McKenzie, TN won Quad Pro ahead of Jr Jackson.

The Cookeville track was one of the largest, with a long start straight leading to a sweeper and a triple. Most of the passing and the spills happened after the triple, which led to a series of whoops.

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In the Clash for Cash, Marley and Lewis lined up next to each other in the middle of the gate. Marley got the jump on him, but Lewis edged him out in the first turn for the holeshot. Jacob Saylor and Chris Tracy went into the turn before the whoops side by side after the start, but they both tangled and went down, handing 3^rd to Kyle Gills, who was again on his 250F against the 450s. Saylor hurt his foot in an early race and was toughing it out. He still got back up to finish 6^th.

As Lewis got away, the best race was between Marley and Gills for second. Gills got close to him several times, but Marley held on under pressure and never gave him a chance to pass. Lewis won, Marley was second, and Gills third at the end. Cameron Stone finished 4^th ahead of Thompson, and made up 2 series points on him. Thompson is now 5 points ahead of Stone with three rounds to go. Gills’ teammate Jake Lowry crashed out, but was OK.  

Marley.

Lewis had trouble with starts last weekend, but he got things sorted out and had a better day. Lewis took home $1,150 for the Clash for Cash and AX Pro win, so it beats sitting at home on the couch. ”I’m just coming out on the weekends to have fun,” he said, “I kind of gave up on the supercross thing now I want to try for the outdoors, and do my own thing and try and make some money.  I went 1-1-1 on everything [tonight]. I had a really good day on starts today. Last weekend just wasn’t a good day for me. I picked it up this weekend. [Last weekend] I wasn’t expecting that at all. The gate was really powdery on the outside. I just had to dig and dig and dig and get into some good dirt.”  

Lewis plans on doing more Arenacross Tour rounds, even though the last three are in Tennessee, and a longer drive from his home in Georgia. “I am going to try,” he said, “It depends on how far they are from the house. I can either stay at the house or come and make some money, so I will see you there.”

About the Clash for Cash, Lewis talked about the start next to Marley, “You always keep an eye out for where everybody is,” he said, “Somehow I pulled away from Marley in the first corner. He had the holeshot on me. He was riding good all night, and last weekend too. I knew I had to get a good start and try to pull a lead in the beginning, do my sprint and go from there. I try and sprint as much as I can, then you get a little tired and you have to take a couple breather laps then sprint again. It’s all a head game. It’s not just going out there and riding the dirt bike.”

Speaking about the track, Lewis said, “This is actually kind of sandy. It’s Georgia clay kind of, but sandy. The dirt was good, other than the 4-wheelers on it. They make it a little dry/slick, but you have to get used to it. It was a lot of fun. I always have fun with these things. I am sure I will be back.”

Lewis mentioned lapped traffic, but they didn’t slow him down enough to matter. “There were 2 or 3 guys battling there for about a lap,” he said, “I couldn’t get around them. They get in a zone and they don’t see the flags. I understand that, it’s racing.”

Talking about the Arenacross Tour itself and his plans for the rest of the year, Lewis said, “These races are a local kind of deal, but it is getting bigger and bigger for sure. They are getting better crowds every year. I don’t have anything going right now. I am playing it by ear to see if I get any deals. If not I will do it on my own and do it with the Warthog.” The Warthog (Warthog Racing Academy) is a privateer team that Lewis rode with at the nationals last summer.

Gills didn’t mind the drive to Cookeville from Mississippi, and even left after the races for an all-nighter to get home. “It was worth it, even if I got last,” he said “There is good racing here. There are a lot of people. Any seat time is better than no seat time. Even if I came and got last and a good time, that is all that matters. We are out here to have fun and it was definitely worth the drive.”

Gills won both motos in AX Pro Lites before he raced the Clash for Cash on his 250F. “In my first race, I got the holeshot and never looked back and I think I pulled away a little bit,” he said, “Then I got another holeshot and another moto win. In the Clash for Cash I started 5^th and 2 guys fell before the whoops and it put me in third. I caught Marley some and would make a mistake and he would pull away, and then I would pull back up on him again. Other than that it was a good race. I was right on his rear wheel and made a mistake. When it came to the lappers they were all pretty respectful of the blue flag and they got out of the way when they needed to. I can’t really say it was lappers. Marley was riding good, so was Lewis.”

“A lot of it has to do with the whoops, but one thing a lot of people overlook is the corners,” said Gills when talking about where he was making up time, “You have to have good corner speed to get a good drive into the whoops or to make it over the triple or the finish line. You definitely have to have good corner speed. Tonight I felt the best in the whoops and the corners. This was a long start that we had, and the fast sweeper around the back side was a real fast section so they could pull a little bit, but with corner speed and the way I was hitting the whoops I made good use of my 250F.”  

Gills spoke about his plan after next weekend. “Batesville will be my last one and then I will make the move to supercross,” he said, “You guys watch for me on TV or on line and root for me. I will tell them that this (Arenacross Tour) is where I prepared. I also would not be able to do it without the good lord Jesus Christ for keeping us all safe and making this possible, and also Pro Flow Kawasaki, Road Runner Transport, Fly, Smith, EVS, Tom Crane, Ankle Savers, my mechanic Shawn Kline, my girlfriend, her family and my mom and dad and my brother for sure so thanks a lot.”

After the Clash for Cash and autograph session Gills still has a long night ahead. “Man, 8 hours,” he said about the drive home, “I am about to get out of this gear and get in my van and head back south and make it all the way if I can.”  

Gills at the show opening.

Johnny Marley has finished second each night since his return from his shoulder injury.

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” (Main Event)
1) Jase Lewis, Hon; 2) Johnny Marley, Yam; 3) Kyle Gills, Kaw; 4) Cameron Stone, Kaw; 5) Justin Thompson, Hon; 6) Jacob Saylor, Kaw; 7) Chris Tracy, Kaw; 8) Jason Perry, Hon; 9) PJ Stratton, Hon; 10) Jake Lowry, Kaw. 

 Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Pro (450s)
1) Jase Lewis, Hon, 1-1; 2) Johnny Marley, Yam, 2-2; 3) Chris Tracy, Kaw, 3-4; 4) Justin Thompson, Hon, 4-6; 5) Jacob Saylor, Kaw, 8-3; 6), Cameron Stone, Kaw, 6-5; 7) Jason Perry, Hon, 5-7, 8) Marcus Thompson, Yam, 7-DNS.

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Lites Pro 
1) Kyle Gills, Kaw, 1-1; 2) Johnny Marley, Yam, 3-2; 3)  Cameron Stone, Kaw, 3-3; 4) PJ Stratton, Hon, 5-4; 5) Jake Lowry, Kaw, 4-DNF.

Arenacross Tour Clash for Cash Points (Unofficial):

1) Justin Thompson, 114; 2) Cameron Stone, 109; 3) Kyle Gills, 104; 5) Johnny Moore, 101; 4) Chris Tracy, 93; 6) Jake Lowry, 84; 7) Jason Perry, 75; 8) Johnny Marley, 55; 9) Jase Lewis, 50; 10) Pj Stratton, 49; 11) Dustin Gills, 30; 13) Josh Hicks, 28; 14) Billy Wichers, 26; 15) Shane Mills, 23; 16) Jared Hicks, 28; 17) Derek Rodgers, Ozzy Barbaree, 16; 12) Jacob Saylor, Jonathan Dove, 15; 20) Buddy Brooks, 14; 21) Brandon Powers, Dustin Manuel, 12; 23) Matthew Stewart, 10; 24) Chris Sandifer, Brandon Powers, 9.

Links:

Arenacross Tour website: www.arenacrosstour.com

More Pics on Facebook: Arenacross Tour Round 6 Pics

Still more pics by Sherri Hudson: MX Track Photos

Even more pics by Ed Palanko: Exar Productions

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Arenacross Tour, Round 5
Story and photos by Steve Bruhn

Lewis Wins Cash in Philadelphia
January 30, 2010; Philadelphia, MS-

Georgia’s Jase Lewis (#722) heard about the Arenacross Tour from his friends, and made the drive from Carrolton, GA to Philadelphia, MS to check it out and he won! He just rode one class-AX Pro, and qualified in 6^th to make the Clash for Cash lineup. He had a bad gate pick on the outside, but he launched off the gate, took the holeshot and never looked back.

Philadelphia, MS loves a good show!

Spectators were anxious to get in for the night show.

The track featured a big triple, and the pros were not the only ones clearing it.

Philadelphia, like Hattiesburg the weekend before, had a soft red clay track surface. The whoops were tough and separated riders, and the track featured a long-supercross style triple that even some of the amateurs cleared without much trouble. Rider turnout was about 250, and the grandstands were packed for the night show. United FMX provided the freestyle show, featuring Terry Russell.

Moore celebrates winning an AX Pro moto.

Gills was on a borrowed 250F, but that didn't slow him down.

Early races were dominated by series leader Johnny Moore, who went 1-1 in AX Pro (450s) and Kyle Gills, who went 1-1 in AX Lites Pro on a borrowed bike. Johnny Marley, who was injured at round 1 last December in Batesville, was back in action and was 3rd in AX Pro and 2^nd in AX Lites Pro qualifying motos. Lewis was new to the Arenacross Tour and went 3-6 in AX Pro to make the Clash for Cash.    

Holifield (bottom right) goes off the track in Quad Pro. Travis Moore takes the lead.

The Quad Pro race was again a great matchup between last week’s winner Wesley Holifield and his rival Travis Moore. This time it was Moore taking the win after Holifield went off the track just before the triple and Moore got by.

The pits were outside and the weather was freezing. More than one rider was seen kicking his bike on the gate while the show paused to see if it would start. This even happened to the series leader, when Johnny Moore had trouble getting his bike started outside and missed his gate pick. He was forced to start on the far outside, right next to Lewis.

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Lewis didn’t let the bad gate pick wreck his night. He shot out of the gate in the Clash for Cash and made it to the first turn first, just ahead of Johnny Marley, Cameron Stone, Kyle Gills, and Justin Thompson. Moore was shut out and pretty far back, eventually making his way to 5^th.

A few laps in, Stone crashed over the finish double and his bike was out of sight on the down side of the landing. Stone got out of the way, but could do nothing as riders jumped on the caution without knowing what was on the other side. A couple hit his bike, then the flaggers used a red cross flag to keep them from doubling. Stone’s bike was pretty beat up by the time he got it back.

Lewis rode all 20 laps in the lead and took the win, with Marley getting closest as they went through lappers, but not close enough to challenge him.

Moore still leads the series by 3 points, with 4 rounds to go. Thompson is second, with Stone in 3^rd 9 points behind him.

Podium Profiles:

Lewis talked about why he decided make the trip from Georgia to race the Areancross Tour. “I heard about the race,” he said, “A couple of my friends told me about it so I came here with them. I had been doing pretty good at the Arenacrosses in Corinth. I wasn’t really expecting to win. I rode for the Warthog (Warthog Racing Academy) last year in the outdoors. I actually did supercross last year and outdoors. I had MDK doing all my stuff.

“I have a pro number,” said Lewis, “I am ranked #91 this year.” As far as supercross, he said, “I don’t have a deal right now. I only have an ’07 Honda right now. That’s all I really have going.”  

Even though Lewis got the holeshot in the race that paid the most, he didn’t set the early races on fire. “I struggled with starts all night,” he said, “I had a decent gate pick in AX Pro tonight and blew it. I knew in the Clash for Cash I had to get a start and get put front and that’s what I did. I was hoping everyone would bunch up in second and third. Once you get a little breathing room you get comfortable and ride your own race so that’s what I did. I have trained a lot for supercross and outdoors over the years, so it wasn’t a tough race at all. I should be at the last one in Mississippi. I don’t have other any plans for sure as of now. I want to try some outdoors. I don’t have anything going on for supercross and it is too late to start now.”

Johnny Marley is a 3-time Arenacross Tour champion, but he got hurt at round one and this was his first race back. He said he came back to “Try to make a little money and have some fun. I just hunt for a race every weekend and this one was open. I decided to come back and try it out again. It was a long ways, 10 or 12 hours. I just started riding again. In my first race here, in Batesville, I ended up crashing out and hurting my shoulder. I was off for about a month and have been riding for about three weekends. It was pretty painful.”

Marley talked about his bikes and his strategy. “I knew I would probably be coming up from the back of the pack because I have been having struggling with starts and the bikes,” he said, “The bikes are pretty much worn out. They are year-old bikes. I just had to hammer down the whole race to get up front. Usually the whoops are my passing spots in every track that we race here. That is about the only place you can make up any time because we all go fast on the straightaways, corners and jumps. The whoops separate us a little bit. There are a few different ways you can hit them and not everyone knows the ways. That helps me out a little bit.”

“I think I had to pass Gills and Thompson from the get go and tried to get up there pretty quick,” said Marley about the Clash for Cash, “I got into second and just tried to hound Lewis for the lead but he stayed on his game the whole race too. There was not much I could do. We caught up to the lappers and I made up time. When the guy went down over the finish line I made up time there. It was sketchy but I was able to get through there. Once we got around the lappers Lewis started pulling his lead again. I have raced him in the past, he is a good rider.”

“This has been a rough series for me,” said Kyle Gills, “I think this is only my second podium. I have had bad luck. I was winning a few weekends ago and my bike blew up. I crashed in another one. It feels to get back up on the podium again. I definitely rode a lot better tonight than I have been in the previous rounds. I didn’t really get the start I wanted and just kept my head down and kept going and going and didn’t look behind me and came out third. I rode a 250. That is not even my 250. I borrowed it because mine is still having motor work done to it. I borrowed my brother’s 450 to try it out. I didn’t like it as much.”

Gills is one of the few riders that always uses a 250F in the Clash for Cash. He does it to get ready for supercross, but it does have its disadvantages. “Right before the triple, it was right out of the corner so if I got pushed up high there was no way I could do the triple, but on a 450 all you have to do is get back straight and gas it,” he said, “This was one of the longest starts we have had and that was kind of a disadvantage. But, I can move the bike around easier and I feel more comfortable riding it and of course that is going to be what I am riding in the supercrosss season so I am just going to keep riding the 250F so I can be used to it more. This series is a good series. There is a lot of competition and this will definitely he me prepare for supercross.”

“I was real happy with how I rode today,” said Gills about finishing 3^rd. “Of course I wanted to win. But I’m happy with 3^rd because this is the best that I have ridden in a while. In both the 250 motos I got the holeshot and never looked back and checked out. The 450 motos were a little tougher and I pumped up.”

About the Clash for Cash, Gills said, “After the first lap I was maybe 4^th I think. I made a quick pass for 3^rd going through the whoops. After that there was just so much carnage going on, haybales everywhere, lappers were racing each other so they didn’t want to get out of the way. There were some that were respectful of the blue flags. It was a good race.”

When Stone’s bike was on the track hidden from view after the finish double, Gills just missed it. “The yellow flag was out but the flaggers weren’t pointing to it,” he said, “I jumped [the finish double] right in the middle and was heading straight for it and just barely missed it.”

Gills is also practicing his podium speeches for supercross, and can list his sponsors without even looking at a pit board or his rear fender. “Next week is the furthest drive for me, about 7 hrs, but I will do everything I can to make it,” he said, “ I would like to thank the good lord Jesus Christ for keeping us safe, and Pro Flow Kawasaki, Road Runner Transport, Fly, Smith, EVS, Liquid Performance, Paul Bryant Sales and Service, my mom, my dad, my girlfriend and her family.”

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” (Main Event)

1) Jase Lewis, Hon; 2) Johnny Marley, Yam; 3) Kyle Gills, Kaw; 4) Justin Thompson, Hon; 5) Johnny Moore, Hon; 6) Chris Tracy, Kaw; 7) PJ Stratton, Hon; 8) Billy Wichers, KTM; 9) Jason Perry, Hon; 10) Cameron Stone, Kaw; 11) Jake Lowry, Kaw; 12) Shane Mills, Hon.

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Pro (450s)

1) Johnny Moore, Hon, 1-1; 2) Chris Tracy, Kaw, 4-3; 3) Johnny Marley, Yam, 2-5; 4) Kyle Gills, Kaw, 7-2; 5) Justin Thompson, Hon, 5-4; 6) Jase Lewis, Hon, 3-6; 7) Cameron Stone, Kaw, 6-7; 8) Jason Perry, Hon, 8-8, 9) Shane Mills, KTM, 9-9.

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Lites Pro 

 1) Kyle Gills, Kaw, 1-1; 2) Johnny Marley, Yam, 3-2; 3) Johnny Moore, Hon, 2-3; 4) Cameron Stone, Kaw, 4-4; 5) Billy Wichers, KTM, 6-5; 6) PJ Stratton, Hon, 5-7; 7) PJ Stratton, Hon, 7-6; 8) Matthew Stewart, Hon, 8-8.

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Arenacross Tour Clash for Cash Points:

1) Johnny Moore, 101; 2) Justin Thompson, 98; 3) Cameron Stone, 91; 4) Kyle Gills, 84; 5) Chris Tracy, 79; 6) Jake Lowry, 73; 7) Jason Perry, 62; 8) Pj Stratton, 37; 9) Johnny Marley, 33; 10) Dustin Gills, 30; 11) Josh Hicks, 28; 12) Billy Wichers, 26; 13) Jase Lewis, 25; 14) Shane Mills, 23; 15) Jared Hicks, 22; 16) Derek Rodgers, 16; 16) Ozzy Barbaree, 16; 18) Jonathan Dove, 15; 19) Buddy Brooks, 14; 20) Brandon Powers, 12; 20) Dustin Manuel, 12; 22) Matthew Stewart, 10; 23) Chris Sandifer, 9; 23) Brandon Powers, 9.

Terry Russell 's cliffhangers get close to the ceiling.

Hunter Smith won a mini class on his Cobra.

See you next Saturday in Cookeville, TN!

From the archives- Here's Jase Lewis after he won the 250 B Stock class at Loretta's in 2005.

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Arenacross Tour, Round 4
Story and photos by Steve Bruhn

Moore Wins, Takes Points Lead

January 23, 2010; Hattiesburg, MS-

The Arenacross Tour stopped at the Forrest County Multi-Purpose Center in Hattiesburg, MS for Round 4, where Johnny Moore turned a holeshot and 20 fast laps into his second win in a row, and he took the points lead from Justin Thompson. Thompson was a victim of a crash in front of him in the second 450 moto, but he still managed 4^th place with a bad gate pick and sore ribs.

Moore leads the series by 5 points, and Justin Thompson and Cameron Stone are tied for third.

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The Hattiesburg round featured the soft, red clay dirt that’s is common in the southeast, lots of great racing, more backflips by Scott Murray, and a strong rider turnout – about 350 riders.

Wesley Holifield (#107) and Travis Moore (#69) traded moto wins in Quad Pro, with the last race an intense battle for the lead with Moore challenging Holifield lap after lap. The two rivals banged their quads into each other in the turns numerous times, but Holifield held on to win and took the overall.

The early Pro races featured a new name for the Arenacross Tour this season, Georgia’s Jesse Madden, 17. Madden mixed it up with the series front-runners early on, and even won an AX Lites Pro moto, but early in the second AX Pro moto he hit a triple in neutral in traffic and crashed out. Justin Thompson landed on him and crashed as well, scoring 10^th. That race turned out to be a great battle for the lead between Chris Tracy and Cameron Stone. Stone pressured Tracy in a turn right after the whoops, then going into another turn before the finish double and he made his move for the lead in the turn after that.

Madden's night ended like this.

Johnny Moore’s early races were not as successful, since he tangled with Madden early on, but he did win the second AX Lites Pro race.

Thompson had a bad gate pick for the Clash for Cash and actually lined up behind Stone on the inside, because he didn’t want to pick and outside line and get pushed out. Either way, it didn’t help much. Moore took the holeshot ahead of Tracy and Dustin Gills, with Stone a few spots back, and Thompson near the back.

Moore got away, while Thompson charged from the back, and Stone went to work on Gills, then Tracy. He was making his moves starting in the whoops and the turn after them, just like he did in the AX Pro moto.

Moore rode an uneventful 20 laps to win, and the race to see was one spot back between Tracy and Stone, where Stone eventually prevailed, but he wasn’t close enough to Moore to challenge him.

Tracy, the winner of round 2, was happy to be back on the podium, and talked about the bad luck he had in Murfreesboro. “It feels great,” he said, “This is a feeling you never get used to, that’s for sure. In Murfreesboro I was running in third and I just got swapped up in the whoops and went over the bars. I got back up and finished the race but it definitely cleaned my clock.”

“Cameron is a great rider,” said Tracy about his battles with Stone, “I have a lot of respect for him. He came up behind me and we battled a little bit. He showed me a wheel here and there. I started getting a little tight and gave him a little bit of room and he took it. Luckily neither one of use went down. It was in the corner right after the finish double. Earlier in the day he made time on me in the corner after the whoops. When you get to this level everyone is pretty much the same speed on the straitaways, whoops and the jumps. It all comes down to the corners. I think he had a little bit of edge on me tonight.”

“I got second out of the gate,” said Tracy, “Johnny pulled the holeshot. The man’s a machine, he’s nuts!”

When asked what he would do if he had that Clad for Cash to do over, Tracy said, “I would pace myself a little better. The Clash for Cash is a long moto. It only takes 6 ½ minutes but it feels like a lifetime. Twenty laps is a long race. I would be more aggressive in spots. No one gets a do-over, you have to do your best with what you have.”

Stone working his way past Dustin Gills in the Clash for Cash.

Stone had his hands full working his way up to second. “I got a bad start and tried to come through the pack but I just didn’t have enough time to catch Johnny,” he said, “Thompson actually started behind me on the gate. He didn’t want to start on the outside. Either way, if he would have chosen the outside he would have been pushed out.”

Speaking about his earlier races, and Madden, Stone said, “My 250F is having some clutch problems so I didn’t get good starts on those. In the 450s I won the qualifier and the main. He (Madden) was fast but a little out of control, I don’t know.  I was right in front of him when he crashed, but I talked to him and he said he hit neutral on the triple and took a few people out with him.”

About the Clash for Cash battle with Tracy, Stone said, “I think I was 5^th off the start and came up to second, and just didn’t have enough time. I got right behind him and I think I was pulling him in the whoops. He had a few spills there and I think he was kind of timid through them. I kept setting up in that corner and trying to pass him after the finish line corner. I got him right there, and I got him in the 450 main there too. I wish we would do more laps, I wanted a little more time out there.”

Moore is leading the series after 4 rounds, even though he crashed out of round 2. “This is my second wn in a row and it’s been 3 out of 4 so I want to carry the momentum into next weekend” he said, “I believe I am the series leader. Justin got hurt tonight, I think he hurt some ribs. [4^th  in the Clash for Cash] is pretty good considering the crash he had. I saw him after the race and he was over at the medic holding his ribs, but he is a tough guy so you can count on him being out there next weekend. I was 2 points down, and I won this race, so I am probably only 5 points ahead, so it is a close series.”

Speaking about his earlier races, Moore said, “In 250s, I got out to a second place start and #101 (Madden) was in front of me. We rode clean, unlike in the first couple qualifiers. We kept away from each other and that was that. I won that race. In the 450 class, he went down and Thompson hit him. I just doubled and went off the track, and caught back up to 4^th. Tonight I was just staying out of trouble and going for the Clash for Cash.”

Moore talked about his strategy for the Clash for Cash, “This one was all about pacing myself, and I concentrated on the start,’ he said, “We almost didn’t get our gate packed in time, but we got it packed. It was all about the start here. I got the holeshot and pretty much charged the first 5 laps, then paced myself and charged the last 5, but with 20 laps you are never know what lap you are on. I kept a pretty good pace and once I got about a 4 second gap I just kept it there, and when we got into the lappers I got to stretch it a bit.”

Moore said he liked the soft red clay in Hattiesburg. “I love this dirt,” he said, “I am from here. I knew coming into it that the dirt was going to be good. It was tacking and develops some good ruts and that is what I am used to. I am more of an outdoor rider but I seem to do pretty well indoors so it worked out tonight. I will be back in the gym Monday and if we have good weather I will be on the bike 3 or 4 days next week training.”

Thompson was spotted in the pits after the event and was sore, with his shoulder hurting more than his ribs. He will be ready for Philadelphia next weekend.

The event wrapped up with the best freestyle show yet, with United FMX’s Terry Russell and guest Scott Murray taking advantage of a much higher ceiling, and jumping at 75 feet! Murray did a couple of no-footed backflips that got a loud response from the crowd.

(L to R) The Clash for Cash podium- Tracy, Stone, Moore.

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” (Main Event)
1) Johnny Moore, Hon; 2) Cameron Stone, Kaw; 3) Chris Tracy, Kaw; 4) Justin Thompson, Hon; 5) Dustin Gills, Kaw; 6) Kyle Gills, Kaw; 7) Jake Lowry, Kaw; 8) PJ Stratton, Hon; 9) Dustin Manuel, Suz; 10) Jason Perry, Hon; 11) Matthew Stewart, Hon; 12) Brandon Powers, Kaw.
Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Pro (450s)
1) Cameron Stone, Kaw, 1-1; 2) Chris Tracy, Kaw, 5-2; 3) Dustin Gills, Kaw, 4-3; 4) Jason Perry, Hon, 6-5; 5) Justin Thompson, Hon, 2-10; 6) Johnny Moore, Hon, 11-4; 7) Brandon Powers, Kaw, 7-8. 
Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Lites Pro 
1) Johnny Moore, Hon, 2-1; 2) Jesse Madden, Kaw, 1-4; 3) Cameron Stone, Kaw, 4-3; 4)  Jake Lowry 3-5, Kaw, 4-4; 5) Kyle Gills 7-2, Kaw, 2-7; 6) Dustin Manuel, Suz, 5-6; 7) PJ Stratton, Hon, 6-7; 8) Matthew Stewart, Hon, 8-8.

Arenacross Tour Clas for Cash Points:

1) Johnny Moore, 85; 2) Justin Thompson, 80; 3) Cameron Stone, 80; 4) Kyle Gills, 64; 5) Chris Tracy, 64; 6) Jake Lowry, 63; 7) Jason Perry, 50; 8) Dustin Gills, 30; 9) Josh Hicks, 28; 10) Pj Stratton, 23; 11) Jared Hicks, 22; 12) Derek Rodgers, 16; 13) Ozzy Barbaree, 16; 14) Jonathan Dove, 15; 15) Shane Mills, 14; 16) Buddy Brooks, 14; 17) Billy Wichers, 13; 18) Brandon Powers, 12; 19) Dustin Manuel, 12; 20) Johnny Marley, 11; 21) Matthew Stewart, 10; 22) Chris Sandifer, 9; 23) Brandon Powers, 9.

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Miss Arenacross Tour Ashlee Smith tosses out free stuff during a break in the racing.

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Arenacross Tour, Round 3
Story and photos by Steve Bruhn

Moore Takes Second Win in Arenacross Tour

Memphis, TN: (January 16, 2010)

Mississippi’s Johnny Moore led every lap of the “Clash for Cash” main event at round 3 of the 9-race Arenacross Tour in front of a full house at in Murfreesboro, TN.  Second went to Justin Thompson, who had a great battle with Kyle Gills for most of the race.

Thompson is just 2 points ahead of Moore in series points, with Cameron Stone in third just 2 points behind Moore.

The Murfreesboro event was the largest yet, with just under 400 riders in all classes, and it filled the stands in the Miller Coliseum. The freestyle show featured Scott Murray, a gold medalist at the 2008 Navy Moto X World Championships. Murray had to use a short ramp but still did three backflips. The coliseum ceiling height limits jumping any farther than 54 feet.

Last week’s winner Chris Tracy crashed out of the final race, the Clash for Cash. Cameron Stone took the overall win in the AX Pro moto qualifiers, but went from 3^rd to 4^th in the Clash for Cash. Kyle Gills won the AX Pro Lites qualifiers overall, and finished the night on the podium for the first time this season. He chose to race the Clash for Cash on his 250.

Parents focusing on their starts.

Moore lined up on the far right for the Clash for Cash Start.

Moore’s plan was to get a good start and sprint early in the Clash for Cash, which he was able to do after taking the holeshot. Thomson and Stone were side by side in the first turn behind him, and Tracy and Gills were next.

Tracy crashed out in the whoops, and was seen in the pits later OK, but sore. Gills made a pass on Stone for third, and started catching Thompson.

Moore had a clear track and opened up a gap, which he kept until the finish. Gills caught Thompson and the two had a great race for about half the 20 laps. “I got beside Justin Thompson a handful of times,” said Gills, “I would get beside him and he would pull back up on me. Justin and I race a lot together. It was clean racing. I think everyone has a lot of respect for each other. We are all good friends. I showed him a wheel a few times and he would show me a wheel. That’s racing. We race pretty clean.”

Gills (#521) talked about the close battle with Thompson (#2), “going into the whoops I think I was catching him. I think I had a little more entry speed. Coming up to the triple I was having to yank to get over it and he was on a 450 and could just scrub it off.  Down the straightaway he would pull me a little bit and I would catch him in the whoops. I came up beside him a couple of times after the finish double but he would pull away on that 450. But, that’s no excuse. I chose to ride a 250, I like it. It makes me work harder. It’s good work.”

“I looked back a couple times in the last few laps because my back brake was starting to lock up and I was getting a little nervous,” said Moore after his win, “Finally with a lap to go it freed up so I was about to keep the gap.”

“Memphis was terrible,” said Moore about the previous weekend, “I got terrible starts and had bad luck. I went home and practiced my starts and did some sprints on a supercross track and I had it pretty dialed in tonight. I was concerned about endurance. I had been sick all week. I was just trying to get through the week and the weekend. I knew if I could get a good start the first few laps would be crucial and once I got a good gap I knew I could keep it and never looked back.”

Moore gave his rivals credit, and the close points race after three rounds means it’s still anyone’s series. “Justin Thompson is always on it,” he said, “Kyle Gills chose to ride a 250 in the Clash for Cash and was fast. Cameron Stone rode good too. I don’t like to look behind me in the first few laps. I just sprint and get a good gap, that way no one is on my tail. I’m not tired at all. I actually thought we had 10 more laps. I didn’t even know the white flag was coming out.”

Mini quads don't look that small.

Great racing in the amateur classes.

Profiles:

Kyle Gills, 19, from Wiggins, Mississippi is using the Arenacross Tour to prepare for supercross when the series makes its way east in February. ”I try to do all these Arenacross Tour races,” he said, “It’s a really good circuit and there is a lot of competition. It’s a good warmup, a good practice for supercross which is just around the corner. I’m going to be doing all the east coast races.”

His supercross teammate is also doing the Arenacross Tour to get ready for supercross. “ Jake Lowry [my teammate] made the podium in the last race. He came out with a 2^nd which is really good. He and I have been training together along with Johnny Moore. Tonight I didn’t get the start I wanted to and just put my head down and just kept going and going. It was hard with those 450s but I was having a good time and that is all that matters.”

“I think I was 5^th or 6^th on the first lap,” said Gills, “Chris Tracy went down in the whoops and that moved me up. I got by Cameron Stone and that put me in third.”

Gills talked about his plans to keep racing the Arenacross Tour as much as possible. “I will do this Arenacross Tour until the last 2 when I start racing supercross,” he said, “Last year I made 3 main events. This year I hope to make all the main events and score some points and get noticed by teams. I am on a team now that is really good. The one I am on now is really helping us out but it would be great to get on one of those factory teams. This series will definitely get you ready for supercross.”

Gills is also practicing his sponsor pimping. He closed his post race interview by saying “I would like to thank Pro Flow Kawasaki, Road Runner Transport, Fly, Smith, EVS, Jake Lowry, my mom, my dad, the Lord Jesus Christ for keeping us safe and my girlfriend and her family.”

Freestyler Scott Murray is almost Canadian. He’s from the upper peninsula of Michigan, north of Green Bay about 100 miles.

Murray became a sensation in 2008 when he won a gold medal at the Navy Moto X World Championships (like an extra X Games) in 2008 with a double backflip. Murray was not your typical freestyler. He wears hockey pads and plain jerseys instead of brand name gear. He didn’t even have all the tricks the other riders do as a matter of routine, he just went for the big one-a double backflip!

When asked if he really was such an unlikely hero, he said, “That is kind of what I was branded as, I was like “whatever.” I’m not the best freestyler in the world, I know that. I’m not like Nate Adams and guys like that. The things they do with backflips are amazing. I am working on stuff and trying to progress. But I am an accomplished freestyle rider. I have a big bag of tricks for demos like this. I am able to work with different gaps vs a stock 75 ft jump. Tonight we got back to a 54 ft gap. I wasn’t sure if I could flip it or not. I knew I could flip it but it was just landing the thing.”

"While you are up there, do you mind changing a few light bulbs?"

The Miller Coliseum roof is low and limits the height for freestyle, because the rider’s will literally hit the ceiling. The ramps were set at 54 feet. “At 54 feet, that is a small gap,” said Murray, “We were limited by the rafters in here. Terry Russell did a cliffhanger and I thought his hands were going to hit the rafters. It’s just that close. When you are flying up there you can see how close you are to it.”

Since the Moto X gold medal, Murray has been doing some globe-trotting and was injured in Europe. “I have been to Vienna, Austria to do my double backflip,” he said, “I landed one and crashed one. I went to Ostrava in the Czech Republic and I did not fare very well at all do to a very underpowered bike. I didn’t have the right fuel for my bike. I ended up falling off, and that was the first time I fell off doing a double backflip. It was bad. I got a nice 4” laceration on the palm of my left hand. It was a brutal hit. We had fun either way. Anytime you are able to walk away, you are doing all right.”

Murray is doing the Hattiesburg, MS Arenacross Tour (round 4) as well. “I am following this Arenacross Tour to Mississippi next weekend,” he said, “Then I am going home to grab my ramps and head to South Dakota.  Then back home and a month of training, and I think we are going to Puerto Rico to do a double backflip there.”

“We might see a 360 and a couple backflip variations [in Hattiesburg],” he said, “I didn’t bring my double flip ramp and I haven’t done one since Ostrava. There were rumors that I won’t be doing them anymore but nothing could be further from the truth. I am more determined now than ever.”

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” (Main Event)

1)    Johnny Moore, Hon; 2) Justin Thompson, Hon; 3) Kyle Gills, Kaw; 4) Cameron Stone, Kaw; 5) Derek Rodgers, Kaw; 6) Jake Lowry, Kaw; 7) Shane Mills, KTM; 8) Jared Hicks, Kaw; 9) Josh Hicks, Hon; 10) Jason Perry, Hon; 11) PJ Stratton, Hon; 12) Chris Tracy, Kaw.

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Pro (450s)

1)    Cameron Stone, Kaw; 2) Chris Tracy, Kaw; 3) Johnny Moore, Hon; 4) Derek Rodgers, Kaw; 5) Jared Hicks, Kaw; 6) Josh Hicks, Hon; 7) Justin Thompson, Hon.

Cameron Stone.

Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Lites Pro

1)    Kyle Gills, Kaw; 2) Johnny Moore, Hon; 3) Jared Hicks, Kaw; 4) Cameron Stone, Kaw; 5) Derek Rodgers, Kaw; 6) Jake Lowry, Kaw; 7) PJ Stratton, Hon.

Series leader Justin Thompson has been consistent.

Clash for Cash Points:

1) Justin Thompson 62, 2) Johnny Moore 60, 3) Cameron Stone 58, 4) Jake Lowry 49, 5) Kyle Gills 49, 6) Chris Tracy 44, 7) Jason Perry 39, 8) Josh Hicks 28, 9) Jared Hicks 22, 10) Derek Rodgers 16, 10) Ozzy Barbaree 16, 12) Jonathan Dove 15, 13) Dustin Gills 14, 13) Shane Mills 14, 13) Buddy Brooks 14, 16) Billy Wichers 13, 17) Brandon Powers 12, 18) Johnny Marley 11, 19) PJ Stratton 10, 20) Chris Sandifer 9.

 Staying warm in the pits.

Ben Linderman (#129) mixes it up in the pro class for the first time. Check out that 2-stroke!

Miss Arenacross Tour Ashlee Smith with the 30-second card.

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Monster Energy Kawasaki's Chad Reed Takes Home Australian Supercross Title

Irvine, Calif. - Monster Energy Kawasaki's newest rider Chad Reed made an impressive debut with his new team by reclaiming the Monster Energy Super X Championship in his native country of Australia. 
Competing on a Kawasaki for the first time since 2001, Reed put his KX450F on the top step of the podium four times during the seven race season, including wins at the final three events.
"The Monster Energy Super X series was great," said Reed. "I was able to win back-to- back titles and my second championship of 2009. Getting this championship on the KX450F for the Monster Energy Kawasaki team is a great way to start our relationship. Racing in Australia was great for me to get used to my new team and bike. I feel good about my riding and my prep for 2010."
Reed is not only the two-time champion of the Australian series but also one of the organizers.
"The Monster Energy Super X series is growing," continued Reed. "In only its second year, we saw great tracks and large crowds. For the first time we traveled to New Zealand for an event and all the riders stepped it up and rode awesome, making it hard on me to win the title."
Reed is now headed back to the United States to continue his preparation for the 2010 Monster Energy Supercross season, which begins Saturday, January 9 at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. 

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Hello Potential Sponsors and Benefactors,

My name is Scott Kandel.  I am the founder and Chief Altruistic Officer of Warthog Racing (www.WarthogRacing.com).  Warthog Racing runs a professional Supercross/Motocross race team – the largest team in the world and has been focused on helping "privateer" racers since 2003.  We are unique in that we support very talented professional racers that we refer to as the noble privateers.  These men and women are resource disadvantaged and we work extremely hard to find them the necessary resources to allow them to live their dreams, with a chance to rise to the top of the sport.  Operating on a not-for-profit basis through our relationships with The World Zoo Ministries, which is led by the Reverend Stephen Shippy, and also The Fast Friends Foundation, recently founded by Steve Jugan, our programs provide charitable donation tax benefits of 501(c)3 organizations to contributors. 

I have attached a link right below for the 2010 Title Sponsorship Proposal in PDF format for your review.  Just single, double or Ctrl- Click on the link to begin the download process, depending on your e-mail program.  It will be coming from my Apple scottkandel.me.com account and is virus free.  It is approximately 15MB and will download quickly.  If you would like the original in 2007 PowerPoint format, please contact me directly at 213 268-2659.

http://files.me.com/scottkandel/5uyq9h
 

The men and women selected to The Warthog Racing Academy program are evaluated through a demanding tryout process and coaching program developed by the innovative Bryan McDonald, who, I believe, will soon be a name everyone will know as he is getting the kind of performance from the kids selected to the Academy many deemed impossible.  And all that has come in a very short period of time; their progress under Bryan's Signature Coaching methods  is truly remarkable.  These racers will be allocated resources like money, sponsor support, and likely race motorcycles provided by Gateway Cycles in Kentucky and Kawasaki Motorcycles so that they can compete to be the best in the world.  We only have one paid position on staff – the team truck driver.  The dozens of others that help make Warthog Racing a reality are all volunteers, including myself and Ted Parks, the highly qualified and newly appointed Race Director. 

Run on this model during the entire 2009, The Warthog Racing Academy won the 2009 MX SPORT/AMA TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD, an award that is typically given to only factory and factory satellite team.  It was quite an honor for our team to receive this award, as we will strive to do the same in 2010. 

If you like to find out more about my background and my passion to support the noble privateer racers, please visit my publicLinkedIn.com profile at:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottkandel

Our mission is to help deserving privateer racers live their dreams.  We’ve been living this vision since 2003.  One of our programs – The Warthog Racing Academy -- provides the riders motorcycle transportation, pit set-up, mechanics, gas, food, water, hospitality, and rider marketing and promotion, as well as the opportunity for riders to “graduate” to better resources teams at any time during the season.  The individual riders are responsible for their own motorcycles, race entry fees, and travel expenses.

The economic turbulence of 2009 has not been kind to our industry, many of our riders, and our team.  Although we have worked so very hard throughout this season to line up the sponsors and benefactors, to date we have come up short of our financial goals to run our programs at an acceptable level.  But Warthog Racing has never given up and we won’t now.  Our kids need us (and you) more than ever. 

Like the team and many of our riders, those with the greatest potential to transform their talent into achievement, are  short of the money and resources needed to make it through the season.  These are excellent riders like Jesse Casillas, Adam Chatfield,Teddy Parks, Cody Gilmore (who recently came back to the sport after fighting spinal cancer for several years), Jeff Loop (at 6’8”, he is the tallest professional racer ever) , Preston Mull (who just recently was named his high school’s valedictorian), andJosh Clark, the relatively unknown wunderkind from the North East plus a host of others.  In all, we will support over 20 riderscombined in the West and East divisions of the 2010 AMA Supercross Series in addition to the 15 riders we will support in the2010 Outdoor National Series.  These riders do not deserve to sit on the sidelines this year – working together, we will find a way to help them succeed and live their dreams.

This is where you as an individual or representative of a company can come in to save the day.  You or your company can be the either the personal TITLE sponsor of one of these riders in The Warthog Racing Academy or as a company, the TITLE  sponsor of the team itself.  The team still has its TITLE Sponsor position open as well as sponsorship spots at every level. If the season were to start today, it would be totally funded by two huge corporations, American Express and Visa; unfortunately, I would once again be the personal underwriter, as I was for most of the 2009 season.  As for of the individual riders, contributions ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 will make a HUGE DIFFERENCE in the careers of these riders.  At the end of the day, any kind of support for these riders will help.  As personal TITLE sponsor, you will have large co-TITLE sponsor decals on the rider’s race motorcycles and the race uniforms.  We will also provide VIP tickets and treatment to you and a guest at two Supercross events during the 2010 Supercross season (www.SupercrossOnline.com).  In a nutshell, you can be your own race team manager for the rider of your choice.

As you will see, we have a great set of programs planned but without your support, these plans and their incredibly positive impactwill not be fully realized.  I personally have given everything I have – wealth, health, and family – in pursuit of the dream of “making the sport better, forever, and for everyone in it” and as failure is never an option, we must all redouble are effort. 

Please let me know your thoughts at your earliest convenience as the season starts Jan 9^th, 2010.  I will provide you a lot more detail about our programs if you would like to get more involved.  Let’s allow these kids  to be focused on their racing so  they can continue to do amazing things.  You can contact me anytime, as this is a 24/7 organization and right now no stone will be left unturned in our quest to help these kids live their dreams!!!

Kind Regards,

Scott Kandel

Chief Altruistic Officer

Warthog Racing

213 268-2659

845 591-8795

scott@kandel.org

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