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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