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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