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.