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.. :)