Hello Arenacross fans! I am sitting in the LAX airport on my way home from Baltimore, MD, the 5 th round of the AMA Toyota Arenacross 2007 season. This weekend definitely mixed things up for the points leader Danny Smith as well as Keith Johnson and Brock Sellards. However, it was the weekend for our defending champ Chad Johnson! The town of Baltimore was painted in purple, in celebration of the NFL playoff game of the Baltimore Ravens. But all the action was taking place inside of the First Mariner Arena, filled with dirt and the sound of dirt bike engines. We are to the half way mark in the series so this weekend could definitely help make or break our future 2007 champ.
There had been rumors going around the entire week about the possibility of Travis Pastrana racing against the Arenacross boys in Baltimore. But nothing was confirmed until the yellow Ford pulled into the pits with the 199 Suzuki strapped in the back! It was going to be funny because Travis is an icon in Motocross, but he has, in his entire career as a Motocross rider, never raced an arenacross! So it was going to be a fun night. As to be expected with Travis Pastrana around! It turns out that Robbie Reynard and Travis Pastrana are long time friends so Robbie called and talked him into racing, as well as making a friendly bet on who would beat who! It was good to see the 199 out on the track! When he did his first practice he said that it was good he only crashed once! But Chad Johnson and Robbie Reynard put in the fastest lap times in practice.
The track was set up very similar to Charlotte, however it did not have much of a whoops section. It was more like rollers that had several different line options, to a quick left into the rhythm section and a right over the finish. However, the dirt was not as durable as Charlotte and was getting rutted up quickly.
So we were ready for Friday nights’ show, in honor of the Ravens playoff game, it was purple Friday and the fans were covered hair to toes in purple. It was an extremely enthusiastic crowd and I knew it was going to be a good show. When they brought Travis Pastrana out in the opening ceremonies a roar of screams filled the entire building! Once again Jimmy Neese came out of the start gate for the qualifier on fire! He won the Lites heat #1, as well as a new face Brad Modjewski #94 putting in a clean ride! Travis Pastrana was in heat #1 of the Arenacross class along with his buddy Robbie Reynard and Chad Johnson. Unfortunately, he would have to head to the Semi races because he didn’t qualify in his heat race!
The track was disappearing by the lap; the ruts were so deep it was throwing these bikes all over the place. The 16 lap Lites Main Event had begun and #480 Cory Green on a Reynard Modifications Honda came out of turn #1 getting the holeshot and taking off down the rockers, through the rhythm sections, headed to the catapult, but the red flag came out and the race was stopped. There was a bad crash in turn #1 throwing Jimmy Neese into the wall. No one likes to see the red flag come out in a race, including the riders. We are all very close on the Arenacross series so when someone goes down it is like seeing your brother go down, very scary! But all the riders were able to get up and come back to the start gate to restart the race. The red flag could change everything for the riders, especially the holeshot winner Cory Green. The gates dropped again and the bikes went into turn #1 a little more cautiously. Cory Green once again was on the gas and got his second holeshot of the night. To my surprise Jimmy Neese was right up there with him, along with Brad Modjewski. Cory was making the track look easy, but right about the half way mark it got really congested with lappers, putting on the pressure to not make any mistakes. The white flag came out and the #480 Cory Green was still riding like it was the first lap! Jimmy Neese was in 2nd and Brad Modjewski was in 3rd. Cory was all smiles as he pulled off his helmet dancing around. I nicknamed him Booty Shaker, because he is a really good dancer, not to mention how well he can shake it! I am actually a little jealous! So we were up there booty shaken’ for his first #1 trophy! Jimmy Neese was such an amazing sport as always, his bike was held together by duct tape, dirt coving his gear and he was thankful for the “second chance” as he called the red flag! Brad Modjewski got his first podium of the season coming in 3rd. We were ready for the big bikes in the Arenacross class!
We were all nervous that Travis would not qualify but somehow he never fails to amaze anyone! I held up the Thor 5 second board and the bikes zoomed past into turn #1. It was Robbie Reynard out of the turn and into the rockers. Chad Johnson, Keith Johnson, Kevin Johnson and Jimmy Neese were up there battling for the top 5. Chad got some confidence back last week receiving his first win of the season and it definitely showed in his performance. He looked like the Chad Johnson we know and love to watch ride! But Robbie Reynard was on the gas and was riding so clean. It was going to be tough to catch him. Travis was working hard to get up with the guys back in 9th or 10th. He was creeping his way up, but time was not on his side! Where was our points leader Danny Smith?? He was back with Travis working hard to not lose too many points, and make his way to the podium. Brock Sellards was not feeling his best and was not riding anywhere near his best! No one was able to catch Robbie; he loved every section of the track, including the ruts! Chad was working hard but he looked great holding on to 2nd till the checkered flag came out. But the MVR (most valuable rider) was Jimmy Neese up on the podium in 3rd. Taking that hard crash into the wall in the Lites main event, and being able to put himself and the Carolina Xpress on the podium in both classes. The Reynard Modification riders cleaned house on Friday night at the First Mariner Arena taking 1st in both classes, #17 Robbie Reynard in the Arenacross Class and #480 Cory “Booty Shaker” Green in the Lites Class. Travis came up to autographs just happy he was able to finish on two wheels. He was a little disappointed because he lost the race and his bet with Robbie. He told Robbie, “You could have made it interesting and waited for me or something; it would have been a better show!”
The people of Baltimore were all pumped for the game on Saturday night. But in no way did it affect our attendance. The arena was packed and the riders were ready to put on a show! That is why we are all here, to do what we love to do and to make the fans leave with smiles! The track party began and the flood gates of people opened! There were so many Arenacross fans on the track with eyes wide getting to meet the top riders, and yours truly Miss Arenacross J. There was a lot of moisture in the air, changing the dirt a little, it was real spongy feeling. But it was also beginning to show some rocks and gravel. But the main concern was the amount of damage the tires were doing to the track. Making a lot of ruts and forcing the riders to change their lines almost every lap.
The Lites Main Event was about to begin and the engines were wide open coming into turn #1. It was Brad Modjewski out in front with the holeshot, but not far behind him was Jimmy Neese. They were already battling for first, the track rode really well for Brad Modjewski but Jimmy Neese used his experience to make the pass and force Brad to settle behind him in 2nd. The 3rd place spot was Kody Molitor, no stranger to the podium in the Lites class! Brad Modjewski kept Jimmy Neese honest throughout the entire race, but in the end Jimmy Neese held on to his 1 st place trophy, Brad Modjewski in 2nd and Kody Molitor asking for a kiss from Miss Arenacross instead of his 3rd place trophy. What a race!
The track crew was restoring the track for the big bikes to tear it up again. Robbie Reynard once again won his Heat race looking just as good as he did on Friday. But Kevin Johnson wanted it bad, because last year he tore up the track on Saturday night in Baltimore, beginning his winning streak. Also, Brock Sellards was able to win his Heat race, feeling a little better than Friday night. The gates dropped and the bikes jumped out onto the track and the show was on! The holeshot would go to Brock Sellards the #18 was looking a lot better than Friday night’s race! Kevin Johnson was right behind him waiting for his chance to get up in the first place spot. Chad Johnson was right behind him, and Robbie was passing riders left and right coming right behind Chad. Brock went down, he let go of his lead and was going to have to work to get it back! Kevin Johnson had the lead but Chad was watching and waiting. Kevin made a small mistake and Chad took full advantage. There is really no room for nice guys in Arenacross, the lap times are short and if you leave it open and don’t ride aggressive the guy behind you will! Robbie Reynard was now in 3 rd but he was going for 1 st. But it wasn’t long before he crashed coming out of the rhythm section, once again proving anything could happen in one lap of Arenacross. Kevin was showing his front tire to Chad every so often, but Chad was not giving an inch! He wanted that win really bad! Once again our points leader #38 Danny Smith was towards the back of the pack, not racing the way he has been. The race was becoming very complicated, the ruts were so deep the concrete floor was showing, and the lapper traffic was making it difficult to maneuver around! When the checkered flag came out Chad Johnson was so pumped and Kevin Johnson was equally happy with his ride. However, we had no idea who came in 3 rd because it was such a complicated race! It ended up being Justin Buckelew!! His first podium of the season and he was all smiles! It was great to see Justin and Kevin on the podium together because they are cousins and they had a lot of family out supporting them! The fans in Baltimore were amazing and truly love the sport of Motocross! It was such a good weekend!
So next weekend we are off to Dayton, Ohio. I have never been to the Buckeye state and I cannot wait to check it out! There is another Arenacross down in Pikeville, Kentucky. We are right in the middle of the season and the points between the riders are getting really close. This is where you don’t want to miss a second of the series! So make sure you are keeping up because it is going to be a fun ride! Also check out the Arenacross series showing on Speed! You can find the schedule on the homepage at arenacross.com. So until next week be safe and keep your smiles!
XOXO
Ashley Miss Arenacross
