Welcome back Arenacross fans! We just finished the season opener of the 2008 Arenacross series in Des Moines, Iowa. What an incredible weekend of nonstop Arenacross racing! I had a really busy weekend doing radio promotions and appearance. Des Moines is always a fun place to be because there are so many motocross fans! I enjoy being able to talk to the fans about the races and their favorite riders. The all-star talent that showed up this weekend made for some of the most insane Arenacross racing I have ever seen. There are only 13 gates on the starting line and we had 12 riders who have won an Arenacross Main event in the line-up. Four of them have also been past champions of the Arenacross series.
Once again there was a record number of riders who showed up on Friday day qualifiers, including past Arenacross champion Josh Demuth and another Arenacross star Tommy Hofmaster. It was a tough break for Tommy Hofmaster because he just couldn’t seem to put it together and get a start to qualify for the night program. Unfortunately, he was going to have to watch the races from the stands on Friday night. But the stands on Friday night, however, was not a bad place to be. For the first time in Arenacross history we had a laser light show and some pyro fireworks in the opening ceremonies! It was incredible! The perfect way to kick off the season!

There were a ton of people in the stands and the races were getting intense! The Lites class was full of the young Arenacross talent, some returning riders, plus a lot of new guys. The Reynard Mods/ Rockstar Suzuki rider Cory Green -- we call him the ‘booty shaker’ -- kept himself very consistent this weekend getting both 2nd place finishes in the Lites class Friday and Saturday giving him the points lead for next weekend in Albany, New York. But it was all about 424 Michael McCade on Friday night in the Lites class. He got the holeshot and led the entire race, making it look easy. Roy Horton had a really good race getting himself the 3rd place trophy.

The Arenacross Class was full of new teams, riders and a ton of new bikes. Runner up last year, Robbie Reynard showed up in Des Moines on the Reynard Mods/Rockstar Suzuki team, while the 2006 Arenacross Champ Chad Johnson came on board the Tuf/ Thor Honda team along with the 2007 Arenacross Champ Danny Smith. We also welcomed team Babbits/ Kawasaki to the series with riders Brock Sellards and Kelly Smith. At first I was having a hard time adjusting to seeing Robbie on a Suzuki and Chad on a Honda and Brock on a Kawi. But all the bikes looked sharp and were ready to go racing!
The main event of the Arenacross Class on Friday night was one for the history books. The #1 plate of Danny Smith jumped out of the gate and got the holeshot. He was riding really well, just keeping his lead and being consistent. But as Josh Demuth was slowly working his way up, he came from pretty far back and all the sudden was in second place. He started gaining on Danny with only two laps to go. The white flag came out and Josh was really charging Danny hard. Danny remained calm and just kept riding. It wasn’t until the last corner before the finish line Danny didn’t protect his inside and left the door wide open for Josh. Josh took advantage of the opportunity and aggressively passed Danny in the final turn. Unfortunately, Danny went down in the corner and lost his chance at the win. Josh rolled the jump and was able to pull of the first win of the season! It was an intense finish. The crowd was on its feet and there was a very upset Danny Smith falling all the way back to 4th place. That is really what Arenacross is all about: The unpredictable races! Chad Johnson came in 2nd and Kelly Smith got his first podium in 3rd.
Saturday was a new day! Doors were once again at 6:30pm and the people came in by the hundreds. I was up front signing autographs and checking out the new merchandise of 2008. They have some really great stuff this year, be sure to check it out! The anticipation of the races was all over the building, you could feel it in the crowd and in the pits.

The laser show began and Tim Cotter and I started off opening ceremonies. It was a very special night for us to present Danny Smith with the 2007 championship ring. It sparkled in the lights as he said his thanks to his team and everyone’s support from last year. He talked about the race on Friday with Josh Demuth and you could tell he would not let that ever happen again!
It was a good start to the night for the Babbits boys! Brock had a great heat race and looked like he had the track all figured out! Tommy Hofmaster qualified into the night program so he also was ready to race. Plus, there was the left over tension from Friday night’s main event with Danny and Josh. The crowd was really into the racing, which always makes it a lot of fun for everyone. You could tell that it was going to be another amazing race!
Brock got out in front of the pack with Chad Johnson right behind him. Brock led for three laps before Chad was able to come in and block pass him for the lead. Chad Johnson was riding like the Chad Johnson we saw in the 2006 series. He got out front and rode his own race. He ended up lapping up to about 8th place. Brock slipped back a little bit but never gave up! Danny Smith was right behind Chad Johnson and stayed there for the rest of the race. Nathan Skaggs #270 was in 3rd for a little while but came up really short over the catapult and crashed hard. Brock was able to get himself back into 3rd after battling a little with his teammate Kelly Smith for a couple of laps. It was a really good race! Chad was all smiles as he took his place on top of the box! Danny was happy with 2nd and Brock got the final place on the podium, keeping 3rd.
All in all, it was a really fun and exciting kickoff weekend to Arenacross. The opening ceremonies with the laser show and pyro was an unforgettable experience! I am happy that the season is here and very anxious to see what happens the rest of the season. We are headed to Albany for round two; however, it is only a Saturday night race so things should really get interesting! Remember last year we saw Robbie Reynard and Kevin Johnson take the wins in Albany so keep your eye on them; they both are ready to race! Make sure you keep checking in to Speedtv.com to see when the series will be televised, and of course check out arenacross.com for more updates! See you next week in New York! Until then, keep smiling and keep it on two wheels!!

XOXO
Ashley
Miss Arenacross