Hello Arenacross fans! We are about halfway through the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series just finishing off our weekend in Dayton, Ohio. It was a cold weekend, but we were back in the Nutter Center with barely an empty seat in the house for our Saturday night only race. Although it was a split weekend for the series, with the other round in Albuquerque, we had the majority of the top riders in Ohio, excluding the Keith and Kevin Johnson who opted to stay home in Albuquerque and race for their friends and family. 

The track in Dayton was one of the longer tracks of the season, only due to the very short start straight and two separate rhythm sections. The dirt was also some of the softest dirt we have seen all year, which made for some exciting racing! It all started in practice at about noon. We had almost 100 riders show up to race the Nutter Center Toyota AMA Arenacross. They all had to go through a couple Heat races both day and night to be one of the 16 riders to make it to each main event. The competition, as usual, was stacked! Unfortunately, our 2007 Toyota AMA Arenacross Series Champ, Danny Smith, took a hard fall in practice breaking his collar bone and knocking him a little silly. I went over to his pit right after it happened and his mechanic was taking him to the hospital to get checked out. He was pretty pale and his shoulder looked all banged up. Luckily it ended up only being a collar bone break, so he should be able to heal up with some rest and time off the bike. Get well soon Danny! : )

Opening ceremonies echoed through the crowd as the fireworks lit up the Nutter Center. It was great to hear the crowd get all pumped up for the riders. Lites rider Travis Sewell was on the gas getting his heat race win, along with up and comer 979 Codi Adams. Travis Sewell and his brother Shane Sewell are both in the North Arenacross Lites Championship battle with Suzuki rider Cory Green, so the gate pick is a vital part of the race. Especially with the short start straight right into the whoops. That was the case for Travis Sewell who jumped out front and got the holeshot, but Tyler Bright was on his rear wheel.  Cory Green got a mid-pack start and was having to fight his way to the front of the pack.  With only a couple laps left Travis Sewell made a mistake in his almost flawless race and gave Tyler Bright the chance to pass, they battled back and forth but Tyler could not quite get the job done. By that time Cory Green had worked his way up to 3rd place. Travis Sewell was able to hang on to his spot on top of the podium, Tyler Bright smiling in 2nd and Cory Green taking 3rd and also keeping his North Lites region points lead. Travis Sewell has been riding strong the last couple rounds and is definitely one rider to keep your eyes on!

It was time for the Arenacross Main Event and the tension was running high. The track was very tight in spots and there had been a lot of block passing going on all night long. Brock Sellards dominated his first heat race letting his hometown crowd know he was there to show them how to race in Ohio. Nathan Skaggs took the Arenacross Class heat #2, with a huge smile. All the bikes were lined up and the 30 second board went sideways and the bikes jumped out of the gate and into the whoops. It was all Brock Sellards taking the holeshot and coming out of the whoops fast. Tommy Hofmaster, Robbie Reynard, Kelly Smith and Chad Johnson were not too far behind the leader, but Brock was riding fast and really well. Robbie was able to get around Tommy Hofmaster for 2nd and began to close the gap between Brock and him. Points leader Chad Johnson was using his Arenacross experience to work his way past the clump of mid-pack riders and right behind Tommy Hofmaster and Kelly Smith. Kelly Smith was also gaining on Robbie Reynard, keeping him honest and leaving no room for mistakes. Robbie had a couple of bike lengths on Kelly going down the rhythm section and into the turn before the catapult. Unfortunately, Kelly went in for the pass on Robbie and made some contact knocking the #17 down, but moving himself into 2nd place behind his teammate Brock Sellards. Chad Johnson was also able to get around Robbie as he tried to get up and back into the race. Brock Sellards was benefiting from all the drama behind him, pulling away from the pack and getting a very comfortable lead. Kelly Smith and Chad Johnson were now battling for 2nd place going back and forth; Chad finally sealed the deal coming into the second rhythm section forcing Kelly to yield to his Tuf Honda. Brock was working through lap traffic still keeping a fairly strong lead until eventually the checkered flag and red fire celebrated his flawless race. Chad Johnson kept his points lead finishing in 2nd. Kelly Smith hung on getting his Team Babbitt’s Kawasaki another podium in 3rd. It was a classic Arenacross race with some aggressive passing and nonstop action, once again not a race you wanted to miss, and everyone was on the edge of their seat the entire race!

Chad Johnson is well on his way to another Arenacross Championship in 2008; however, anything can happen. We still have eight more stops on the 2008 Toyota AMA Arenacross Series, leaving plenty of room for anyone to take over the Championship. It has been a really exciting season so far and I cannot wait to see what is going to happen next! Will Brock finally get the Toyota AMA Arenacross Arenacross Series Championship that he has been racing for, or will Chad Johnson get another Arenacross Championship, Toyota truck, and bragging rights? Or will we have a brand new Champ? Right now anything can happen! I am excited for Kevin Johnson, who took his first win of the season at the split round in Albuquerque, NM, this weekend in front of his hometown crowd. He needed that after last weekend’s devastating crash leading the final lap of the main. We are all together next weekend for a non-split weekend both Friday and Saturday night in Louisville, KY. I hope you are going to tune in as the points chase gets even more intense. See you all at the races!
Keep your smiles! : )

XOXO
Ashley
Miss Arenacross