we're in Green Bay, Wisconsin at the Resch Center for the final night of racing for the season. Chad Johnson wrapped up the title last night, but there are still several positions behind him that aren't finalized. tonight's action will settle it all and then the checks get passed out and the numbers are assigned for next year. it is arenacross and anything can happen. stay tuned for more updates.... dbm
Lites Heat 1
ivo steinbergs took his honda to the front of heat 1, but being out front didn't last very long for the rider from latvia. by the end of the whoops, justin berry 232 put his kawasaki in the leader's position. at the end of lap one, it was sorted out somewhat with berry in the lead, kurtis mcabe 567 in second, kyle brown 748 third and codi adams 979 in fourth. berry was looking good out front, but mcabe had other ideas. mcabe overtook berry in the whoops and took over the lead. that inspired kyle brown and the next lap brown went by berry in the same spot. codi adams was watching all the action and he too put berry back a spot. around lap 3, it was mcabe out front with a pretty good lead, brown second, adams third, berry fourth and matt cottrill 995 in fifth. mcabe was doing both triples and seemed fairly comfortable doing them every lap. at the finish, it was mcabe taking the win with the rest of the field remaining the same for the last couple of laps.
Lites Heat 2
kyle smith 341 took the holeshot and was looking good through the whoops. then it all came apart as he did a 180 at the end of the whoops and ended up headed the wrong way going into the rhythm section. travis merrill 207 took over the lead with shane sewell 351 right behind him. josh woods 126 was next, then casey shriock 305. smith got his bike headed the correct direction and got back into the fight. merrill had the front spot locked down with sewell in a solid second. josh woods was also in a good position with third place. the next lap through the whoops, sewell went by merrill and took over the lead. josh woods saw an opportunity and he was by merrill in the rhythm section. that made the top three, sewell, woods and merrill. sewell liked being out front and began to launch it over both triples. shriock caught up to merrill and they had a bangfest for awhile. then tanner moore 94 caught up to those two and there was a 3 bike KTM formation rolling around the track. at the checkers, it was sewell taking the win, woods second, shriock third, merrill fourth and moore fifth.
AX Heat 1
keith johnson took his #4 yamaha into the first turn and had the lead for a brief second. then the #33 kawasaki of kelly smith emerged with the lead around the corner before the whoops. brock sellards didn't like a yamaha in front of him either and he took a leap in the rhythm section and went by johnson too. the next group of riders included tommy hofmaster 110 and robbie reynard 17. kelly smith looked like he was riding in the main event already. he was flying and he was way out front. when sellards entered the whoops, kelly smith was already out and in the bowl turn. it was smith kicking butt out front, then way back was the rest of the pack. that was sellards, keith johnson, hofmaster and reynard. that's the way they finished. josh woods was back further and took a pretty hairy spill off the catapult. he did walk away though.
AX Heat 2
jim neese 7 took his carolina express suzuki into the lead of heat 2. kevin johnson 3 was second, gray davenport 916 third and chad johnson 10 fourth. then it was justin berry 232 and kurtis mcabe 567 following the leaders. kevin johnson was feeling neese out for two laps and then made the pass through the whoops for the lead. chad johnson blew by davenport in the whoops and he was up to third. further back, teddy maier 5 was pushing berry and finally went by through the whoops. the top four were all launching over both triples and making some time. chad johnson followed neese for a lap or two and then made his move at the end of the whoops and passed neese for second place. both berry and chris tracy 610 crashed out and were done. davenport still had some gas in the tank and was making a charge but no joy. at the finish, it was kevin johnson taking the win, chad johnson second, davenport third, neese fourth and teddy maier up to fifth.
Lites LCQ
chris tracy 610 took his kawasaki to the front of the pack in the LCQ. kyle smith 341 was second, chad johnson 623 third, corey smith 888 next, then brock halverson 312. the next time through the whoops, kyle smith overtook tracy for the lead and corey smith 888 was by johnson for third. their positions never changed after the second lap and kyle smith went on to take the win with chris tracy second in the last transfer spot for the main.
AX LCQ
davey sterritt 289 got a good jump off the gate and took his kawasaki into the lead of the AX LCQ. ivo steinbergs 74 was second, derek whitney 795 third and kyle smith 341 fourth. whitney made a move after the whoops and took second away from steinbergs. whitney was on fire and began to push sterritt. the next trip through the whoops whitney had moved into the lead. sterritt was now on the bubble and at risk. on lap 3, it was whitney, sterritt, steinbergs and kyle smith. kyle smith began a charge that took him by steinbergs for third place. then the next lap he was pushing sterritt for second and went by through the whoops. the fire was flaming and smith went by whitney through the whoops on the next lap. at the finish, it was kyle smith and derek whitney taking the two transfers to the last main event of the year.
Lites Main
codi adams 979 got his best start of the night with a holeshot in the lites main. shane sewell 351 was right behind in second. ivo steinbergs 74 was third and kyle brown 748 was fourth. justin berry 232 was fifth and travis merrill 207 was sixth. kurtis mcabe was mirred back in the pack. sewell was soon doing the 3x3s and on the move. adams and sewell were running up front with a good space back to third. sewell got a little excited and went down after the catapult landing, but he was up quickly. adams was up front by himself, then a group of three was back a ways. that was sewell trying to hold off brown and berry. mcabe looked to be moving up, but he was in traffic and making mistakes. at that point, it was adams, sewell, brown, berry, casey shriock 305, merrill and mcabe. then mcabe went be merrill and was right up to schriock. adams pace was so quick that he was almost ready to lap merrill who was in seventh. sewell was really pushing to catch up to adams. with one lap to go, they were side by side in the rhythm section and almost ready to lap mcabe. at the finish, it was adams taking the win, sewell second and brown third. sewell's points were enough to win the AX Lites North Region and he was awarde the championship #1 plate on the podium.
USAF freestyle team on the track right now.
AX Main coming up
Final AX Main Event of 2007/2008
kelly smith made it memorable by taking the Toyota Used Vehicle Holeshot Award in the final main event. kevin johnson was in the lead going into the first turn, but smith edged him out going into the whoops. tommy hofmaster was in third, brock sellards next, then keith johnson and chad johnson. kelly smith went right to work trying to put some distance between himself and second place by ripping both triples. chad johnson moved past neese and took over sixth. then kevin johnson and hofmaster started doing the 3x3s also. last night hofmaster threw out the anchor while up front and no one knew what he would do tonight. a lap or so later, both derek whitney and gray davenport crashed each other out after the catapult landing. chad johnson was right on sellards rear fender and they were followed by jim neese and teddy maier. robbie reynard was back farther in the field. keith johnson and sellards started to rip the 3x3s. sellards and chad johnson banged into each other at the barrel after the cat jump and almost stalled. that was enough for jim neese to slip by both riders and move up to fifth. maier and reynard were running a quicker pace now and on the move. both kelly smith and kevin johnson were in another race out front. hofmaster was all alone in third place and comfortable. back farther was keith johnson trying to hold off a pack of riders behind him. that was jim neese, sellards, chad johnson, maier and reynard. reynard had enough of that pace and blew by maier on the start straight. then sellards went by neese in the whoops. they were all bumping each other around in that group and something had to give. the next time through the whoops, both chad johnson and reynard put neese behind them. johnson and reynard were rolling. sooon they were up to sellards and catching him in the whoops. then it looked like kevin johnson was making some time up on kelly smith. sellards began to pressure keith johnson. chad johnson and reynard were coming on hard. then sellards put a block pass on keith johnson and he was by. chad johnson blew by keith johnson in the whoops and sellards was hot on hofmaster rear wheel. chad johnson was coming up on sellards and when they got to the whoops, sellards couldn't hold chad off. chad went by. it was kelly smith, kevin johnson, tommy hofmaster, chad johnson, brock sellards, keith johnson and robbie reynard running the quick pace. the next group was teddy maier and jim neese. hofmaster threw out the anchor and he was going backwards fast. chad johnson went by hofmaster in the whoops and then sellards was right on top of hofmaster. chad block passed hofmaster in the corner after the catapult landing and moved into third. then sellards went by tommy. reynard had no problem with keith johnson and went by in the whoops. the white flag came out and the race was winding down. at the finish, it was kelly smith taking his second win of the weekend, kevin johnson second and chad johnson third. sellards was fourth, reynard fifth and keith johnson sixth.
it was a great season and now it's on to handing out the overall checks tomorrow night at the banquet. check out the TV schedule and be sure to watch this weekend's racing. it was the best. til next year, so long. dirtbikemike
