Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Jacob Hayes scores another AMSOIL Arenacross Series win at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
Hayes was virtually unstoppable, sweeping both Arenacross main events for the second time this season to give himself a total of three overall victories thus far in the series. In the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class, Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM’s Sean Cantrell began his trek down Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross with a win in both his professional debut and his first ever AMSOIL Arenacross start.
TiLUBE/Tuf Racing Honda’s Jace Owen grabbed the holeshot to start the first 15-lap Arenacross main event, but Hayes, Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Chris Blose and TZR/Woodstock KTM’s Travis Sewell quickly relegated Owen to fourth place. Blose and Sewell stalked Hayes for the entire 15 laps of the race, but in the end Hayes crossed the finish line with a comfortable lead of nearly 3 seconds. The top three running order remained the same, with Blose second and Sewell third. In his first start while filling in for the injured Kyle Regal, Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna’s Austin Stroupe finished fourth. Owen was fifth.
When Hayes selected the inversion for the second Arenacross main event, he chose the case with the number eight inside it, meaning half the field would be inverted. Owen once again put his Honda out front when the gate dropped, but Hayes was off to another good start right behind him. Blose was third, followed by Stroupe and Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna’s Gared Steinke. Owen held the lead for all of one lap before Hayes made a pass for the lead. Owen stucl close to Hayes for most of the race, but Hayes pulled away on the final lap to take the win by 3 seconds. Blose dropped a couple positions and fell out of podium contention, allowing Stroupe to take over third, with Sewell fourth and Blose fifth.
Hayes’ 1-1 effort made him the winningest rider in the Arenacross class thus far in 2016, with three overall victories and eight main event wins. Owen posted his best finish of the season, second overall (5-2), while Stroupe finished third overall (4-3). Sewell finished fourth overall (3-4), and Blose finished fifth overall (2-5).
The only time Hayes yielded any points was in the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge, where his Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki teammate, Gavin Faith, edged him out to earn an additional championship bonus point. It was of little consequence as Hayes extended his lead in the AMSOIL Arenacross Series standings to 19 points over Faith, who finished sixth overall in the main events. Blose is third, 25 points back, followed by Sewell and TiLUBE/Tuf Racing Honda’s Ben Lamay.
Cantrell made his pro debut a memorable one by rocketing to the front of the field at the start of the 15-lap Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites main event, ahead of DrivenMX Racing’s Jared Lesher and A&Y Racing Honda’s Daniel Herrlein. Cantrell gapped the field early while Herrlein and Lesher tussled over second place. Herrlein grabbed the spot on lap two and began to cut into Cantrell’s lead. Lesher would hold third for a few more laps laps before FCC Motorsports Honda’s Dylan Walker passed him.
Up front, the battle for the lead began to get interesting as Cantrell and Herrlein went bar to bar, with Herrlein gaining the edge to lead lap seven. However, Cantrell moved back around Herrlein on the very next lap. The duo swapped the lead for the next couple laps before Cantrell took control for good on lap 10 and went on to take the win just over a second ahead of Herrlein. TZR/Woodstock KTM’s Cody VanBuskirk finished third after starting sixth. Walker was fourth, with CycleTrader/Rock River Yamaha’s Justin Cooper fifth.
Herrlein’s runner-up finish extended his Eastern Regional Championship points lead. He now sits 36 points ahead of Walker. Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Jacob Williamson, who finished 15th, is third, 43 points out of the lead.
2016 AMSOIL Arenacross Series
Legacy Arena
Birmingham, Alabama
Results: February 13, 2016
Arenacross Main Event 1
1. Jacob Hayes-Kaw
2. Chris Blose-Kaw
3. Travis Sewell-KTM
4. Austin Stroupe-Hus
5. Jace Owen-Hon
6. Gavin Faith-Kaw
7. Gared Steinke-Hus
8. Cody VanBuskirk-KTM
9. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
10. Ben Lamay-Hon
Arenacross Main Event 2
1. Jacob Hayes-Kaw
2. Jace Owen-Hon
3. Austin Stroupe-Hus
4. Travis Sewell-KTM
5. Chris Blose-Kaw
6. Gared Steinke-Hus
7. Gavin Faith-Kaw
8. Ben Lamay-Hon
9. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
10. Sean Cantrell-KTM
Arenacross Overall
1. Jacob Hayes-Kaw/1-1
2. Jace Owen-Hon/5-2
3. Austin Stroupe-Hus/4-3
4. Travis Sewell-KTM/3-4
5. Chris Blose-Kaw/2-5
6. Gavin Faith-Kaw/6-7
7. Gared Steinke-Hus/7-6
8. Ben Lamay-Hon/10-8
9. Daniel Herrlein-Hon/9-9
10. Cody VanBuskirk-KTM/8-13
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results (bonus points)
1. Gavin Faith-Kaw/2 points
2. Jacob Hayes-Kaw/1 point
3. Jace Owen-Hon/1 point
4. Travis Sewell-KTM/1 point
5. Chris Blose-Kaw/1 point
6. Austin Stroupe-Hus/1 point
7. Gared Steinke-Hus/1 point
8. Ben Lamay-Hon/1 point
2016 AMSOIL Arenacross Series Points Standings
1. Jacob Hayes-262/8 main event wins
2. Gavin Faith-243/2 main event wins
3. Chris Blose-237/1 main event win
4. Travis Sewell-235/5 main event wins
5. Ben Lamay-165
6. Jace Owen-146
7. Gared Steinke-143
8. Kyle Regal-130
9. Daniel Herrlein-127
10. Kyle Bitterman-115
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Main Event
1. Sean Cantrell-KTM
2. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
3. Cody VanBuskirk-KTM
4. Dylan Walker-Hon
5. Justin Cooper-Yam
6. DJ MacFarlane-Yam
7. Henry Miller-Hon
8. Jared Lesher-KTM
9. Jake McKinney-Hon
10. Mathew Weakley-Hus
2016 AMSOIL Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Points Standings
1. Daniel Herrlein-90/2 main event wins
2. Dylan Walker-54
3. Jacob Williamson-47/1 main event win
4. Steve Roman-43
5. Justin Cooper-42
6. Lane Staley-39
7. Tyler McSwain-35
8. Henry Miller-34
9. DJ MacFarlane-21
10. Brandon Hartranft-18
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