Bowers Captures his Eighth Win in Dayton

Irvine, Calif., (January 21, 2012) - Babbitt’s Monster Energy/Amsoil Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers collected his astonishing eighth win of the AMA Arenacross Series on Saturday night at Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. After a fifth-place start, Bowers cautiously made his way to the front of the field on the rutted, technical track. Bowers would get handed the lead after the leader crashed, giving Bowers his eighth win of the season and a comfortable 15-point lead in the points standings. Bowers’ teammate, Chad Johnson could only manage ninth in the main event, but remains third in the points standings with two wins.

Taking Advantage

Bowers is known for hunting down the leaders by pushing the limits, but Saturday night’s track did not allow for that. The dirt in Dayton, Ohio was very soft which made for a very rutted track that was difficult to pass on. Bowers got off to a fifth-place start and slowly made his way to the front of the field. There is a fine line between going fast and going out of control as showed with the technical track claiming riders every lap. Once into second, Bowers was happy with his position until the leader lost the front end in one of the corners, handing Bowers the lead.

“The track was really fun this weekend, but it wasn’t the easiest to race on,” said Bowers. “I got a good start around fifth and wanted to make my way to the front, but it was difficult to find a spot to make a pass due to the ruts. The rhythm sections and corners were so rutted that you had to be on your game or you would end up on the ground. I didn’t want to risk pushing it and jeopardize my points lead, but the leader ended up pushing too hard and going down, handing me the win.”

Taking the Punches

After last week’s win in Topeka, Kan., Johnson was ready to carry the momentum into Dayton, Ohio and put his Kawasaki KX™250F back on the podium. A prepared and confident Johnson hit the track for practice, but quickly found himself on the ground in one of the rhythm sections. In the heat race, he would crash in the same rhythm lane which gave him a poor gate choice for the main. Bruised and sore, but never defeated, Johnson pushed through the main event and ended the night in ninth place. Johnson struggled with the track all night, but still sits third in the points and looks forward to next weekend.

“I was excited coming off last week’s win,” said Johnson. “But first thing in practice I went down in a rhythm section and in the heat race I threw myself on the ground again. The track was really rutted and slippery, which made it tough to keep your line in the corners and jumps. I was disappointed there wasn’t much for whoops because I like to make a lot of my passes there. You had to capitalize on other rider’s mistakes in order to make a pass.”

Tricky Conditions

The track at the Nutter Center was well received by the riders even though it made racing difficult. The soft, rutted dirt became slippery as the night went on which meant riders had to have their bikes dialed and pay close attention to line choice.

“The track was tricky enough to ride by yourself,” said Johnson. “Making passes was pretty sketchy because the ruts on the jump faces would send you from one side of the track to the other, which made it difficult to say the least. Most of the passes happened when riders made mistakes, so I just tried to stay flawless. A lot of guys struggled with the soft dirt, but my KX250F was a rocket ship out there and pulled so hard in ruts.”

Back to the West

Next weekend, the AMA Arenacross Series heads from the East coast back to the West coast at Cedar Park Center in Cedar Park, Tex., for a double-header weekend. Bowers is looking to stretch out his 15-point lead and tack on another win to his tally, while Johnson will be looking to bounce back to the front of the field and challenge his teammate for the win.

Results

AMA Arenacross Series
Nutter Center – Dayton, Ohio
January 21, 2012

Arenacross Class Results
1. TYLER BOWERS, DANVILLE, KY., BABBITT’S MONSTER ENERGY/AMSOIL KAWASAKI
2. Jeff Gibson, Blacklick, Ohio, Honda
3. Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Honda
4. ZACH AMES, PROSPECT, OHIO, KAWASAKI
5. Cole Siebler, Emmett, Idaho, Honda
6. Kevin Johnson, Spring, Texas, KTM
7. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM
8. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
9. CHAD JOHNSON, RHINELANDER, WIS., BABBITT’S MONSTER ENERGY/AMSOIL KAWASAKI
10. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM

Arenacross Class Points
1. TYLER BOWERS, DANVILLE, KY., BABBITT’S MONSTER ENERGY/AMSOIL KAWASAKI, 260
2. Jeff Gibson, Blacklick, Ohio, Honda, 245
3. CHAD JOHNSON, RHINELANDER, WIS., BABBITT’S MONSTER ENERGY/AMSOIL KAWASAKI, 218
4. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM, 186
5. Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Honda, 173
6. ZACH AMES, PROSPECT, OHIO, KAWASAKI, 164
7. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM, 128
8. JOSH DEMUTH, NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS, BABBITT’S MONSTER ENERGY/AMSOIL KAWASAKI, 127
9. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM, 101
10. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki, 86