Owen and Harrison Take Top Spots – 2017 Kansas City AX

Fresh off its first off weekend of the 2017 season, AMSOIL Arenacross returned to action on Saturday night inside the Sprint Center for the sixth round of the championship. After a late red flag in the final 250AX Class Main Event forced a restart with less than five laps remaining, savvy passes in the closing laps allowed TiLUBE/Jack Link’s/TUF Racing Honda’s Jace Owen to steal his fifth overall victory of the season over Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki, presented by AP Design, rider Gavin Faith. In the opening round of the Western Regional AX Lites Class, Motosport/Quick Roofing/Super Charged Energy Yamaha’s Heath Harrison took his third Main Event win of the season.

Prior to the Main Events a pair of familiar foes faced off in the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge with Faith and Owen. After a competitive battle, Owen, the 250AX points leader, emerged victorious to earn an additional championship bonus point that would prove to pay big dividends at the end of the evening.

In the first 250AX Class Main Event it was Faith who grabbed the holeshot over TiLUBE/Jack Link’s/TUF Racing Honda teammates Ben Lamay and Owen. By the completion of Lap 1 both Owen and Rockstar Energy/OTSFF/Yamaha, in association with Cycle Trader and Rock River, rider Chris Blose had moved past Lamay, into second and third, respectively. Both Owen and Blose kept Faith in their sights throughout the early stages of the race, but then began a battle for second, which allowed Faith to open a slight gap. Blose moved past Owen into second on Lap 8, but faced a deficit of over two seconds to Faith. The reigning AMSOIL Arenacross Champion went on to take the win, crossing the line 2.7 seconds ahead of Blose, with Owen third, Rockstar Energy/OTSFF/Yamaha’s Matt Goerke fourth, and Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki Gared Steinke in fifth.

When the second Main Event got underway it was Faith who narrowly edged out Owen for the holeshot. The two riders battled side-by-side for the top spot, but that allowed the Yamaha duo of Goerke and Blose to both make their way around and assume control of the race, dropping Faith to third and Owen to fourth. Goerke settled into the lead ahead of his teammate and comfortably controlled the Main Event. Faith continued to pressure Blose for second and was about to make the pass until the red flag waved for a downed rider on Lap 12, immediately bringing the race to a stop and forcing a restart.

The field lined up single file to contest the closing laps and when the green flag waved it was Owen to seized the opportunity. After running fourth throughout the entirety of the Main Event, Owen passed both Faith and Blose to move into second on Lap 12. Faith slotted into third, while Blose lost two positions to drop off the podium in fourth. Goerke went on to take his first Main Event win of the season, 1.2 seconds ahead of Owen, with Faith in third. Steinke followed in fourth, with Woodstock KTM’s Daniel Herrlein in fifth. Blose continued to drop back and ultimately crossed the line in seventh.

When the overall results were tallied, Owen, thanks to his added bonus point from the Head 2 Head Challenge, and Faith sat tied atop the charts for first. However, by virtue of his better finish in the second Main Event Owen (3-2) earned the tiebreaker and, in turn, the overall win. Faith dropped to second (1-3), with Goerke rounding out the overall podium in third (4-1). Steinke finished fourth (5-4), while Blose was fifth (2-7).

With a tie in points collected for the night, Owen and Faith remain separated by 17 points in the 250AX Class standings. Goerke solidified his hold on third, now sitting 26 points out of the lead.

The first Western Regional AX Lites Class Main Event of the season saw Yamaha rider Dylan Bolinger capture the holeshot over Harrison and Powerband Racing & Suspension KTM’s Brandon Gourley. Harrison applied pressure on Bolinger for the lead immediately and successfully made his way around the Yamaha rider on Lap 4. Once out front, Harrison was able to pull away, but the battle for the podium continued. After starting fifth, Team Babbitt’s/GPF/Monster Energy Kawasaki/MMCR’s Ryan Breece mounted a charge to the front. He fought his way past Gourley into third on Lap 5, and then moved into second past Bolinger on Lap 8. Harrison held a comfortable lead of more than four seconds by the time Breece moved into second and carried it through to the finish for his third Main Event win of the season. A hard-charging Breece did well to close the deficit to under three seconds at the end but ultimately settled for second. Bolinger held on to finish third.

The runner-up finish put Breece atop the Western Regional standings after one round. He holds a one-point lead over Bolinger, while Driven MX Racing KTM’s Jared Lesher, who finished fourth in the Main Event, sits third, two points out of the lead.

AMSOIL Arenacross’ next round of the championship will be a historic one, taking place inside the hallowed grounds of Atlanta’s Georgia Dome for the inaugural MotoFest. The championship’s first-ever doubleheader weekend alongside Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, will commence on Friday, February 24, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

1.     Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki

2.     Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha

3.     Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda

4.     Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., Yamaha

5.     Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki

6.     Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda

7.     Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM

8.     Heath Harrison, Silverhill, Ala., Yamaha

9.     Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM

10.  Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki

1.     Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha

2.     Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda

3.     Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki

4.     Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki

5.     Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM

6.     Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., Kawasaki

7.     Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha

8.     Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda

9.     Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki

10.  Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM

1.     Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (3-2)

2.     Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1-3)

3.     Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha (4-1)

4.     Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki (5-4)

5.     Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha (2-7)

6.     Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM (7-5)

7.     Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (6-8)

8.     Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., Kawasaki (12-6)

9.     Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki (10-9)

10.  Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM (9-10)

1.     Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (2 points)

2.     Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1 point)

3.     Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki (1 point)

4.     Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (1 point)

5.     Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki (1 point)

6.     Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., Kawasaki (1 point)

7.     Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM (1 point)

8.     Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha (1 point)

1.     Heath Harrison, Silverhill, Ala., Yamaha

2.     Ryan Breece, Athol, Idaho, Kawasaki

3.     Dylan Bolinger, Corona, Calif., Yamaha

4.     Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM

5.     Jeramy Taylor, Canton, Ohio, KTM

6.     Hunter Sayles, Merrill, Wis., KTM

7.     Max Markolf, Winchester, Calif., KTM

8.     Lane Shaw, Alvin, Texas, Honda

9.     Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ind., Kawasaki

10.  Cade Autenrieth, Hemet, Calif., Yamaha

1.     Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda – 222 (7 Main Event Wins)

2.     Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki – 205 (5 Main Event Wins)

3.     Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha – 196 (1 Main Event Win)

4.     Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki – 170

5.     Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha – 159

6.     Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda – 151 (1 Main Event Win)

7.     Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM – 141

8.     Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM – 102

9.     Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 89

10.  Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., Kawasaki – 82

1.     Ryan Breece, Athol, Idaho, Kawasaki – 15

2.     Dylan Bolinger, Corona, Calif., Yamaha – 14

3.     Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM – 13

4.     Jeramy Taylor, Canton, Ohio, KTM – 12

5.     Hunter Sayles, Merrill, Wis., KTM – 11