BALTIMORE – Night two of AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, from Baltimore’s 1st Mariner Arena boasted a wild night of great competition to bring the second round of the 2013 season to a truly dramatic conclusion. After starting the season off with consistent efforts, Mosites Motorsports Kawasaki’s Michael McDade, of Edinburg, Pa., emerged with his first career overall win in the Arenacross Class. However, it took the Head-to-Head Bracket Races to crown him a winner on Saturday night. In the Arenacross Lites Class, Fun Mart Cycle KTM’s Michael Willard, of Newark, Ohio, secured his first win of the season.
The first Main Event set the stage for a tremendous battle for the overall win as McDade and Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis rider Zach Ames, of Prospect, Ohio, brought the Baltimore crowd to its feet with an incredible race. McDade grabbed the holeshot and early lead, but was quickly challenged by Ames. Behind them, Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis’ Tyler Bowers, of Danville, Ky., was forced to fight his way to the front of the field after starting outside the top five. McDade and Ames were never much more than a few bike lengths apart, and Ames even made an attempt on the lead on the final lap, but in the end McDade held on for his second Main Event win of the season. Bowers, the championship points leader, clawed his way to a third-place finish.
For the first time in the 2013 season, the field did not experience an inversion, allowing McDade, Ames, and Bowers to retain their highly-desired gate picks heading into the second Main Event. As the gate dropped, McDade raced to the holeshot yet again and looked to pull away with Ames and Bowers in tow. However, Bowers turned up his aggression and picked off his teammate and McDade to take over the lead and win his fifth Main Event in seven attempts this season. Ames and McDade resumed their battle for the final two spots on the podium, with Ames prevailing to take second.
By virtue of the trio’s point totals from each Main Event, the final tally resulted in a three-way tie – a first and historic occurrence for the brand new AMSOIL Arenacross. The overall victory was decided by the outcome of the Head-to-Head Bracket Racing, which also featured some of the best racing of the season thanks to an anticipated showdown between the top two riders in the championship.
Both Bowers and McDade raced their way into the final pair in a battle for the bonus championship point. McDade got the upper hand in the two-lap sprint, allowing him to gain a little ground on his rival in the standings on a night when he tied Bowers in Main Event points. That additional marker proved to be McDade’s winning moment of the evening as he stood atop the overall podium for the first time. Bowers finished second, with Ames in third.
The points standings didn’t experience any dramatic shakeup as the season heads to the Race to the Championship, which will begin at the seventh round. Bowers remains on top, but is now just seven points ahead of McDade in second.
In the Arenacross Lites Class Main Event, Willard raced to a convincing victory, pulling away during the second half of the Main Event and giving him a win to go along with a runner-up finish from Friday night. BWRengines.com Honda’s Kyle White, of Freeport, Ill., finished second, while Hillview Motorsports Suzuki’s Steve Roman, of Apollo, Pa., finished third.
Coverage of tonight’s captivating action can be seen tomorrow, exclusively on SPEED, beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
The 2013 AMSOIL Arenacross season continues next weekend from Grand Rapids, Mich., and Van Andel Arena with two nights of competition. Third round coverage can be seen on SPEED next Sunday, January 20, at 6 p.m. ET.
For Full Baltimore AX Results and Points Standings, CLICK HERE.
Cheeck out interview with first time winner Michael Mcdade.
For Full Baltimore AX Results and Points Standings, CLICK HERE.
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 1 (Baltimore)
Michael McDade, Edinburg, Pa., Kawasaki
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
Dave Ginolfi, Budd Lake, N.J., KTM
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., Suzuki
Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM
Michael Willard, Newark, Ohio, KTM
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 2 (Baltimore)
Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
Michael McDade, Edinburg, Pa., Kawasaki
Jeff Gibson, Pataskala, Ohio, KTM
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
Robby Marshall, Stow, Mass., KTM
Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki
Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM
Arenacross Class Overall (Main Event Finishes)
Michael McDade, Edinburg, Pa., Kawasaki (1-3)
Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki (3-1)
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki (2-2)
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki (5-8)
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (9-5)
Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM (7-7)
Jeff Gibson, Pataskala, Ohio, KTM (12-4)
Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., Suzuki (6-12)
Michael Willard, Newark, Ohio, KTM (8-11)
Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM (10-10)
Arenacross Lites Class Results (Baltimore)
1. Michael Willard, Newark, Ohio, KTM
2. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda
3. Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki
4. Jim Neese, Jamestown, N.C., Kawasaki
5. Jacob Knable, North Chesterfield, Va., Kawasaki
6. Michael Lang, Saugerties, N.Y., Honda
7. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
8. Ryan Shonyo, Rougemont, N.C., Kawasaki
9. Patrick Massie, Washington Court House, Ohio, Kawasaki
10. Davey Sterritt, Athens, N.Y., KTM
Arenacross Class Points (After Race 4 of 16)
Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki – 122
Michael McDade, Edinburg, Pa., Kawasaki – 115
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki – 108
Robby Marshall, Stow, Mass., KTM – 79
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki – 73
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM – 73
Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., Suzuki – 72
Jeff Gibson, Pataskala, Ohio, KTM – 68
Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., KTM – 67
Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM – 56
Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 4 of 8)
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM – 41
Michael Willard, Newark, Ohio, KTM – 31
Jim Neese, Jamestown, N.C., Kawasaki – 29
Travis Delnicki, Woodstock Valle, Conn., Suzuki – 18
Vaughn Mays, Genoa City, Wis., KTM – 18
Dave Ginolfi, Budd Lake, N.J., KTM – 17
Michael McDade, Edinburg, Pa., Kawasaki – 16
Derrick Barnaby, Sterling, Conn., Honda – 13
Fredrik Noren, Perris, Calif., KTM – 13
Nick Hardacre, Dayton, Ohio, Kawasaki – 13
Live timing and scoring from each round of the AMSOIL Arenacross season returns for the 2013 season! To follow the intense racing action live, log onto www.Arenacross.com.
For more information on the 2013 AMSOIL Arenacross season, log on to www.Arenacross.com. For all media requests, please contact Brandon Short brandon@nextlevelsportsinc.com or 949-365-5750.
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