2016 AMSOIL Arenacross Schedule Announced

Kyle Regal is expected back to defend his 2015 Arenacross Championship - Photo: Josh Rud

AMSOIL Arenacross released its 2016 schedule this week showcasing 14 dates around the country including a stop for the first time in Southern California. The schedule is one less round than last year's but concludes again in Las Vegas the same weekend of the 2016 Supercross finale.

Arenacross kicks its season off on Jan. 9, 2016 for the second straight year in Cincinnati, OH and features six new stops and a first-time triple header in Colorado. The full press release is below.

ELLENTON, Fla. (July 15, 2015) - After the most successful season in history, Feld Motor Sports announced the 2016 AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael's Road to Supercross, schedule today, which will consist of a 14-round season to crown a champion. The 2016 season will once again kick off from Cincinnati's US Bank Arena on Saturday, January 9, traveling to a total of 13 different states across the country. The championship will culminate with the season finale in Las Vegas for the second time ever on Friday, May 6, featuring the first ever visit to Orleans Arena as the precursor to the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, finale at Sam Boyd Stadium.

AMSOIL Arenacross enjoyed groundbreaking achievements both on the track and in the stands during the 2015 campaign. The battle for the title was closer than ever before, with the season-ending Race to the Championship bringing the fight all the way down to the final race of the season. The championship was ultimately decided by one of the most dramatic and exciting moments in AMSOIL Arenacross history as rivals Jacob Hayes and Kyle Regal came together on the opening lap of the season's last Main Event, with Regal emerging for his first career title.

That memorable finale in Las Vegas proved to be the fitting conclusion to a season that saw some of the highest live event attendance ever recorded for AMSOIL Arenacross. The incredible growth of the sport over the past year has led to one of the most dynamic championship schedules for 2016, which will feature six new stops and a multitude of firsts for AMSOIL Arenacross.

The first ever AMSOIL Arenacross triple-header will take place at Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado, featuring three nights of compelling action. Several rounds later, AMSOIL Arenacross will make its long-awaited debut in the heart of the supercross and arenacross racing industry of Southern California, with the championship's inaugural visit to Citizen's Business Bank Arena in Ontario, located in the nation's second-largest media market of Los Angeles. The following weekend, AMSOIL Arenacross will make its first foray outdoors when it travels to legendary Salinas Sports Complex, home of the California Rodeo Salinas. This round of the championship will also feature a Sunday race date, scheduled to take place under sunny afternoon skies.

As reigning AMSOIL Arenacross Champion, Regal will defend his title against a highly talented field of veteran riders and rising stars led by Hayes, last season's championship runner-up who will return to the perennial contending Team Babbitt's Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki team. The emotions of last season's wild finish still linger for this duo and both head to 2016 sharing unfinished business with one another.

"It was exciting how competitive 2015 was with the championship coming to a colliding finish at the Las Vegas finale, those guys were going for it, each and every time they were on the track," explained Carmichael. "AMSOIL Arenacross is a sport on the rise and I'm excited to see how 2016 plays out with young talent like Austin Forkner stepping up into the program and guys like Regal and Hayes battling it out all the way to the finals in Las Vegas!"

From top to bottom there are scores to be settled throughout AMSOIL Arenacross, setting the stage for an even more memorable 2016 season amongst a field of incredibly talented and gifted athletes. AMSOIL Arenacross is the most intense racing on the planet and it's evident every weekend throughout the season that these riders are prepared to win at all costs in search of one of the most coveted championships in the sport.