Photo: Arenacross facebook page
It's not Supercross but the Pacific Northwest still gets some dirt bike action this year as the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross series heads to the Tacoma Dome about 30 minutes south of Seattle for Round 13 in a season that's far from over.
Three rounds remain and thanks to the "Race to the Championship" format that reset the point totals for the Top 10 riders a few rounds back, everyone is in contention for the 2015 Arenacross title. Points leader Kyle Regal has a six point advantage over Chris Blose and is the rider to beat after winning two of the last three rounds.
As a refresher, the "Race to the Championship" format of Arenacross reset the points for those riders in the Top 10 after Round 9. Therefore, the rider in first place starts the final six rounds of the "Race" with six points, second place gets five points, third and fourth place start with four points, fifth and sixth get three points, seventh and eighth get two points and ninth and 10th start with one point.
Last week at a sold-out Spokane Arena some shake-up in the standings occurred after Gavin Faith took second and Cory Green grabbed fourth overall pushing both up the standings. Faith jumped from sixth to third and Green, who narrowly made the final Top 10 in order to move on the "Race to the Championship," moved up one spot into sixth-place. Bobby Kiniry's 10th place result dropped him from fourth to seventh.
MotoSport rider Gared Steinke won his first career Main event last week but remains in ninth-place. However, with the confidence boost that comes that comes with winning he's definitely a solid podium threat from here out. After Spokane, where he finished sixth overall, Steinke said he couldn't wait for Tacoma and expects another podium.
Steinke's 63 points since the reset have him just 12 from the Top 5 and 16 from third-place. But, he'll not only need podiums to catch the leaders but when he doesn't step on the box finishing in the Top 5 is crucial. Last week he finished 10th in Moto 1 before taking first in Moto 2 which put a dent into making a huge point gain.
In the West Lites class, MotoSport rider and newly crowned Champion Daniel Blair has no plans to put in a victory lap for the remaining rounds. After securing his first career title, Blair said his bike is running perfectly and he's ready to finish the season "with a bang." He's got three wins in West Lites competition and five for the season. At the very least don't be surprised to see him finish out on the box with at least one more center podium under his belt.
Get your racing fix starting at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Tacoma Dome. Buy tickets online or at the box office, 2727 East D Street in Tacoma, WA.
2015 Race to the Championship Standings
- Kyle Regal (91)
- Chris Blose (85)
- Gavin Faith (79)
- Jacob Hayes (76)
- Matt Goerke (75)
- Cory Green (72)
- Bobby Kiniry (71)
- Travis Sewell (66)
- Gared Steinke (63) - MotoSport rider
- Steven Mages (53)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points
- Daniel Blair (99) - 2015 West Lites Champion
- Cody VanBuskirk (51)
- Brandon Glenn (48)
- Jake Locks (48)
- Clay Elliott (34)
- Jason McConnell (33)
- Josh Struebig (30)
- Jonah Locks (27)
- Mason Wharton (24)
- Dalton Oxborrow (18)
- Benjamin Nelko (18)
