The tight quarters of racing in the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross series is proving difficult for some riders as crashes have forced some out of competition and other on-track accidents require those staying up right to navigate around the mess
Jacob Hayes has the most Main events of this young season but trails teammate Matt Goerke on Team Babbitt by 12 points for the points lead. In fact, Goerke has yet to win a race this season but consistent racing along with some hiccups by other riders keep him in the top spot. Chris Blose, another rider for Team Babbitt has two wins but is in seventh-place tied in points with two other riders. Kyle regal, who also has two Moto wins is in third with 109 points.
Goerke benefits from staying clear of the ruckus that's taken down other riders resulting in bad finishes and/or an inability to compete in follow-up races. Team Babbitt swept the season opening Round with Blose out front, Zach Ames in second and Goerke in third. Hayes started the year off in fifth-place. Only Hayes and Goerke remain in the Top 5 as Ames crashed in a practice session prior to Round 2 and hasn't been back since.
Gavin Faith, who surprised everyone with his first overall victory in Grand Rapids after a (1-2) outing on night 2, and then followed that up with a Moto victory and second overall on night 1 in Colorado Springs, finished 16th for both Motos on night 2. He's not even in the Top 10 for points now.
On the home front, Gared Steinke has also had his share of good luck and then bad luck. Kirk Lauerman, team manager for MotoSport.com/Lauerman MX team, said one key to success is avoiding the fracas on the track. He believes Steinke who has been up front in every Moto could be in the Top 5 for points if not for getting tangled with other riders.
Steinke has two Top 5 Moto finishes and five Top 10 finishes. He's in 10th place for points but just 11 from seventh-place. As long as Steinke remains in the Top 10 for points through Round 10 he moves on to compete in the Race for the Championship over the final five Rounds when all rider points are mostly negated and the series takes a turn in the chase for the 2015 Arenacross crown.
Round 4 marks a return to the East Lites class for the third round in that series. Daniel Herrlein, who is also racing in the regular Arenacross class and is in ninth-place for points, is first in the East Class with 44. Like Goerke, Herrlein does not have a win but Darian Sanayei has two and sits in third-place with 33 points behind Dave Ginolfi who has 41 points.
MotoSport rider Daniel Blair races in the East Lites but not for points as he can only compete in either the East or West classes. Blair is currently first in points for the West Lites class after a third and first place finish last week for Round 1 of the West Lites class.
Arenacross Round 4 is at 7 p.m. Saturday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN. Doors open at 6 p.m. Buy tickets online or at the box office, 501 Broadway in Nashville.
Arenacross Class Points
- Matt Goerke (140)
- Jacob Hayes (128)
- Kyle Regal (109)
- Steven Mages (105)
- Travis Sewell (99)
- Willy Browning (97)
- Chris Blose (85)
- Bobby Kiniry (85)
- Daniel Herrlein (85)
- Gared Steinke (75) - MotoSport rider
Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points
- Daniel Herrlein (44)
- Dave Ginolfi (41)
- Darian Sanayei (33)
- Steven Mages (29)
- Scott Zont (26)
- Steve Roman (24)
- Dave Blanchet (20)
- Mitchell Harrison (18)
- Josh Cartwright (18)
- Dylan Rouse (18)
