Idaho Arenacross: Kawasaki’s Bowers Wins First-Ever Tiebreaker

Kawasaki's Tyler Bowers
Kawasaki's Tyler Bowers
Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers

2014 Idaho AMA Arenacross Friday Results

It had been over a decade since AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, had last visited Nampa, Idaho, and the first night of the championship’s anticipated return produced a historic and memorable result.

Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis rider Tyler Bowers emerged with his fifth Arenacross Class overall victory on Friday night, but needed to rely on a tiebreaker to overcome his teammate and current points leader Zach Ames.

Motosport.com/MJM Express/Spinechillers Racing Kawasaki’s Michael McDade grabbed the holeshot and early lead in the first Arenacross Class Main Event of the evening, with Ames and Bowers in tow. The trio maintained their positions for the bulk of the 15-lap race and opened a big lead over the rest of the field that eventually grew to over 10 seconds. On Lap 10, Ames made his move on McDade after patiently waiting for the opportunity to arise and went on to lead the final five laps to take the win. McDade held on for second, keeping a hard charging Bowers at bay.

Ames selected the inversion for the second Main Event, with half the field – eight riders – ultimately alternating positions.

Farmers Insurance/Reynard Mods Suzuki’s Cory Green moved into the early lead to start the second Main Event, with TiLUBE/PBR/TUF Racing Honda’s Kyle Regal and McDade following in second a third. Bowers crossed the line in fourth, with Ames a couple positions behind in sixth.

On the opening lap, McDade made the move to first and set his sights on victory. Behind him, both Bowers and Ames made quick moves to the front and by the time the fourth lap was completed, it was once again McDade, Bowers, and Ames pacing the field. McDade appeared to have control of the lead but lost control in the whoops on Lap 7 and went down, allowing Bowers to move into first with Ames in second.

Green took over possession of third while McDade fell outside the top 10 and ultimately lost two laps on the field. Once in the lead, Bowers never looked back and took the win with Ames in second. Regal made the pass on Green for third on Lap 13 when Green experienced misfortune and fell to sixth.

As the total points from the Main Events were tallied, Ames held a one-point advantage. However, earlier in the evening Bowers outdueled his teammate in the final of Head-to-Head Bracket Racing to earn an additional championship bonus point and put the duo into a tie.

By virtue of his win in the second Main Event, which carries more weight in a tiebreaker, Bowers was awarded the win and further proved the value of winning the Head-to-Head Bracket racing each night. Bowers has won six Head-to-Head Brackets this season, including the last four, resulting in six additional bonus points towards the championship.

Bowers (3-1) and Ames (1-2) were joined on the overall podium by Regal (5-3).

By virtue of their tie, Ames maintained his three-point lead over Bowers in the Arenacross Class standings.

The second night of action in the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship began the same way it did one week ago in Sacramento with Frontier Lubricants KTM’s Daniel Blair taking over the early lead.

Gateway Cycles Kawasaki’s Steven Mages moved into second place off the start and instantly set his sights on Blair, while Team DirtBikeMike KTM’s Brandon Glenn assumed third. Mages pressured Blair for several laps before making the pass for the lead on Lap 4. Once out front, he never relinquished the position despite consistent pressure from Blair.

A battle for third ensued in the late stages of the 18-lap Main Event with AJ Oilfield Services Kawasaki’s Gray Davenport taking over the spot on Lap 12, only to be passed by Motosport Hillsboro KTM’s Gared Steinke on Lap 16. Steinke held on to join Mages and Blair on the podium.

In her anticipated return to AMSOIL Arenacross, Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Vicki Golden qualified to compete in both the Arenacross Class and Arenacross Lites Class, earning her first of three required points in the Ricky Carmichael Road to Supercross.

The Nampa round of AMSOIL Arenacross continues tomorrow night inside the Idaho Center. Action kicks off at 9 p.m. EST.

2014 Idaho Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 1:

Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki
Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda
Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Kawasaki
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki
Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki

2014 Idaho Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 2:

Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Kawasaki
Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki

2014 Idaho Arenacross Class Results – Overall (Main Event Finishes):

Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki (3-1)
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki (1-2)
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda (5-3)
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki (4-5)
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (7-6)
Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki (9-7)
Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Kawasaki (6-9)
Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki (2-14)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (8-8)
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki (15-4)

2014 Idaho Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results:

Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., KTM
Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki
Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda
Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM
Brian Alquist, LaGrange, Calif., KTM
Jeremy Pronovost, St. Phillipe, Quebec, Canada, KTM
Lane Staley, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM
Josh Diercks, Atascadero, Calif., Honda

2014 Arenacross Class Points (After Race 10 of 19):

Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki – 271
Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki – 268
Jacob Hayes, Greensboro, N.C., Kawasaki – 198
Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Kawasaki – 196
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Honda – 177
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM – 176
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki – 174
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM – 164
Colt Nichols, S. Muskogee, Okla., Kawasaki – 157
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., KTM – 144

2014 Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 2 of 10):

Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 31
Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM – 26
Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda – 25
Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki – 20
Lane Staley, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM – 17
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 15
Ryan Breece, Athol, Idaho, Kawasaki – 13
Brian Alquist, LaGrange, Calif., KTM – 10
Maxx Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda – 10
Josh Diercks, Atascadero, Calif., Honda – 7

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