Lange Almost Perfect in Des Moines
| November 1, 2004
The 2004-2005 National Arenacross season began this weekend in Des Moines, Iowa, and defending champion Darcy Lange and his Kawasaki Team Green team picked up right where he left off by winning three out of the four main events over the course of the weekend. Lange also took home the lion’s share of the money as he took the wins in both of the Dash For Cash races, which were held each night between main events.
In the first 125cc main event on Saturday night, Lange took the win followed by Chad Johnson and Kawasaki teammate Jeff Northrop. The 250cc main event that followed looked much the same – with Lange on top again. But the next two positions saw different riders in different places as TUF/Honda rider Branden Jesseman ended up second with Teddy Maier third.
During the second night of racing, Lange found himself in the lead again in the 125cc main, with Jesseman finishing second and Kevin Johnson third. However, Lange’s domination came to a halt when it was time for the 250cc main event. After battling with Shogun Factory Yamaha rider Josh Demuth and Jesseman, Lange finished third with Jessemen (pictured) taking the win followed by Demuth.
While Lange was having a great night in Des Moines there was some bad news coming out of the opener as quite a few riders left the event with injuries. A few of the injured riders included Colton Facciotti and Brad Hagseth. The Motoworld.com Suzuki team had the worst luck of all with both of their riders, Tommy Hofmaster and Justin Brayton, getting hurt. Hofmaster reportedly suffered a ruptured spleen, broken hand and was briefly knocked out, while Brayton broke his foot. There is no word yet on when either rider will return to action, or if the team has any replacement riders lined-up.
As the series heads into the next weekend in Albany, New York, Lange sits on top of the points chase with Jesseman in second, just 12 points behind, and Johnson in third.
