Capitalizing off a Brock Sellards (Kawasaki) mistake early in the race, Honda racer Chad Johnson — the 2005-’06 Toyota AMA Arenacross champion — took control of the Arenacross class main event at Wells Fargo Arena and won the contest by six seconds over second place Danny Smith (Honda).
Johnson’s smooth and error-free riding style kept him seemingly at ease for the 25-lap main event, staying out of trouble on several occasions and leading 22 of the 25 laps to the checkers.
“I’m pumped to be up here,” said Johnson. “I figured I could charge early on, Brock made a mistake and it helped I’d put myself in a better position to win than last night (Johnson started in 12th on Friday, second place on Saturday). Once I was up front I rode pretty well.”
Sellards’ sketch came on lap three when he went down — briefly — coming out of the bowl turn prior to the catapult jump. He was able to right himself and move back into third place, where he remained for the rest of the race – even shutting the door on a charging Josh Demuth in the same place where Demuth made an aggressive pass on Danny Smith to win Friday’s race in Des Moines.
“I made some changes to the bike and pulled two holeshots — one in my heat and one in the main,” said Sellards, who was rewarded with Saturday’s $750 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Holeshot award. “Chad made his move early and I crashed and had to get back up. But I’m content where I ended up (third) because these first couple of rounds are crazy.”
In second place overall in the Arenacross class was Danny Smith, who rode a pretty flawless race, although he couldn’t seem to gain on his teammate Johnson. “I’ve got some things to work on,” said Smith. “This was a motivating weekend for sure.”
Next up for the Toyota AMA Arenacross series is round two, Nov. 10th, at Albany’s (N.Y.) Times Union Center. Note: The Albany round is a Saturday night only round (one race).
AMA Arenacross Lites Class Results: Saturday
1. Nathan Skaggs, Honda
2. Cory Green, Suzuki
3. Tanner Reidman, Suzuki
4. Shane Sewell, Kawasaki
5. Tyler Bright, Suzuki
AMA Arenacross Class Results: Saturday
1. Chad Johnson, Honda
2. Danny Smith, Honda
3. Brock Sellards, Kawasaki
4. Kelly Smith, Kawasaki
5. Josh Demuth, Honda
AMA Arenacross Class Season Points Standings
1. Chad Johnson, Honda, 47
2. Josh Demuth, Honda, 41
3. Danny Smith, Honda, 40
3. Kelly Smith, Kawasaki, 38
5. Brock Sellards, Kawasaki, 36
Friday Night Results
Demuth Wins Open Round of Toyota AMA Arenacross Series
McDade Dominates AMA Arenacross Lites Class
Josh Demuth won Friday night’s Toyota AMA Arenacross Series opening round at the Well Fargo Arena, passing reigning champion, Danny Smith, on the final lap. Michael McDade won the AMA Arenacross Lites class main event.
The dramatic finish in the AMA Arenacross class saw Smith, lead the first 24 laps of the main event. On the final lap, in the final turn, former arenacross champion Josh Demuth collided with Smith. Smith crashed and Demuth rolled over the finish line and established the series lead.
“I realized it was a dirty thing I did,” said Demuth. “I kind of cleaned him out. It was a pay back from the US Open last year. I am just paying people back.”
A calm Smith accepted the questionable move and looks forward to tomorrow.
“He took me out,” said Danny Smith. “It was my fault. I would have done it to him. That is the way it goes. No excuses — I just got beat.”
“I started on the outside and was able to win the holeshot,” said McDade. “I thought I had a bigger lead, but at the end of the race, I heard Cory Green coming on strong.
AMA Arenacross Lites Class Results: Friday
1. Michael McDade, Honda
2. Cory Green, Suzuki
3. Roy Horton, Honda
4. Shane Sewell
5. Ryan Beat
AMA Arenacross Class Results: Friday
1. Josh Demuth, Honda
2. Chad Johnson, Honda
3. Kelly Smith, Kawasaki
4. Danny Smith, Honda
5. Brock Sellards, Kawasaki
AMA Arenacross Class Season Points Standings
1. Josh Demuth, Honda, 25
2. Chad Johnson, Honda, 22
3. Kelly Smith, Kawasaki, 20
4. Danny Smith, Honda, 18
5. Brock Sellards, Kawasaki, 16
