Cycle News Staff | January 17, 2024
Grand Island, Nebraska, hosted round five of the AMA Arenacross Series, presented by Kicker, in front of a packed crowd on January 12. The championship favorites again traded wins during the night, but points leader, Phoenix Honda’s Kyle Peters, came away with the overall victory.
Peters’ main rival, Ryan Breece on the Tucker Freight Lines/Rock River Racing Yamaha, kicked things off with a heat race win and victory in the first main event of the night. Breece used his excellent whoop speed to lead from start to finish, while Peters clawed his way through the field. Peters was ninth after the first lap and steadily crept his way through the pack, passing fellow Honda rider Kyle Bitterman late in the race to take second.
Izaih Clark, on the Storm Lake Honda, was fourth while Bryton Carroll (Xtreme Pool Builders/TCD Racing Yamaha) rounded out the top five.
Main two flipped the running order and allowed Peters to gain the advantage off the start. He ran second before overtaking the lead from Ajax Motorsports/Husqvarna rider Chandler Baker of Oklahoma on lap four and running away with the win. Peters had to keep an eye on Breece, who was making up time on the Honda rider, Peters.
“Catching and passing on this track were two different things,” Peters said. “I could see him [Breece] catching me, probably in the whoops, he was going faster. I was keeping tabs on him and seeing how close he was and making sure I didn’t leave the door open too much.”
Breece worked his way up from a seventh-place start and eventually crossed the finish line in second place.
Californian Blake Gardner (Team Green Kawasaki) completed the podium, while Clark took fourth and Texan Crockett Myers (Stan Benson Racing Kawasaki) fifth.
Peters’s 2-1 finishes gave him the overall win ahead of Breece’s 1-2. Izaih Clark’s consistent pair of fourths earned him third overall on the night. Gardner (6-3) and Mason Kerr (7-6) rounded out the top five overall.
Peters continues to lead the series by 21 over Breece. Bitterman is holding down third in the championship, 18 points in back of Breece and 19 points ahead of Clark. Myers is fifth, 15 points behind Clark. CN
OVERALL
- Kyle Peters (Hon) 2-1
- Ryan Breece (Yam) 1-2
- Izaih Clark (Hon) 4-4
- Blake Gardner (Kaw) 6-3
- Mason Kerr (Hon) 7-6