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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127927
ARENACROSS PARTS UNLIMfTEDITHOR AM APJ1 ARENACROSS SERIES Round 5: Lazy EArena. ran awa y wit h the win - his first of the season. Visiti ng Aus tralia n Ca meron Tay lor chased d own Stephenso n for almost half of the 20-la p ma in even t, p assing for third on lap nine . Local favorit e Palmer followed s u it and he, too, p as se d Stephen so n earl y on the n ex t lap. Palmer reeled in Taylor and chase d him for the res t of the race, bu t Taylor wa s determined to keep his position and finished third behind Bue hl and Antu nez . Bue hl was extremely happy to end his - an d Honda 's - d ry sp ell, a nd he had a grin that went from ear to ear to prove it. "I felt really good ," Bueh l said . "I go t the holeshot and was able to pull a little bit of a lead a t the -beginning. I was just trying to stay smooth and consisten t every lap. I'm really happy." Antunez' second- place finish put him a single point in front of Pederson going into the Saturday night round. "I let jeremy get too far ahead of me in the b eginning ," A n tu nez sa id . " 1 w an ted to pace myself, bu t I s h ou ld have kept a little bit closer." SATURDAY There was no doubt who the Lazy E Are na spec tators were favo ring on Sat- By Kat Spann Photos by Craig Cole IE,OK,JAN. 9-10 e d efen ding Nation al Arenacross Champ ion, Answer-backed / Primal mpulse / Bill' s Pipes /Suzuki Racing Team ' s Budd y " Bu d Man " Antu nez, used th e fi fth st o p o f th e National Arenacross Series to move into th e se ries points lead for the firs t tim e this year. He accomplished this by win ning the 125cc main on Frida y an d then the 250cc ma in on Saturday at the Lazy E Arena in Oklah om a. Tu f Ra cin g /H onda /Th or / Be ll ba cked jeremy Buehl also had a goo d night , putting a Honda in to the winner's circle for the first tim e this season after winn ing Fr id a y n ig h t' s 250cc m a in ' eve nt. Okl ah om a' s own Cliff Palmer also had a promising weeken d by jumping up to the number-two spot in the series, a n d h e is n o w 12 poi n ts be hin d Antunez. FRIDAY 32 An tu nez g ra bbed t he 1-900-PRORACE Hol eshot A ward in fr ont of a near-capacity crowd in the 125cc main , lead ing Ka wa saki o f C arrollt onb a cked Gra yson Goodm an a n d Tuf Racin g' s Denn y Ste p he n so n onto a course th at boasted man y triple jum ps . Stephenson passed Goodman early in th e fir st lap, but th e "Bu d Man" wa s on the gas a nd led th e 15-rider pack with confidence. . A tight race for second place picked up momentum on lap eig ht, as Palmer pa ssed Goodman and then tried to reel in Stephenson. Meanwhile, Chad Pede rson and [eromy Buehl closed the gap on Goodman. (Above) Defending Arenacross champ Buddy Antunez (1) leads the pack at the Lazy E Arena In Oklahoma. Antunez won the 125cc class Friday night and the 250cc Saturday night. (Right) Home-state favorite Cliff Palmer gave the crowd something to cheer about when he won the 125cc main and the Dash For Cash on Saturday. Sud de nly, Palmer we nt down a t the start of lap 10. Though he was quick to rem ount, it was n't quick eno ug h to keep Ped erson , w ho h ad a lr ea d y got te n around Goodman , fro m pa ssin g him. Buehl al so got b y Pa lme r, followin g . Goodman's wa ke. In th e meantime, An tu nez was ou t front, still railing the berms and tripling the jumps en rou te to victory. "I got a good holeshot and felt pretty good," Antunez said. "I tho ug ht th ere was a Kawie b ehind me, but when I • looked back I saw it was Denn y." Stephenson finished second . "Grayson a nd I w ere pretty much side by side off th e start, but I got by him earl y," Stephenson said . "I knew it wo uld be a long race and I still had my 250 main in front of me, so I just kept my head and raced as well as I could." Ped erson mad e an amazi ng recovery from a crash in his hea t race to finish third. The 250cc m a in h ol eshot wen t to Buehl, who led a H onda cha rge with teamma te Stephenson righ t behin d him . Antunez, however, was in the hu nt and moved in to seco nd ri ght a w ay and bega n to chase Buehl but couldn't catch him. "I fina lly go t a good start and pulled away fro m Buddy," Buehl said. And pu ll away he did. On ce ou t front, th ere w as no sto pping the kid from London, Ohio, as he urday, as a full house of Oklahoma fan s ch eere d on th eir hom et own favorite Palmer. Af ter a rough round a t Fo rt Worth, Texas, and slidi ng back from the points lead to third at the Guthrie ope ner, a new-and-improved Palmer lined up on the ga te, starti ng off his nig ht of victories with the Dash For Cash w in, a nd was af te rward r ewarded w it h a standi ng ovation. Jimmy Wilson s ho t off th e ga te to claim the 125ce main holesh ot, as Ped erson knocked on his back d oor throughout the first lap. The two fron t-runners were foll ow ed closely by Antunez , Stephenson and an injured Jo sh . Demuth. Ped erson passed Wilson on the sec-