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National Arenacross Series Rounds 1-2: Veterans Memorial Coliseum STORY AND PHOTOS BY RAYMOND GUNDY DES MOINES, lA, NOV. 1-2 osh Demuth came to Des Moines with the number-one plate on his four-stroke YZs, and he left with a seven-point lead on last year's runner-up, Darcy Lange, in the series points standings, with Tommy Hofmaster, who was third in the points last year, only one point behind Lange. After taking a year off to race the supercross/motocross circuit, Suzuki's Buddy Antunez made his return, hoping to take the numberone plate from Demuth after previously scoring five consecutive titles in the ultracompetitive series. Pulling off the first win of the series in Friday's 125cc main was Shogun Yamaha's Hofmaster. Hofmaster led most of the race, with a couple riders getting by him, but only temporarily. "Evan got past me once, but I was able to pass him back," Hofmaster said. "Then I took the lead again, but Demuth got past me with three laps to go. He made a mistake on the last lap, so I took the lead again. I also won the Dash For Cash on Friday 14 NOVEMBER 20, 2002' cue night, which got me fired up." Taking the 250cc main on Friday night was Richmond Motorsports' Lange. "I got a second-place start and was able to pass Kelly [Smith] for the (Top) Josh Demuth rode his four-strokes to a clean sweep of both main events on Saturday night, which vaulted him into the points lead. (Right) Darcy Lange (2) cleans out Evan Laughridge (73) as Pedro Gonzalez (47) tries to stay clear on the high side. Lange and Laughridge fell in the Incident, which took place in saturday's 125cc main. lead halfway through the race," Lange said. "To take over the lead and to take my first win for the year already was awesome." Shogun Yamaha's Demuth dominated Saturday night on his four- strokes, as he pulled back-to-back wins in the 125 and 250cc mains, giving the new YZ450F its first-ever Arenacross victory along the way. "I got a midpack start in the 125cc main and was able to work my way up through the pack," Demuth said. "It was great. I was able to pass a few riders to take the lead. Next-to-the-Iast lap in the whoops, I was able to pass Kelly Smith. I stayed behind him for a little while, learning some lines. In the 250cc main, I got another midpack start. I was able to pass a few people to get into fourth and then made another few passes for the lead. It was good. I felt good tonight. My 450 was pulling great through the whoops, and I felt great on it. This year, the Yamahas are awesome." This weekend, only two riders were able to pull off second-place finishes. Lange took second in Friday's 125cc main and Sunday's 250cc event. "The 125cc main went better than I thought, since I had to start on the second row," Lange said. "I got a half-decent start. I was able to catch up in the whoops section. I got up to second and was able to hold on until the end." Also taking second place was Kelly Smith, doing so in Friday's 250cc main and Saturday's 125cc main. Smith has been doing the Fall Classic Four-Stroke Nationals to prepare for the supercross series and decided to use the first four Arenacross races for practice too. Smith has two seconds and is fourth in the overall points, which means he could pull off a win soon.