Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

National Arenacross Series Round 5: Will Rogers Coliseum J()Sh ()emuth ed..-ns the fi..-st f()u..--mdin sweep ()f the yed..- in f'()IT W()..-th Demuth found himself well outside the top five on the first lap. By the halfway point, Demuth had charged through the pack to work his way into third, behind his Shogun Motorsports Yamaha teammates. Lawrence went down after the "Catapult," and Demuth made his pass for the lead shortly afterward. With Demuth out front, Hofmaster had Buddy Antunez on his tail. Antunez made a pass in the closing stage of the race, but Hofmaster tried to come right back. The pass left Hofmaster on the ground and Antunez in fourth, as Rusty HoIland and Chad Johnson made passes for second and third, respectively. "I rode the YZ250F really well tonight," Demuth said_ "When I went to the gate, I lined up in the rut wrong and got a bad start. I came around maybe ninth or 10th. I don't like riding from the back, but it makes me work for it. I was pushing as hard as I could, and I got some lucky breaks. I By BRIAN COMEAU PHOTOS BY RAYMOND GUNDY FORT WORTH, TX, DEC. 27 -28 osh Demuth made big strides toward securing his second National Arenacross title as the series made its stop at the Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth for two days of racing. Demuth's determination shined through as he swept all four main events to extend his points lead over so-far second-placed Darcy Lange. "This is my hometown race. and it couldn't be any better than doing this in front of friends and family," Demuth said. "It feels great, especially after last year. I had the lead coming in here last year, and I crashed in the whoops and got hurt. This year is going really well, and I'm just trying to do whatever I can do to stay healthy. We're looking forward to next weekend." JJ Leaving with second in the points was Lange, who looked like the only rider who could challenge Demuth, but mistakes in the main events prevented him from taking the checkers. Lange still made the podium in both 250cc mains while also picking up the Dash For Cash win. was able to make some pretty good passes. had some guys go down, and I even got to battle with my teammates for a few laps." "I am pretty stoked," Holland said after his runner-up finish. "I have been working really hard with my team, and I am glad I could be the first one to bring a podium finish to my team. My best finish up to this point was a sixth place. It's hard because there are a lot of good competitors out there. It's kind of like a poker game in Arenacross - every FRIDAY Tommy Hofmaster nailed the holeshot in Friday's 125cc main, followed closely by Phil Lawrence. Struggling at the back of the pack, 30 JANUARY 15, 2003' cue • ... n eVIl's hand is different. Unless you're on fire like Demuth is, it's real hard for someone to come through the pack [from being] in 10th to win the race." The 250cc main looked similar, with Demuth once again getting a bad jump and having to ride through the pack. With Lange out front and pulling away, it seemed like the only race would be for second. Demuth was able to work his way into third by the halfway point, and two costly mistakes by Lange gave the lead over to Johnson. Two laps later, Demuth was out front, and the checkers were his. "I led until the halfway point, but I kept casing the double every lap," Lange said after remounting and finishing third. "So I gave it a little more gas, hit a high line, overshot it by 10 feet and went off the track. I still had the lead, but they had caught up to me. I am disappointed that I went down again, but I managed to pull a third. I felt good, but you can't be making any mistakes when Josh is out there, because he doesn't make a mistake all night." "I was' trying to stay on two wheels and finish the race," Johnson said. "I knew Josh was coming and Darcy had a couple slip-ups, so I just charged hard. I started the series a little slow, but it's starting to come around." "I didn't think I was going to win that one: Demuth said with a chuckle after his second come-from-behind win. "I had to come from way back, and Darcy Lange, my biggest competitor, was out front and pulling away. I paced myself, and I was able to get by when he made a mistake. After that, it was a battle between me and Chad Johnson. The track was tough tonight, and it was hard to make passes, but I found an inside line and made it stick."

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