Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Wrenchead.com National Arenacross Series Final Rounds: Reno LivestockCenter right up and get back in on the chase. A couple of laps later, Bogard and Willoh got by Katin. In the waning moments, Payne also go by Katin, while Willoh went to work on Bogard, but Bogard held him back and that set the order for the finish, with Stephenson first, followed by Antunez, Bogard, Willoh and Payne. Brad Hagseth, Bryan Piccerrelli, Tiger Lacey and Travis Hodges rounded out the top 10. SATURDAY Meanwhile, Antunez continued to hound Stephenson, eventually taking the lead and the win. Stephenson held on for second ahead of Willoh, Bogard and Hagseth. With the 125cc win, Antunez clinched the championship, but the celebrations were kept short because the 250cc main was still to be run. "It feels great to know I've got my fourth championship wrapped up," Antunez said. "That was great racing, but I've got three more chances to put my Suzuki on top." Carrollton Kawasaki's Mike Katin was the quickest off the gate in the 250cc main, and he raced out in front of Stephenson and the rest of the pack. Behind the leaders, Willoh had another knock-down, drag-out fight with Antunez, who rode like a man with nothing to lose and eventually got around Willoh. Near the midway point, Stephenson got around Katin to grab first place. Once by Katin, Stephenson quickly built a comfortable lead, leaving Katin behind to dice with Antunez. Meanwhile, a hard-charging Bogard, who spent the race recovering from another poor start, was coming on strong and was soon challenging Willoh. Katin had some problems and Antunez got by him, then Willoh tagged a corner marker with his shoulder and fell, handing fourth to Bogard. Willoh was able to jump landing temporarily slowed Payne's charge. Payne kept at it, though, and was soon able to pass Hodges. Stephenson retook the lead, and Buckelew settled in between Stephenson and Antunez, then Antunez dropped Buckelew back to third. "Denny and I have never raced with Justin Buckelew before," said Antunez. "We both had to try and feel him out. He got pretty aggressive with Denny early on and that opened up the door for us to ride him aggressive, too." After seeing the Suzuki duo get by Buckelew, Willoh smelled blood, as he came alive and pounced past Buckelew, as well. Bogard, who didn't get a great start, had to work his way up, which he did, eventually reaching a fading Buckelew who he quickly passed by out-jumping him in a rhythm section. A few moments later, Buckelew came up short on a jump and crashed hard, suffering a race-ending wrist injury. A split second later, Payne also fell in an unrelated incident in the following corner, and he too was out for the night. "I kind of got pumped up, and my bike just kind of popped on the takeoff," Buckelew said of the crash. "I came up short and I almost stopped; kind of fell over. As for the wrist, I think it's going to be okay, it's just a little bit sore." The big news Saturday was Antunez casing a jump and injuring his ankle. Had Antunez not clinched the title the night before, things certainly would have been interesting, since the injury prevented Antunez from racing Saturday night. Willoh took the holeshot in the 125cc main and enjoyed the lead position for nearly half the race before a relentless Stephenson hunted him down. When a clot of lapped riders slowed Willoh, Stephenson made his move. Once out front, Stephenson was never headed, and Willoh had to settle for second. Bogard captured third after finally getting a decent sta rt. Willoh was sharp off the start line again, as he took the holeshot in the 250cc main, with Stephenson and Hagseth in tow. Willoh again led for quite a few laps, but Stephenson was red hot, and' by midrace, Stephenson was firmly in the lead, with Willoh second and a steady Hagseth third. Just like the previous night's 125cc event, once Stephenson was out front no one could catch him. Willoh had a grip on second place for m'Ost of the race until disaster struck lale in the race. Willoh crashed into a lapped rider, who had fallen in front of him. "Nobody crashed there all night, and riders were even going four [over the jumps]; this guy couldn't even do two," said an upset Willoh. "He crashed, I hit his bike and went over the bars. I broke my front brake. I had second place in the bag." Willoh restarted quickly after the spill, but with no front brake, he was lucky to hold on to finish fourth behind Hagseth. Bogard was one to benefit from Willoh's troubles, as he got by him during Willoh's problems. Bogard set his sights on Hagseth and pulled off a big combination leap, soaring over him in a crowd-pleasing aerial pass. The high-flying Bogard then cruised the final laps to finish a distant second place behind Stephenson, with Hagseth, Willoh and Demuth taking the remaining top five positions. eN Reno Arena Reno, Nevada Results: March 31-April 1, ZOOO IRound 33/34 of 341 Friday 125 MAIN; 1. Buddy Antunez (Suz); 2. Denny Stephenson (Suz); 3. Jeff Willoh (Hon); 4. Charley Bogard (Suz): 5. Brad Hagseth (Yam); 6. Jeromy Buehl (Kaw); 7. Josh Demuth (Hon); 8. Travis Hodges (Kaw); 9. Jeffrey Pestana (Suz): 10, Mike Katin (Kaw); 11. Mike Mason (Hon); 12. Benoit Milot (Suz): 13. Tiger Lacey (Suz): 14. Justin Buckelew (Yam): 15. Billy Payne. 250 MAIN: 1. Denny Stephenson (Suz); 2. Buddy Antunez (Suz); 3. Charley Bogard (SU2); 4. Jeff Willoh (Hon); 5. Billy Payne; 6. Mike Katin (Kaw); 7. Brad Hagseth (Yam); 8. Bryan PiccerrelJi (Hon); 9. Tiger Lacey (Suz); 10. Travis Hodges (Kaw); 11. Scott Davis (Kaw); 12. Mike Mason (Hon); 13. Jeromy Buehl (Kaw); 14. Jesse Olson (Yam); 15. Josh Demuth (Hon). DFC: 1. Denny Stephenson (Suz); 2. Billy Payne; 3. Jeff Willoh (Hon); 4. Charley Bogard (Suz); 5. Mike Katin (Kaw). EXlREME FREES1Yl.E JUMP·OFF: I. Mike Mason (Hon); 2. Tinker Bell (Yam): 3. Jake Windham (Suz). KAWASAKI 65cc INVITATIONAL: 1. Matt Spencer (Kaw); 2. Ryan Ferris (Kaw); 3. Tyler York (Kaw); 4. Hayden Roberts (Kaw); 5. Dian Klinger (Kaw); 6. Cody Jackson (Kaw): 7. Bubba Mason (Kaw): 8. Kyle O'Brien (Kaw): 9. Jared Lang (Kaw); 10. Josh McPherson (Kaw): 11. John Vallerio (Kaw); 12. JJ Brown (Kaw); 13. Keith Adams (Kaw); 14. Kurt Hamann (Kaw). Saturday 125 MAIN: 1. Denny Stephenson (Suz); 2. Jeff Willoh (Hon); 3. Charley Bogard (Suz): 4. Josh Demuth (Hon); 5. Brad Hagseth (Yam): 6. Mike Katin (Kaw); 7. Travis Hodges (Kaw); 8. Jefferey Pestana (Suz); 9. Mike Mason (Hon'); 10. Jeromy Buehl (Kaw); 11. Dustin Miller (Yam); 12. Brian Foster (Han); 13. Benoit Milot (Suz); 14. Robb Flath (Hon); 15. Billy Payne (Kaw). 250 MAIN; 1. Denny Stephenson (Suz); 2. Charley Bogard (Suz); 3. Brad Hagseth (Yam); 4. Jeff Willoh (Hon); 5. Josh Demuth (Hon); 6. Mike Mason (Han): 7. Bryan Piccerrelli (Hon); 8. Travis Hodges (Kaw); 9. Benoit Milot (Suz); 10. Jefferey Pestana (Suz); 11. Brian Edwards (Yam); 12. Mike Katin (Kaw); 13. Jeromy Buehl (Kaw); 14. Jake Windham (Suz); 15. Dustin Miller (Yam). DFC: 1. Charley Bogard (Suz); 2. Denny Stephenson (Suz); 3. Jeff WHloh (Hon); 4. Brad Hagseth (Yam); 5. Travis Hodges (Kaw). EXTREME FREESTYLE JUMP-OFF: 1. Mike Mason (Hon); 2. Jake Windham (Suz); 3. Dustin Miller (Yam). KAWASAKI 65cc INVITATIONAL: 1. Ryan Ferris (Kaw); 2. Matt Spencer (Kaw); 3. Tyler York (Kaw); 4. Hayden Roberts (Kaw): 5. Cody Jackson (Kaw); 6. Dian Klinger (Kaw); 7. Jared Lang (Kaw); 8. Bubba Mason (Kaw); 9. John Valerio (Kaw); 10. Chris Walton (Kaw); 11. JJ Brown (Kaw); 12. Kyle O'Brien (Kaw); 13. Sebray Gossett (Kaw); 14. Keith Adams (Kaw); 15. Rudi Williams (Kaw); 16. Kyle Martensen (Kaw). WRENCHEAD.COM NATIONAL ARENACROSS SERIES FINAL POINT STANDINGS: 1. Buddy Antunez (1138/26 wins); 2. Denny Stephenson (1121/16 wins); 3. Jeff Willoh (829); 4. Charley Bogard (749/7 wins); 5. Jeromy Buehl (691); 6. Pedro Gonzales (677/6 wins): 7. Mike Katin (674); 8. Travis Hodges (596); 9. Josh Demuth (479/4 wins); 10. Brad Woolsey (305): 11. Chad Pederson (262/1 win); 12. Bryan Piccirelli (249); 13. Darcy Lange (214/2 wins): 14. Brad Hagseth (199): 15. Barry Carsten (188); 16. Jim Chester (183); 17. Greg Rand (174); 18. Nick Wey (170/4 wins); 19. Kevin Crine (157); 20. Ty Wallace (128). BRIEFLY• •• At the start of Saturday's show. a newly crowned champ Buddy Antunez limped to the floor microphone to tell the crowd why he wouldn't be racing .. " I made a little mistake in the very first 125cc practice." he said. "I came up short on a triple and just bent my ankle back; it's real sore tonight. We won the championship last night. so I'm not going to take any chances". said Antunez. "Hopefully my teammate can go out there tonight and win both mains". The fans got to see more of Antunez at the end of the program when he was presented with his accolades for winning his fourth straight championship. Jeff Willoh (4) found his way to the podium a few times at Reno, ending the title chase in third. 34 APRIL 19, 2000' cue I e oe""s Reno marked the return of Josh Demuth who had been away from the circuit since suffering an injury at the Sacramento Arenacross. But after posting one of the fastest hot-lap times in the official pre-race time trials. he was suddenly struck down with a stomach ailment that bothered him while he was en route to a seventh-place finish in the 125cc main. By the time he came to the start line for the 250cc main. he was in serious pain. clutching his stomach with both hands. Somehow, Demuth soldiered on and finished the night's racing. Demuth was feeling better by Saturday night. when he raced his Tuf/Thor/EVS Honda to a consistent 4-5 tally.

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