Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Donvcr colir.um D.nvor, CO AR€NACROs5 Round rO Februory rO-l r. 2006 Togota AMA National ApGnacposs Champlonship s€Fi€s -. ollinp the dice wrth a couple I I ..u.L of the thronle. Yama- K*t,,r,"#i"i:T"# ishing touches on the 2005-06 Toyota AMA National Arenacross Championship. When all was said and done, lohnson cap- tured the title, finishing the series iust one point ahead of rival Thor/Hondafluff Rac- ing's Brock Sellards, 416-417. With Johnson and Sellards tied on points going into the series flnal, Johnson took Sellards up high into a corner late in the race and forced the Ohio Supercross/ motocross veteran off the track to take second in the Arenacross main event on Friday, the first night of racing. Sellards, who had trouble startinS has bike, ended up an angry sixth, losinS five valuable points to Johnson as they headed into Saturday's fi nal showdown- With Sellards doing what he had to do on Saturday - which was lead the race at all costs - .lohnson overcame a mediocre start and, with one high-risk move, knifed his way pasr Team Faith/famaha's Kevin Johnson, Sellards' teammate Jeff Northrop, and Suzuki-mounted Zach Ames to take over the third and final podium spot to ensure his one-point overall championship win. "Chad gambled and it paid ofl," said Robert Hansen, director of Arenacross. "He deserves to be champion and the owner of a brand-new Toyota Tacoma 4x4 truck." Johnson was thrilled to have won the championship. "lt's awerome." he said. "we've been working at this for a lon8 time. Me and Junior flackson, team owner] put a lot into this season especially, and it's hu8e to win it - definitely made all the work worthwhile." Jubilation on the podium was met with angst in the pits, as Sellards felt that Johnson's overly ag8.essive riding, and Yamaha ganginS up on him, had ripped off the title from him. "He [Johnson] cleaned me out again," said Sellards who claimed that Johnson did the same type of thing the previous week in Memphis- "This time it cost me the championship, lt [the pass] wasn't super dirty, but if he didn't take me out, he would have never got past me." Hansen felt the move was not over the toP. "l've seen Buddy Antunez former Arenacross Champion] punt people into the next lane." Hansen said. "That's Toyota AMA National Arenacross. I'm sure Brock's more mad at himself than arrything-" Sellards, who trailed Johnson by as much as 34 points early in the season, put on a valiant charge to the top, beginninS with a l- I performance at Dallas after the holiday break. Saturday in Denver, trailing by flve points, he had his work cut out for him and pulled off the win, only - as Sellards put it - to be teamed up on by Yamaha riders for the title. "l had to win Saturda),, and I did, then a liftle bit of 'Yamaha rule' came into play there. KJ [Kevin Johnson] was by far the fastest guy all weekend, but then he was on the brakes on Saturday. Chad never beaB Kevin. But there was nothing I could do." Chad Johnson would end up in third place on Saturday, while Kevin Johnson - Friday's winner - would finish in fourth. Though he sympathizes with Sellards' loss, Hansen was quick to point out that he didn't feel there was any Yamaha "team- wor&" 8oin8 on to undermine Sellards, "ln my opinion, KJ didn't want to be the deciding factor in the title chase," Hansen said, "Yeah, they were both on Yamahas, but they're also both cgmplete- ty private teams. "The two biggest high- lights of the weekend were made by Chad and he deserves to be champaon." Hansen added that having the title chase come down to the final night of the AMA Arenacross class' 2O-race season - and decided by one point - is a tesament to how well the new scoring system works. "Obviously the new points system work, because we've never had a poins battle like this - ever," Hansen said. "Chad led early, Brock caught up, we have a dif- ference of opinion on the racing tacics, and the championship went down to the very last main event. Yotr couldn't ask for a better script.'' Also proof of the new scorin8 system's success, was the fact that local Denver racer Bobby Fitch, riding a Suzuki, scored a podium linish in the AMA Arenacross Lites class on Friday. Fitch then followed that up with a Lites class win on Saturday, making for one heck ofan opening act fo. Johnson and Sellards to follow. "Bobby Fitch would have never made the podium, much less won. had it not been for the new scoring slstem." Hansen said. "Had K.l, Chad, Brock, Jeff Nonhrop and those gup been racing the Lites class as well, we'd have newr had a local racer step up and win in front of his hometown fans. And this really made for a magical ending of the Toyota Al'4A National Arenacross Series in Denver this weekend." (ll DENVTR CousEU DENVER, CoroRADo REsuLTs! FEBTUaRY I O-l I, 2006 {RouND l0 oF I O) I I AnEXACROSS: I K&in Johnsn (Yffi); 2 Chad ,6hNon C/ffi)r l. Gr€s s

• Cover