VOL. 54 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 10, 2017 P37
OWEN FLAWLESS IN ARENACROSS OPENER
T
he 2017 Amsoil Arenacross
season got underway at the
U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati,
Ohio on January 7, and Jace
Owen (TiLUBE/Jack Links/
TUF Racing Honda) got things
started with an impressive
victory, as did Heath Harrison
(Motosport/Quick Roofing/Su-
per Charged Energy KTM) in the
AX Lites class.
Owen started the evening off
with a win in the RM ATV-MC
Head 2 Head Challenge over
defending champ Gavin Faith
which gave Own two points
championship bonus points. He
then went on to win both 250AX
main events.
Faith (Team Babbitt's/Monster
Energy/Amsoil Kawasaki) was
second in both main events,
while Jacob Hayes and Matt
Goerke swapped third-place
finishes.
Owen's perfect night gave him
maximum points, while Faith's
title defense got off to a strong
start with a runner-up effort (2-
2). Goerke (4-3) finished
third in his return to the
championship, followed by
Ben Lamay in fourth (5-4)
and Hayes in fifth (3-7).
In the Eastern Regional
AX Lites class main event,
Harrison stormed out of
the gate to grab the hole-
shot over Team Babbitt's/
GPF/Monster Energy
Kawasaki MMCR's Jacob
Williamson and Auto Revo
Powersports Shawnee
Motor Company Suzuki's
Cheyenne Harmon. Har-
rison and Williamson
fought hard for the lead,
staying within a few bike-
lengths of one another.
Kyle Bitterman moved up
from his fourth-place start to
pass Harmon for third on lap
one and from there the top thee
remained unchanged, with Har-
rison eventually pulling away to
take the victory. Yamaha riders
Justin Cooper and Jerry Robin
rounded out the top five. CN
250AX RACE 1
1. Jace Owen (Hon)
2. Gavin Faith (Kaw)
3. Jacob Hayes (Kaw)
4. Ben Lamay (Hon)
5. Gared Steinke (Kaw)
250AX RACE 2
1. Jace Owen (Hon)
2. Gavin Faith (Kaw)
3. Matt Goerke (Yam)
4. Ben Lamay (Hon)
5. Gared Steinke (Kaw)
Jace Owen had a perfect night
at the opening round of the 2017
Amsoil Arenacross, winning the
Head 2 Head challenge and both
250AX main events.
Heath Harrison won the AX Lites class.
