IN
THE
WIND
P34
FAITH WINS ARENACROSS OPENER
G
avin Faith, of Team Bab-
bitt's/Monster Energy/Ka-
wasaki, was the overall winner in
the opening round of the 2018
Amsoil Arenacross Champion-
ship in Dayton, Ohio, January
6. The two-time and defending
AMA Arenacross champion won
both of the 250AX main events
inside the Wright State Univer-
sity Nutter Center.
In the first heat race, Chris
Blose (Honda) was the early
leader after nabbing the hole-
shot; Jace Owen (Honda)
followed in second with Faith in
third.
However, it didn't take Faith
long to get into second place,
and then he charged after
Blose. The two went at it for a
while until Faith finally took over
the point. He went on to take
the win with Blose second and
Jacob Hayes (Kawasaki) in third.
Faith led from start to finish in
the second 15-lap heat, clinch-
ing the overall victory.
Travis Sewell (Kawasaki) got
around Blose for second, while
Hayes again ended up taking
third.
Blose slipped back to ninth.
Sewell's 4-2 netted the Indi-
ana native second overall, while
North Carolina's Hayes captured
third overall with a 3-3.
Owen ended up going 5-4 for
fourth, while Blose was relegat-
ed to fifth with his 2-9 score.
"I had the first-round jitters for
sure," said Faith. "I felt like I was
the fastest guy out there once
the gate dropped so I'm leaving
round one stoked."
In the AX Lites East class,
Monster Energy Kawasaki Team
Green rider Garrett Marchbanks
took the win, followed by Heath
Harrison (Honda), Isaac Teas-
dale (Kawasaki), Jared Lesher
(Honda) and Kyle Bitterman
(Kawasaki).
"This was such a great experi-
ence for me," said Marchbanks.
"It is an exciting next step in my
career and I'm glad I was able to
finish the night with a win." CN
250AX MAIN
1. Gavin Faith (Kaw) 1-1
2. Travis Sewell (Kaw) 4-2
3. Jacob Hayes (Kaw) 3-3
4. Jace Owen (Hon) 5-4
5. Chris Blose (Hon) 2-9
EAST LITES MAIN
1. Garrett Marchbanks (Kaw)
2. Heath Harrison (Hon)
3. Isaac Teasdale (Kaw)
4. Jared Lesher (Hon)
5. Kyle Bitterman (Kaw)
Gavin Faith dominated the
first round of the 2018 Amsoil
Arenacross Series in Ohio.
Garrett
Marchbanks
topped the
East Lites
Main.
