Gavin Faith Takes Over Arenacross Points Lead

Courtesy of Feld Motorsports

TAMPA, Fla. - An energetic crowd was on hand to witness AMSOIL Arenacross' return to Amalie Arena on Saturday night for the seventh round of the 2016 season. After championship leader Jacob Hayes was forced out of action for the night following a crash in practice, Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Gavin Faith took advantage of his teammates absence to earn his third overall win of the season with a sweep of the Arenacross Class Main Events, taking over the points lead in the process. In the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event, TZR/Woodstock KTM's Cody VanBuskirk enjoyed the best outing of his career to claim his first ever win, while A&Y Racing Honda's Daniel Herrlein savored his first career title by clinching the Eastern Regional crown with a runner-up effort.

Faith raced to the holeshot to start the opening Arenacross Class Main Event, with TZR/Woodstock KTM's Travis Sewell and Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna Factory Racing presented by FCC and OTSFF rider Gared Steinke in tow. TiLUBE/Tuf Racing Honda's Jace Owen and Herrlein completed the top five. Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Chris Blose, who entered the night third in points, crashed in the first corner and then found himself on the ground again on the opening lap, starting 16th.

The lead trio went unchanged throughout the entirety of the 15-lap Main Event, with Faith gradually extending his lead each lap before taking the checkered flag two seconds ahead of Sewell. Steinke raced to a solid third-place effort, with Owen fourth and Custom Powersports/Slaka Wear Kawasaki's Steven Mages in fifth. Blose recovered from his early misfortune to finish 10th.

Sewell overcame misfortune in the second Main Event to secure second overall. ShiftOne

Faith then selected the inversion for the second Main Event and relied on the support of the Amalie Arena crowd to choose one of three cases, ultimately selecting the case with the number eight, meaning half the field would be inverted.

It was Sewell who edged out Faith to start the second Main Event, with Owen and Steinke battling for a spot on the podium right behind them. Sewell paced the field for one lap and then crashed out of the lead in the track's sand section, quickly remounting in fourth place. That allowed Faith to assume control of the race, with Owen second and Steinke third.

Once out front Faith never looked back, but it wasn't without persistent pressure from Owen, who stayed on the rear fender of Faith's Kawasaki all the way to the finish. Faith crossed the line less than a second ahead of Owen, while Sewell bounced back from his crash to grab the final podium spot from Steinke in third. Mages finished fifth.

Faith's triumphant 1-1 effort was his most impressive of the season and now gives him four Main Event wins this season. Sewell's resiliency in the second Main Event allowed him to finish second overall (2-3) while Owen's runner-up effort in the second Main Event (4-2) helped him edge out Steinke (3-4) for third overall, giving the Honda rider back-to-back podium results. Mages completed the top five (5-5).

In RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge action, the Team Babbitt's duo of Blose and Faith did battle in the final pairing, with Blose taking the win along with the extra championship bonus point.
Faith win's helped him move back atop the Arenacross Class standings for the first time since the second race of the championship. He now has an 11-point lead over Sewell, who moved into second, while Hayes fell from first to third after missing out on the evening's action, 14 points out of the lead.

Herrlein is the 2016 Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Champion. ShiftOne

When the gate dropped on the 15-lap Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event it was TZR/Woodstock KTM's Scott Zont who emerged with the holeshot ahead of his teammate VanBuskirk and Team DirtBikeMike KTM's Brandon Marley. Behind them, the top two finishers a week ago, Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM's Sean Cantrell and Herrlein, followed in fourth and fifth, respectively. Zont and VanBuskirk paced the field for the first handful of laps while Herrlein moved himself into podium position by Lap 3. On Lap 6 both VanBuskirk and Herrlein seized the opportunity to pass Zont, with VanBuskirk taking over the top spot and Herrlein following into second. The lead duo would then open a comfortable margin over the field and while Herrlein kept the pressure on VanBuskirk throughout the remainder of the race, the KTM rider fended off the pressure to take the win by just over a second. Cantrell finished third, taking over the position from Zont on Lap 7, with FCC Motorsports Yamaha's Brandon Hartranft rounding out the top five.

Herrlein has been dominant throughout the Eastern Regional Championship, capturing two Main Event wins and finishing off the podium just once. After starting the season in fourth, Herrlein took over the points lead at the second round in Baltimore and continued to extend his lead each race.

The 2016 AMSOIL Arenacross season will observe its first off weekend before returning to action from Omaha, Nebraska's CenturyLink Center on Saturday, March 5, for the penultimate race before the Race to the Championship. Racing begins at 5 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. CT / 8 p.m. ET.

Arenacross Class Results - Main Event 1

1. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
2. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
3. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna
4. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda
5. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
6. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda
7. Austin Stroupe, Lincolnton, N.C., Husqvarna
8. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda
9. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
10. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki

Arenacross Class Results - Main Event 2

1. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
2. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda
3. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
4. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna
5. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
6. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda
7. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki
8. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda
9. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
10. Scott Meshey, Dade City, Fla., KTM

Arenacross Class Overall Results (Main Event Results)

1. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1-1)
2. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (2-3)
3. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (4-2)
4. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna (3-4)
5. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki (5-5)
6. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda (6-8)
7. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (8-6)
8. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (10-7)
9. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM (9-9)
10. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM (11-11)

RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results (bonus points)

1. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (2 points)
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1 point)
3. Austin Stroupe, Lincolnton, N.C., Husqvarna (1 point)
4. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda (1 point)
5. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna (1 point)
6. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki (1 point)
7. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (1 point)
8. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (1 point)

Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results

1. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
2. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda
3. Sean Cantrell, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
4. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
5. Brandon Hartranft, Brick, N.J., Yamaha
6. Ramyller Alves, Coconut Creek, Fla., Yamaha
7. Brandon Marley, McEwen, Tenn., KTM
8. Dylan Walker, Lancaster, Ohio, Honda
9. Scott Meshey, Dade City, Fla., Kawasaki
10. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM

Arenacross Class Championship Standings

1. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki - 276 (4 Main Event Wins)
2. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM - 265 (5 Main Event Wins)
3. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki - 262 (8 Main Event Wins)
4. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki - 256 (1 Main Event Win)
5. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda - 185
6. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda - 175
7. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna - 171
8. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 148
9. Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna - 130
10. Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, S.C., Husqvarna - 115

Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Standings

1. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 105 (2 Main Event Wins)
2. Dylan Walker, Lancaster, Ohio, Honda - 63
3. Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki - 49 (1 Main Event Win)
4. Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki - 43
5. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha - 42
6. Lane Staley, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM - 39
7. Tyler McSwain, Shelby, N.C., Yamaha - 35
8. Henry Miller, Rochester, Minn., Honda - 34
9. Sean Cantrell, Murrieta, Calif., KTM - 30
10. Brandon Hartranft, Brick, N.J., Yamaha - 30

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