Slaw Dog
Tulsa, OK – The Kicker AMA Arenacross hosted its 2022 AMA Series Championship in Denver, Colorado on Saturday night. It was preceded by Round 9 on Friday evening at the National Western Events Center. The championship weekend closed out with one of the most exciting races of the series. The 450 Pro Main on Saturday night saw a lot of drama and a lot of action, including a come from behind win by the champion, Kyle Peters. It also brought out one of the best hard enduro and Endurocross athletes, Cody Webb, who tried his hand at Arenacross racing for the first time ever.
Phoenix Racing Honda’s Kyle Peters swept the four pro mains across the weekend, bringing his total Arenacross wins to 54 all time. He also secured his official AMA Arenacross Championship title, his third in a row and fourth for the Phoenix Racing Honda team (Jace Owen won the Arenacross title in 2019 for the Phoenix Racing Honda team). Teammate Cullin Park finished fifth overall in the 2022 AMA Arenacross Series.
Kyle Bitterman, of the Lasting Impression Race Team, returned to the final two rounds, after missing the two previous rounds for the birth of his son. Bitterman had three podium finishes on the weekend and took second overall in the 2022 AMA Arenacross Series. Bitterman’s teammate, Wristin Grigg, finished third overall in the 2022 AMA Arenacross Series.
Aside from the excitement brought to the weekend by the AMA National Championship titles, having the likes of Cody Webb in attendance was another memorable element. The FactoryONE Sherco rider made a last-minute decision to try his hand at Arenacross racing on his EnduroCross / SuperEnduro practice bike. The bike was complete with super soft suspension, 18 inch rear wheel, hand guards and a headlight. This wasn’t the most ideal setup for jumps and whoops but he showed what a diversified rider he is.
On Friday night, Webb qualified for both main events and finished 12th and 14th overall. Saturday evening, Webb qualified for the 250 Pro Main by way of the Last Chance Qualifier race, which he won on the final lap. Webb put on an impressive showing for his first ever Arenacross race and added to the atmosphere of the weekend.
The 250 Pro heat races kicked off Round 9 on Friday evening at the National Western Events Center. Phoenix Racing Honda teammates Peters and Park both took the overall spot in their respective heat. The 450 Pro heat races followed the former, with Peters securing a win in heat one and Ben Lamay taking the victory in the second heat.
250 Pro Heat Results – Heat One: (1) Kyle Peters (2) Kyle Bitterman (3) Wristin Grigg (4) Devin Xindaris (5) Collin Hinrichs – Heat Two: (1) Cullin Park (2) Ben Lamay (3) Brandon Marley (4) Brendan Sipple (5) Adam Conway
450 Pro Heat Results – Heat One: (1) Kyle Peters (2) Kyle Bitterman (3) Wristin Grigg (4) Brendan Sipple (5) Nate Mason – Heat Two: (1) Ben Lamay (2) Cullin Park (3) Collin Hinrichs (4) Devin Xindaris (5) Jake Bork
250 Pro LCQ Results – (1) Jake Bork (2) Cody Webb (3) Carlos Short (4) Jurek Rubalcava – 450 Pro LCQ Results – (1) Mitchell Gifford (2) Brandon Marley (3) Adam Conway (4) Cody Webb
The first main race of Round Nine was the 250 Pro Main. Kyle Peters took the holeshot and jumped out to an early lead. He continued his dominance on the 2022 Series retaining the lead throughout the 12 laps and securing the P1 spot. Bitterman and Park battled most of the race for the second spot. Bitterman, who rode well the entire race, was able to stay ahead of Park and finish second in the race. Park crossed the finish line right behind him and took third.
Up next was the 450 Pro Main. Mitchell Gifford got a good start off the gate alongside Peters. Peters and Gifford battled the first lap side-by-side, with Bitterman, Park and Grigg not far behind. Peters started to pull away from the pack, leaving a close battle between Gifford, Bitterman and Park behind him. In the seventh lap, Bitterman made a push through the whoops to pass Gifford and take second, and unfortunately went down in the process, allowing Park to pass him. He was able to get back up quickly and continue pushing. This led to a battle between Park and Gifford for second. Park makes a move on Gifford right before the finish line on the tenth lap to take second. Meanwhile, Lamay had been climbing the leaderboard and snuck in behind Gifford. The battle was now for third place between Gifford and Lamay. These two were neck and neck for the remainder of the race, on the last turn before the finish line Gifford tried to sneak inside to pass Lamay but was unsuccessful and crashed in the process. Lamay grabbed the final podium spot, and Bitterman snuck by Gifford for fourth. Gifford finished fifth overall.
Round 10, the official AMA National Championship, was Saturday night in Denver. The arena was packed with race fans making for an exciting night of championship racing.
250 Pro Heat Results – Heat One: (1) Kyle Peters (2) Kyle Bitterman (3) Luke Dickey (4) Wristin Grigg (5) Brendan Sipple – Heat Two: (1) Cullin Park (2) Ben Lamay (3) Rylan Smith (4) Collin Hinrichs (5) Adam Conway
450 Pro Heat Results – Heat One: (1) Kyle Peters (2) Kyle Bitterman (3) Wristin Grigg (4) Jorge Rubalcava (5) Collin Hinrichs – Heat Two: (1) Cullin Park (2) Ben Lamay (3) Rylan Smith (4) Nate Mason (5) Mitchell Gifford
250 Pro LCQ Results – (1) Cody Webb (2) John Douglas (3) Carlos Short (4) Skylar Olson – 450 Pro LCQ Results – (1) Luke Dickey (2) Brandon Marley (3) Carlos Short (4) John Douglas
The 250 Pro Main was the first of the final two series races on Saturday night at the National Western Events Center. Peters took the holeshot just ahead of Bitterman and Lamay, with those three quickly pulling ahead of the pack. Park got a bad start off the gate and came through the first lap in ninth place. Park, known for his late race pushes and improving fast times throughout a main, started picking off riders one by one as he moved closer to the top of the leaderboard. By the tenth lap, Peters had a two second lead over Bitterman, who had a three second lead over Lamay, essentially securing those top two spots. Park had pulled into fourth place by the ninth lap and was still pushing for a last second pass to grab a podium finish over Lamay. Unfortunately, he could not get it done and finished fourth behind Lamay who came in third.
The final race on the night, and the series, was without a doubt the most exciting race on the weekend. The pro racers of the 450 Pro class were going to leave it all out on the track in the last battle of the 2022 series. Lamay jumped to the front of the pack off the gate drop and grabbed the holeshot. Lamay pulls into first place outright through the first turn ahead of Park in second and Gifford in third, keeping Peters in fourth not too far behind. Lamay and Park pull a bit ahead in the second lap in the one and two spots. Behind them is Gifford, who is doing everything he can to stave off Peters. Bitterman, who is in fifth right behind Peters at this point, makes contact with the back of Peters bike right before the finish line in the third lap. Incredibly he is able to stay on his bike and avoid a crash, losing only a few seconds from the hiccup. Peters goes inside on the turn after the finish line in lap four to pass Gifford to move into third. Gifford tries to put up a fight, but Peters, with his veteran moves, starts to pull away from Gifford as he looks to hunt down Park and Lamay ahead. Lamay and Park are battling for the top spot, with a small gap between them and Peters at the start of the fifth lap. With impressive speed, Peters closes the gap significantly by the end of the lap. In lap seven, Park stuffs Lamay and takes the lead in the whoops and on the turn after the whoops Peters passes Lamay as well. Park is now sitting in first ahead of Peters in second. Park finishes the seventh lap in the lead and continues the lead into lap eight. Park loses control on the turn right before the finish line and goes off the track. Peters takes over as the leader of the race in the ninth lap. It takes Park a moment to collect himself and gets back into the race in the fifth spot. After a chaotic and action filled nine laps of racing, Peters settles into the top spot where he will go on to finish the race. Lamay hangs on to the second spot ahead of Bitterman who comes in third. Mitchell Gifford takes fourth ahead of Cullin Park in fifth.
Following the conclusion of the 450 Pro Main, Kyle Peters was honored as the 2022 Kicker AMA Arenacross Champion. Kyle Bitterman and Wristin Grigg also were recognized for their second and third series finishes as well.
The conclusion of the 2022 Kicker AMA Arenacross Series was an exciting one. These final two rounds will air on CBS Sports Network this Sunday, February 20th. Round 9 will air at 6 PM Eastern, followed by Round 10 at 7 PM Eastern. For more details on how to watch visit: https://arenacrossusa.com/watch
