Checkerz
The Biggest Little City in the World played host to Rounds 9 and 10 of the AMA Arenacross Series presented by Kicker. The infamous gambling town of Reno, Nevada was a perfect destination for the guy with the hot-hand in the series as of late. Ryan Breece has run the table with pocket aces at the last two stops. Just like any gambling town, “What happened in Reno, stayed in Reno,” so let’s check out what didn’t happen.
After leaving Prescott Valley, AZ without even stepping on the podium it was obvious that there was trouble in the Phoenix Honda camp. Kyle Peters took his new arm candy (a Honda CRF450R) on Maury only to hear the dreaded words, “The results are in… you are NOT the father!” That’s right, results don’t lie. Kyle Peters was winless on the bigger bike and sent it packing. Luckily for KP, his loving ex-bike that birthed him four straight championships took him back.
The result? Four more second place finishes in Reno. Peters is determined to re-ignite the fire with his longtime partner and expand to a family of 5 championships, but the jury is still out on who will be the next big daddy of Arenacross.
Ryan Breece was perfect over the double-header weekend sweeping all four Main Events. Don’t call me Judge Judy, but the evidence Breece is presenting in my courtroom is starting to foreshadow a championship ruling in his favor. He has now strung together 8 straight Main Event wins. Heck, Breece hasn’t even lost a heat race lately and resembles a freight train locked on rails with no signs of running out of coal.
It is always exciting when some Supercross regulars hop on the AX train for a few stops. West coast Supercross racing resumed in Glendale last weekend, and it was expected all the SX Wild Card passengers would depart the series. We aren’t sure if Austin Politelli was too busy solving crossword puzzles with the granny in 22F and missed his stop or if he purposely stashed himself and his RJC Racing GasGas in a freight car to loot some more Arenacross cash. Politelli surprised everyone, showed up in Reno, and finished on the podium in all four Main Events. He looks at home in AMA Arenacross, so fingers crossed that his days of hopping trains between SX and AX are over. If Politelli decides to plant roots in the series full-time, he immediately goes on my list as a title contender.
Growing into a title contender is no easy task. For two seeds who come from a state built upon farming it should come as no surprise to Izaih Clark and Mason Kerr. Both riders missed qualifying for Main Events during the first weekend in Idaho and they had to have been questioning why they planted themselves in Arenacross for the season. Crashes, injuries, take-outs, and chasing bike setup are all standard issues in an AX season, but both riders made it through with a strong foundation for growth. In Reno, Clark was inside the top 5 in three of the four Main Events while Kerr had three 6th place finishes and a 9th. The duo sit solidly in 4th and 5th in the championship standings.
When Devin Harriman calls his momma up to tell her she needs to check out this awesome Arenacross recap on Vurbmoto, he should probably tell her “Thank you!” as well. I guarantee growing up she told him that if he wants to get better he has to practice. Until a couple of weeks ago Devin was being a rebel and not practicing, but now that he listened to his mom for a couple of weeks the results have turned around. Momma Harriman should be proud with his pair of top 5’s, a 7th and an 8th on the weekend moving Devin up to 6th in the season standings.
The AMA Arenacross Series was 10 Rounds in 2023 and Kyle Bitterman finished 2nd with 350 points. The series just completed the 10th round of 14 and Kyle Bitterman only has 235 points. While it looks like “The Underdog” is having a much worse season, he is comfortably third in the standings. I went digging and discovered that Bitterman has finished inside the top 5 in at least one of the Main Events at every single round this season. The missing piece? Bitterman only has 6 Main Event podium finishes and has finished in the bottom half of the Main Event the same number of times. If Bitterman can eliminate the mistakes and create more podium opportunities he will have a much better second half of the season.
Load up the camper, fill up your Harley, or book your plane ticket. Heck, you may even run into Austin Politelli if you hop a ride in a dirty boxcar across the country! No matter how you get there, you aren’t going to want to miss all the action when the AMA Arenacross Series joins Daytona Bike Week for the first time on March 1st. Friday night before the Daytona Supercross drag your buddies out of Razzles, Froggy’s, or whatever watering hole they’ve stumbled into and check out the stars of Arenacross right on the boardwalk at the Ocean Center. Don’t forget your flip flops!
Main Image: AMA Arenacross
