Press Release

Chad Johnson Wins Saturday Des Moines Toyota AMA Arenacross Series Round

Nathan Skaggs takes the Toyota Arenacross Lites class in front of huge crowd @ Wells Fargo Arena!

DES MOINES, IOWA (Nov. 3, 2007) – Capitalizing off a Brock Sellards (Kawasaki) mistake early in the race, Honda racer Chad Johnson – the 2005-’06 Toyota AMA Arenacross champion – took control of the Arenacross class main event at Wells Fargo Arena and won the contest by six seconds over second place Danny Smith (Honda).

Johnson’s smooth and error-free riding style kept him seemingly at ease for the 25-lap main event, staying out of trouble on several occasions and leading 22 of the 25 laps to the checkers.

“I’m pumped to be up here,” said Johnson. “I figured I could charge early on, Brock made a mistake and it helped I’d put myself in a better position to win than last night (Johnson started in 12th on Friday, second place on Saturday). Once I was up front I rode pretty well.”

Sellards’ sketch came on lap three when he went down – briefly – coming out of the bowl turn prior to the catapult jump. He was able to right himself and move back into third place, where he remained for the rest of the race - even shutting the door on a charging Josh Demuth in the same place where Demuth made an aggressive pass on Danny Smith to win Friday’s race in Des Moines.

“I made some changes to the bike and pulled two holeshots – one in my heat and one in the main,” said Sellards, who was rewarded with Saturday’s $750 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Holeshot award. “Chad made his move early and I crashed and had to get back up. But I’m content where I ended up (third) because these first couple of rounds are crazy.”

In second place overall in the Arenacross class was Danny Smith, who rode a pretty flawless race, although he couldn’t seem to gain on his teammate Johnson. “I’ve got some things to work on,” said Smith. “This was a motivating weekend for sure.”

Next up for the Toyota AMA Arenacross series is round two, Nov. 10th, at Albany’s (N.Y.) Times Union Center. Note: The Albany round is a Saturday night only round (one race).

AMA Arenacross Lites Class Results: Saturday


  1. Nathan Skaggs, Honda
  2. Cory Green, Suzuki
  3. Tanner Reidman, Suzuki
  4. Shane Sewell, Kawasaki
  5. Tyler Bright, Suzuki

AMA Arenacross Class Results: Saturday


  1. Chad Johnson, Honda
  2. Danny Smith, Honda
  3. Brock Sellards, Kawasaki
  4. Kelly Smith, Kawasaki
  5. Josh Demuth, Honda

AMA Arenacross Class Season Points Standings


  1. Chad Johnson, Honda, 47
  2. Josh Demuth, Honda, 41
  3. Danny Smith, Honda, 40
  4. Kelly Smith, Kawasaki, 38
  5. Brock Sellards, Kawasaki, 36

About Toyota AMA Arenacross Series
In its 24th year, the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series, owned by Live Nation, is the premier indoor motocross series in the U.S. playing to sold-out arenas nationwide. Information on the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series events may be found at www.Arenacross.com. Live Nation is the world's largest live music company.  Our mission is to inspire passion for live music around the world.  We are the largest promoter of live concerts in the world, the second-largest entertainment venue management company and have a rapidly growing online presence.  We create superior experiences for artists and fans, regularly producing tours for the biggest superstars in the business, including The Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, U2 and Coldplay.  Globally, we own, operate, have booking rights for and/or have an equity interest in more than 160 venues, including House of Blues® music venues and prestigious locations such as The Fillmore in San Francisco, Nikon at Jones Beach in New York and London’s Wembley Arena. Our websites collectively are the second most popular entertainment/event websites in the United States, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.  In addition, we also produce, promote or host theatrical, specialized motor sports and other live entertainment events.  In 2006, we connected nearly 60 million fans with their favorite performers at approximately 26,000 events in 18 countries around the world.  Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol “LYV.” For more information regarding Live Nation and its businesses or concerts near you, please visit our website at www.livenation.com.

About AMA Racing
AMA Racing is the competition arm of the American Motorcyclist Association and is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its professional properties include the AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF, the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship, the AMA Supermoto Championship and the AMA Pro ATV Championship. In amateur and pro-am competition, AMA Racing sanctions over 4000 events in 24 different disciplines and supports over 110 thousand active members. For more information about professional racing, visit www.amaproracing.com. For amateur racing information visit www.amadirectlink.com/amrace/amasports.asp.

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