Team Babbitt's Race Report Denver 2011

The
AMA Arenacross Series continued this weekend in Denver and Team
Babbitt's capitalizes with a Podium sweep on Friday and a 1, 2 finish
on Saturday

Weekend race report brought to you by Maxxis.

It
was a two for two win weekend for the Babbitt’s Monster Energy TiLube
Kawasaki presented by Maxxis Tires.  Round 4 in the Denver Coliseum
this past weekend was the series’ first double-header of racing. 
Friday night featured a Team Babbitt’s podium sweep reminiscent of the
2010 season as Tyler Bowers took first, Chad Johnson finished second,
and Gray Davenport rounded out the podium with third.  Saturday night’s
racing saw Chad Johnson capture first, with Tyler Bowers in second, and
Gray Davenport finishing fourth.  Johnson now lies second in
championship points, six points behind Jeff Gibson, with Bowers only
two points behind Johnson.

Friday night’s main started out
extremely well for Gray Davenport as he exploded out of the gate, and
pulled an awesome holeshot.  During the early laps it was Davenport in
first, with Bowers and Chad Johnson following.  By mid-point of the
race Bowers was pressuring his new teammate, and eventually got by. 
“We made some progress with some slight changes to the bike and it
worked awesome; I’m really feeling good on it.  I felt strong out
there, but Tyler had me covered in the whoops” explained Davenport.  
Talking about his race strategy, Tyler Bowers would say “I had a decent
start, and just tried to ride smart, and be relaxed and patient.  Gray
was riding great, but I found an area where I could pass him”.  Back in
third was Chad Johnson, who was watching the battle between his
teammates for first, unfold.  “I was behind Tyler much of the race;
after I saw him pass Gray, I saw my opening to get into second.  It was
pretty cool to have us all in the top three, and racing cleanly.  Gray
was riding excellent, and I’m proud of him” explained Chad.  Taking
their first podium sweep of 2011, it brought back great memories of the
2010 AMA Arenacross series when it was often the case that Team
Babbitt’s would finish first, second, and third, and according to Team
Manager Denny Bartz, “it doesn’t get any better than this!”  

Saturday
night’s main event saw another Team Babbitt’s holeshot – this time by
Chad Johnson; who simply put his head down, rode smart and led start to
finish.  Despite repeated attempts by Jeff Gibson to pass him, Johnson
would eventually pull away.  As Chad would say “the combination of my
good start, riding smart, and help from the team with bike set up
worked out well for me.  It’s nice to get this first win over.”  Bowers
wasn’t quite as fortunate as the previous night and suffered a terrible
start.  But soon he would work his way toward the front to catch up to
the Johnson and Gibson battle.  Bowers then attempted a mid-air pass on
Gibson for second, but would actually jump into Johnson!  “I got into
third and was waiting for mistakes from Johnson and Gibson.  I saw an
opening landing into turn, and tried it – but ended up accidently
t-boning my teammate Chad!  Fortunately he was okay, and my bike was
still running, so I got back up and going in third.  Then I rode smart,
got past Gibson, and almost caught Johnson – but second was okay for a
wild night like that” said Bowers.  Little did everyone know that
Chad’s knee brace was broken in the crash, and part of it was gouging
at his leg.  Immediately after the race “Chad threw his bike down and
pulled off his gear” according to Denny Bartz.  Although he finished
one step off the podium in fourth, Gray Davenport may have earned the
“tough guy award” as he competed with a badly injured hand.  “In my
heat race I hit my hand on something in the first turn.  It really
hurt, and quickly got pretty swollen.  I wasn’t sure that I was even
going to race, but I did” said Davenport.  Immediately after the race,
Davenport was on his way to the local hospital to have it checked out. 
 

Expanding on the team’s visit to Denver Denny Bartz would add
“All around we had a good weekend.  The entire team did great, and I’m
especially proud of how Gray did; he’s right there, and has some good
momentum going.  Also, it was very nice to have Ryan Holliday (Kawasaki
Team Green Race Manager) here to support us.” 
 

Now
armed with a handful of confidence, the team makes it way eastward to
the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio for another double-header weekend
of racing Friday and Saturday nights.   For more on the team, check out www.teambabbitts.com  

January 29, 2011
Jim Kimball