The Spinechillers - Storm Lake Honda team of Nathan Skaggs, Zach Ames and Willy Browning arrived at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids Michigan with great anticipation for the opening round of the 2009 Arenacross season.
With engine work by Williams Motorwerx and suspension services provided by RG3 the Storm Lake supported Honda CRF250's of Skaggs and Ames along with the RMZ250 sponsored by Suzuki City of Browning were ready for the starting gate to fall.
Qualifying went smoothly with all three making Friday night's main event.
The Lites main event left Willy Browning chasing the leaders ending up settling for 3rd place for the night. After racing the Supercross Lites series in 2008, this was Browning's first appearance on the tight arenacross track. Browning commented that "Lap times are short and there is not much room for passing so getting off the gate up front will be key through the series".
In the Arenacross class, Skaggs got off to a mid-pack start. Banging bars and moving forward he was able to hold on for a solid 7th place finish for the night amongst a gate packed with the stars of the sport. Skaggs noted "I felt good and am looking forward to building on tonight's race for the rest of the weekend".
Mechanical issues hampered the efforts of Zach Ames on Friday forcing him to the sidelines for the night.
Qualifying for the main event again went well for the entire team. All riders made the main with good gate picks.
Lites action saw Browning get off to a quick lead. His Suzuki City RMZ250 kept him out in front of the pack where he remained for the rest of the race. With a 3-1 finish for the weekend, The WB left Grand Rapids with an 11-point lead in the Mid-West Lites series.
Main even action again looked to be fierce. Nathan Skaggs got off toa good start and moved his way to the front ending the night with his firstcareer Arenacross class WIN!
After the race Nathan commented, "It was a great weekend all around". I felt good on the bike and just kept my head down all the way to the front".
Team Spinechillers/Storm Lake Honda ended the evening with Nathan Skaggs 1st, Zach Ames 5'th and Willy Browning 10th in the Arenacross class.
Team manager Dallas Avery said "This is what we expected coming in to the opening round". "The team has been working hard and our sponsors have really stepped up this year to put together a great program". " I couldn't be happier".
The team is currently preparing for round two of the 2009 Arenacross series scheduled for January 9-10, 2009 at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore Maryland.
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