Pro Diaries: 2007 BooKoo Arenacross, Minneapolis, Minnesota - Race Report - Shift Riders

Round 9 of the Boo-Koo Arenacross Championship was held in frosty Minneapolis. Tyler Bowers was about 100 points behind Leader Darcy Lange coming into this weekend's races which would determine whether Tyler would still have a shot at the title at the final round.

The action got started with Friday night's 250 main. Zach Ames got a solid start and moved into the lead on lap 5. Bowers wasn't as lucky as he got a midpack start and made a few mistakes which held him back in the pack. Darcy Lange was also in the mix and he eventually caught and passed Zach for the win. Ames finished a strong 2nd, while Bowers had a race he'd rather forget, crossing the line down in 12th.

With one race out of the way, Lange now had enough points to clinch the championship in Friday's 450 main. This time, Tyler got out to a strong start and quickly made his way into the lead ahead of Ames and Lange. Darcy fought back to take over the lead and both he and Bowers battled all the way to the checkers with Darcy taking the win and the championship ahead of Bowers.

The championship was celebrated after all the main events were finished and I had a little chat with Bowers and Ames while I was on the podium awaiting the Champaign to be sprayed. Tyler said he was very disappointed in the fact that he had a shot at the championship and it was now gone, just like that. He wanted to win so bad and prove that he could do it regardless of his age.

Standing on the sidelines of all the commotion was MDK Speed Equipment team manager Tim Bowers. I watched as he hugged Tyler and let him know that it was ok and that he rode his best. Both teammate Zach Ames and Team Manger/Father Tim Bowers joked around and had some fun with Tyler and tried to make the situation less tense after a tough season-long battle.

Saturday night's 250 main event was a little different and off pace from the night before. With Darcy already having the championship wrapped up the rest of the riders were now racing for second. Early in the race, teammates Lange and Jeff Northrop were battling for first and second with Tyler trailing behind in third. Zach had a little mishap on the tenth lap and fell back from fourth to twelfth. At the checkers, it was Lange taking the win, followed by Northrop and Bowers.

The 450 main went a lot better! Zach took the fast lap award and led for the first four laps of the race. Tyler was following close behind and it looked as if they would run away with the top two positions. Tyler passed Zach and then pulled away to claim his sixth victory of the year. The fight for 2nd went down to the wire with Lange taking the runner-up spot ahead of Ames in third. Next up is the tenth and final round of the championship (The U.S. Open of Arenacross) which takes place from Feb 9th-11th in Uncasville, CT.

Stay tuned!

Chelcy

www.shiftracing.com