450 Words on Hart and Huntington By Racer X

Posted on April 19, 2012 by hhadmin

Photos By: Simon Cudby

If any team should be comfortable taking risks, it’s the Dodge Motorsports/Sycuan Casino/Hart & Huntington squad. Based in Las Vegas, this team is owned by a freestyle motocross pioneer who is married to a rock star. Racing, jumping or rocking have always been high risk, high reward fields, and it looked like Carey Hart’s risk in starting this team in the first place was finally set to pay off in 2012.

With big sponsors in Dodge, Sycuan and more, they fielded a four-rider effort and hoped to take another step toward legitimacy via results. When H&H first hit the scene, they didn’t yet have the chops to sign big talent, so they made their way with splashy pit parties, wild graphics and an against-the-grain mentality. This year, they had come so far that they even rode Kawasakis with, gasp, actual green plastic.

But the riders still represented a risk. Josh Hill was still trying to come back from leg, ankle and foot problems dating back to 2010. Josh Hansen was moving back up to the 450s after a disasterous stint in a class a few years back. Kyle Partridge was about to enjoy the best support he’d ever had, but faced perhaps the deepest field of competitors every assembled, too. Ivan Tedesco was a proven commodity, but even his 2011 season ended early with a knee injury.

We now know what happened. Hill, as luck would have it, broke his tibia in the first turn of the very first start of his season. He was finally ready to try again in Houston, but crashed after the riding day was over (his glove caught on the throttle, rolling it back and sending Hill flying off a jump). Tedesco was landed on and pretty much destroyed a finger. He needed surgery to fix it, missed ten weeks, tried to come back in New Orleans, only to realize he still wasn’t ready. Hansen stated that his goal for the season, first and foremost, was to make every race for his team, but he bashed his ankle into submission. Then Partridge smacked the over-under bridge in St. Louis and exploded his foot. It’s a season defined by injuies, but even with that, H&H’s plight still sticks out.

H&H started with a four-man team, one of the largest in the sport. Now all four are out. Things have gotten so bad that privateer Michael Horban was called in for replacement duty a few weeks ago and crashed out in practice. Now, Kyle Regal and Tyler Bowers will carry the mantle for the team.

No doubt Hart, who has been hurt as much as anyone through his days racing supercross and supermoto, and as a pioneer in freestyle, understands the risks to running a race team. But one of these days, he’d like to see some of the rewards.

http://hartandhuntington.com/blog/?p=2588

Kawasaki Test Track Video Footage

Here’s some new video footage of Tyler trying out a bike at the Kawasaki Test Track in Southern California!

Mechanical Issues Hinder Bowers’ Supercross Debut

Following his exit from the main event in St. Louis, Tyler tweeted the following:

“Rough night! Some brake issues in heat then stoved up that throttle a bit when i dropped it in first turn. Should let er stick and hold on!”

The brake issues took place in Tyler’s qualifying heat, and he was fortunately able to rebound in the Last Chance Qualifier and make the main. Major issues with his bike crept up in the main, when his throttle began to stick. Ultimately, the throttle stuck in the wide-open position, leading to a disappointing end to Tyler’s evening.

About an hour later, he followed up with this comment:

“Sorry everyone very bummed on my night. Shouldn’t be having to try to make it to main lol anyone seen my #headoutofass switch?#regroup”

Tyler’s regrouping will begin this weekend in Daytona, FL. You can follow him on Twitter by subscribing to his feed, @tbowers911.

 

Supercross.com: Behind the Scenes with Tyler Bowers in St. Louis

Uploaded by FELDMotorSports on Mar 3, 2012

Jim Holley talks with 2012 AMA Arenacross Series Champion Tyler Bowers about his move to racing Supercross.

Supercross Tonight!

Photo courtesy AMA Supercross (https://www.facebook.com/supercrosslive)

Tyler will be racing Supercross Lites class tonight in the Monster Energy Supercross series from St. Louis, MO! You can watch LIVE on the SPEED Channel starting at 7 PM EST!

SPEED: Bowers Claims Title

Tyler Bowers stormed to his second consecutive AMA Arenacross title with a runner-up result in the season finale.

Media Release  |  Posted February 25, 2012   Minneapolis, MN

The 12th and final round of the 2012 AMA Arenacross Series was a night of champions on Saturday as both Arenacross Class and Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class title winners were crowned inside the Target Center. After claiming 12 main event wins this season, Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis’ Tyler Bowers, of Danville, Ky., secured back-to-back premier class titles after a strong runner-up effort. For the second straight season, HOK Kawasaki’s Chad Cook, of Oklahoma City, Okla., took home the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class crown following a podium finish of his own.

Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Tyler Bowers (Photo: Kawasaki Racing)

Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Chad Johnson, of Rhinelander, Wis., grabbed the holeshot in the 25-lap Arenacross Class Main Event, with Bella’s Cupcakes/Club MX Kawasaki’s Zach Ames, of Prospect, Ohio, and Bowers in tow. Not long after, Ames slipped past Johnson for the lead, which would prove to be the winning pass.

Johnson looked to keep Ames in his sights, but Bowers took over the runner-up spot in the whoops shortly thereafter. Once in second, Bowers pursued Ames relentlessly, maintaining a gap of less than a second throughout the entire main event. In the end, the eventual champion wasn’t able to make the pass, but still secured the title with his second-place finish.

Ames’ victory was his first of 2012 and also made him the fifth different winner in the Arenacross Class this season. Johnson followed Ames and Bowers across the finish to give Kawasaki a 1-2-3 sweep of the podium.

FMF Power/Poynt TUF Honda’s Jeff Gibson, of Blacklick, Ohio, entered the evening with a chance at stealing the Arenacross Class title from Bowers, but ultimately settled for a fifth-place finish.

For the third straight main event, BNTQ.Net/Tuf Honda Racing’s Kevin Markwardt, of Freeport, Ill., grabbed the early lead in the 18-lap Arenacoss Lites Class. He was followed by Reed and Reese KTM’s Michael McDade, of Edinburg, Pa., and Team Faith KTM’s Kevin Johnson, of Spring, Texas.

Coming into the evening, Markwardt sat just one point out of the championship lead, but it wouldn’t be long before Cook began his charge through the field. By Lap 5, Cook had moved into third and proceeded to move his way into second on the following lap.

With Markwardt in his sights, Cook pushed to close in on his rival, while McDade followed in third. At the halfway point, Markward experienced misfortune and dropped out of podium contention, ultimately losing the championship in the process. From there, Cook, Johnson, and McDade engaged in a heated battle for the win.

By the conclusion of the 18 laps, both Johnson and McDade had overcome Cook, who ultimately fell to third. Johnson held on to take his fifth Arenacross Lites Class win of the 2012 season.

With Markwardt falling to eighth by the end of the race, Cook secured the title by eight points.

In the final Dash for Cash of the season, Bowers helped cap off his championship-winning season with a victory in the four-lap sprint race, but it wasn’t without some luck. On the final lap, Ames and Gibson came together while battling for the win, allowing Bowers to assume the lead after both riders went down.

(Full Story)

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ama-arenacross-bowers-claims-second-straight-title/

CHAMPIONSHIP!

Congratulations Tyler Bowers, 2012 AMA Arenacross Champion!

Photo Courtesy of Babbitt's Online (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Babbitts-Online/157163887647468)

 

 

 

AMA ARENACROSS: Bowers On Brink Of Title #2

Tyler Bowers simply needs to qualify for the main event this weekend to secure his second straight AMA Arenacross crown.

The AMA Arenacross Series season has seen the world’s best arenacross riders wage war inside the country’s most popular arenas since October. Now, following 11 rounds of intense bar-to-bar competition, a pair of champions will be crowned on Saturday night inside Minneapolis’ Target Center for the 12th and final round of the 2012 season.

On the heels of an impressive two-night sweep this past weekend in Reno, Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis’ Tyler Bowers needs just one point this weekend to secure back-to-back Arenacross Class Championships, which hasn’t happened since Darcy Lange accomplished the same feat in 2004 and 2005. Bowers’ 12 main event wins matches his total from last season and based on the way he’s been riding recently, he could very well improve on that impressive mark.

Last weekend in Reno, FMF Power/Poynt TUF Honda’s Jeff Gibson was looking to capitalize on a big win he achieved one week prior and hopefully gain even more ground on Bowers in the premier class standings. Out of the gate in each of the weekend’s two main events. Gibson did what he needed to do, grabbing the early lead and trying to pull away from the field. On each night, however, Bowers followed Gibson in second and tactically put himself in position to win both times, gaining six points on his rival over the course of the weekend and putting himself as close as possible to clinching the 2012 championship.

In order to secure his second consecutive Arenacross Class crown, Bowers simply needs to qualify for the main event on Saturday night. In the world of arenacross, anything can happen at any given moment and while his task should be a relatively easy one to accomplish, Bowers still has some work to do inside the Target Center this weekend.

Along with the drama of the premier class, the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Championship is also being hotly contested heading into the AMA Arenacross Series finale. Thanks to back-to-back fifth-place efforts last weekend, BNTQ.net/TUF Honda’s Kevin Markwardt has moved to within four points of reigning Western Regional Champion Chad Cook, who rides for HOK Racing Kawasaki. In Reno, Cook experienced one of his roughest outings of the season, and saw his points lead shrink from 10 points to four.

With only one main event and 18 laps remaining for the 2012 season, both Cook and Markwardt will be ready to lay it all on the line on Saturday night for the chance to claim a coveted AMA title.

The 12th and final round of the 2012 AMA Arenacross Series season commences on Saturday, February 25, from the Target Center in Minneapolis. Opening ceremonies kick off at 7 p.m. CT.

(Full Story)

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ama-arenacross-bowers-on-brink-of-title-2/

Bowers Sweeps Reno Weekend to Inch Closer to AMA Arenacross Series Title

RENO, Nev. (February 18, 2012) – Saturday night signified the final night of action for the Reno Arenacross and the fans inside the Livestock Events Center were witness to exceptional competition. For the second straight evening, Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis’ Tyler Bowers, of Danville, Ky., took advantage of a strong start to win his 12^th race of the season, and inch even closer to a second consecutive Arenacross Class title. In the Arenacross Lites Class, Reed and Reese KTM’s Dave Ginolfi, of Lake Hopatcong, N.J., secured a hard-fought victory.

FMF Power/Poynt Tuf Honda’s Jeff Gibson, of Blacklick, Ohio, replicated his efforts from the previous evening to take the early lead in the 25-lap Arenacross Class Main Event. However, Bowers wasn’t far behind and quickly began to put pressure on his rival. Gibson managed to open up a comfortable gap early on, but Bowers quickly minimized the advantage.

On Lap 9, Bowers moved into the lead and proceeded to take control of the main event. The Kawasaki rider continued to pull away from the field on each lap, and ultimately took the checkered flag with a near 13-second advantage over the rest of the field.

Gibson held on for second to ensure that the championship won’t be decided until the season finale, while Bella’s Cupcakes/Club MX Kawasaki’s Zach Ames, of Prospect, Ohio, finished third.

Bowers heads into the final race of the season next weekend in Minneapolis with a 24-point lead over Gibson.

(Full Story)

http://www.arenacross.com/Recap/2012/02/19/1/

Update from Tyler…

From Tyler Bowers via Twitter (@tbowers911):

“So pumped on the ol ring I just got for the 2011 @arenacross ‘ship from @kawasaki_racing! Thanks so much for believing in me!”