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JACE OWEN
ARENACROSS
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Jace Owen looked comfortable as soon as he sunk his knob- bies into the Cincinnati soil on Saturday afternoon. The TiLube / Jack Link’s / TUF Racing Honda rider laid down the 5th fastest
lap in the timed practice session by way of a 20.94. The Illinois native carried the momentum he built in practice into the night show when the heat racing got underway with a top 5 start. He quickly worked his way around Hunter Hilton and set his sights
on Blose and Faith ahead of him. Owen was able to match the pace of the two leaders, but ultimately decided to reign it in and bring his Honda home for a 3rd place finish. Owen was also able to muscle his way through the head-to-head challenge and come out on top when the short bursts of racing were said and done; he started off by getting the best of Ben Lamay, then he took down Gared Steinke, and he showed up the defending series champion in the final with a stellar performance that undoubtedly gave him extra motivation heading into the main events. When it came time, Owen’s confidence never faltered. He put in thirty laps of perfec- tion throughout the night as he made it easy on himself with a pair of perfect jumps out of the gate. The Honda rider never looked
as if he was feeling the magnitude of the situation, he continued
to crank out the laps as he soared to a pair of wins and a perfect overall score to start off the season. In only his second full season of arenacross, Owen was able to grab his first overall win, sending a message to his rivals that he’s going to be a serious contender for the #1 plate when the series finally makes it’s way to Vegas at the end of the season.
42 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 9, 2017