oming into the 2005-2006 Arenacross season, riders such as Brock Sellards, Chad Johnson, and Kevin Johnson chose to ride the Toyota-backed AMA Arenacross series to become title contenders. And oh what a season it was. The points race went to the very last round in Denver, Colorado, something the series hasn’t seen in many years. Trading in his Yamaha for a Honda, Sellards was the relative unknown in the small, unforgiving confines of the arenas. On the other hand, both Johnsons (not related, by the way) have had more than their fair share of time on the circuit.
     Starting off in Albany, New York, Chad Johnson, aboard his Junior Jackson-tuned Shogun/Thor/Yamaha YZ250, nailed both main event wins in the Arenacross class while Sellards piloted his Honda to a pair of consistent podiums. The season was set in motion and promised to be a good one. As the following round concluded in Des Moines, Iowa, it was Chad Johnson looking unbeatable as he headed towards Charlotte with a 4-0 record while Sellards struggled.
     Asking Sellards what he thought of the tight racing, he was honest about the differences between the tight conditions of Arenacross and the large stadiums he was accustomed to racing in the AMA Supercross series. “It’s a little tighter racing and it’s tough. It’s a whole different sport really. It’s got its ups and downs, but I really like it a lot. Everyone in the series has been great and supportive, real nice. I’ve got no complaints. I think this is where I want to finish my career here racing Arenacross.”
     As the rough and tumble road show made its way into Charlotte, Sellards was finally able to put together a win in the Arenacross class on Saturday night besting Team Faith rider Kevin Johnson and the points leader, Chad Johnson. Heading into the middle of the series, things were beginning to be shaken up as riders like Greg Schnell, Jim Neese, and Shawn Clark began putting in some stronger results, thus stirring the points.
     Dallas, Texas has long been a staple of Arenacross racing. Heading into the Lone Star State, all eyes were on the hard charging duo of Sellards and Johnson. And after a long weekend of racing in J.R. Ewing’s hometown, the points race began to get interesting with Sellards taking both nights while his teammate Jeff Northrop gave Johnson fits for podium positions.
     What was developing now in the Arenacross series was much like the Arenacross duels of old like Langford vs. Palmer, Hawthorne vs. Reynard, Gaddis vs. Goodman, Antunez vs. Stephenson, and Demuth vs. Lange. The series, being long and tough on riders, would go down to the most consistent. And by the time they arrived at Baltimore, Maryland, the points were tighter than a pair of Jon Bon Jovi’s jeans. In Maryland, Kevin Johnson dominated while Chad and Brock laid down some inconsistent results. Remember, points are getting stirred by now and Kevin Johnson is the series points blender at this point.

Johnson and Sellards battled right down to the last race of the season, but Chad ultimately edged out Brock for the title.

Look for AMA Areancross runner-up Brock Sellards aboard the 450 BooKoo Honda in the Supercross class for the remainder of the 2006 season.

     With riders coming into the Guthrie, Oklahoma round, points were on everyone’s mind. And at the biggest arena on the tour schedule, the track looked to favor Sellards’ Team Cernics/Tuf Racing/Parts Unlimited-backed Honda CRF450. Lap times throughout practice and heat races were longer than some of the AMA Supercross rounds had been thus far in 2006. Friday night belonged to Chad Johnson as he gated well and got out front early with Sellards in tow. The one person Sellards seemingly needed to help out with points was Kevin Johnson. But after a crash, Kevin packed it in and called it a night leaving the action on the track to Brock and Chad. As Chad won Friday night, Brock turned it around to win Saturday night ahead of a very fast Kevin Johnson putting Chad in third.
     Teams, mechanics, and riders hustled back to the east coast to the Hampton, Virginia round where Sellards turned his volume knob up to eleven. Taking both main events in Hampton, and with Kevin Johnson playing the part of spoiler, the weekend ended with Sellards down to Chad by a scant seven points as they looked westward to Memphis, Tennessee’s FedEx Forum and the penultimate round of the series.
     With a brand new Toyota Tacoma 4x4 truck, a healthy points fund, and well-paying contingencies at stake, Sellards put his head down all weekend and made up points with each lap on the track. Finishing second to Kevin Johnson Friday night was exactly what Sellards needed to do as Chad finished out of the top five. Saturday night found Brock and Chad chasing a new foe as Jeff Northrop got out front for the win just ahead of the duo. But the strangest news of the evening was the fact Denver would see the two young men arrive tied in points. That’s right, TIED. As far as anyone could recollect, an Arenacross series had never gone to the last round so close in points, much less tied.
     If a person were to look for the term pressure cooker in a dictionary or a reference book, it could very well show a photo of Brock Sellards and Chad Johnson as they squared off in the series finale in Denver. Early in the event, a rider’s meeting was held and all parties were warned about dirty riding. Afterwards, men and machines lined the starting gate and the night got off to a bang right from the get-go as Chad took Brock high in a turn to take over the lead and march off to a commanding lead and victory as Brock finished fifth. As expected, Sellards was none too happy, but vowed to return the following night for an all-out war.
     A war, we would see, that was short fought and one that would swing in Chad’s favor. Brock came in Saturday knowing he had to win…and did just that. Making a bold, seat-of-the-pants pass on three riders in Saturday’s main, Chad Johnson rode into third just behind Greg Schnell and ahead of Kevin Johnson and into the record books as the 2006 Toyota AMA National Arenacross Champion.
     But hearing from Brock, he felt differently, “I had to win Saturday and I did,” said Sellards. “From there a little bit of ‘Yamaha rule’ came into play there. KJ (Kevin Johnson) was by far the fastest guy all weekend, but then he was on the brakes on Saturday. Chad never beats Kevin. But there was nothing I could do.”
     So what will the 2007 Toyota AMA National Arenacross Championship Series bring? Well, if the 2006 series was any indication, it will be a barnburner for sure.
     Congratulations to Chad Johnson and Junior Jackson on their championship and here’s wishing everyone well next season.