Insight: Tyler Bowers
Monday, March 18, 2013 | 3:50 PM
Since 1990, the driving force for Allsport Dynamic’s products has come from the physically demanding sport of motocross. From the entire Allsport team, comes a true commitment to helping others and a dedication to make the best products possible in both design and function.
Tweet
Advertisement | Advertise with Us
Share
Comment
Email
Print
By Dave Deringer
Monster Energy AMSOIL Babbitt’s Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers won his third consecutive AMSOIL Arenacross title this weekend in Denver, CO., at the Denver Coliseum. The Danville, Kentucky-based 22-year-old won a total of 10 overalls with a total of 20 main event wins this season, and in the process, joined Dennis Hawthorne and Buddy Antunez as the only riders to ever win three-straight AX crowns. But it almost didn’t come to fruition. Bowers broke his collarbone the week before the Little Rock round while practicing in California and had it plated the next day. He told no one except his core group and dug deep in the final rounds to eventually win the championship by a mere three points over Team Faith/FLY/KTM’s Jeff Gibson.
It was a big year for AMSOIL Arenaross, with a new format, rules, TV package and more. Here’s Tyler on what turned out to be a tough, but rewarding, season.
Racer X: You just wrapped up your third Arenacross championship tonight, tell me about it.
Tyler Bowers: They tried to make it harder on me this year with all the new circus rules so I just tried to do my best each week and tried to win races. With the new Race to the Championship, they reset the top ten guys points after Wilkes-Barre and I tried to do my best after that. I kind of lucked into the win in Wichita and then felt good in Kansas City a week later.
Tyler Bowers wrapped up his third straight title in Denver this weekend.
Arenacross.com photo
It was pretty interesting out here in Denver, though.
Last night (Friday) was crazy in the second main event coming from the back of the pack and luckily I only lost one point to Jeff. I came back tonight and tried to salvage the weekend, stay up and stay where I need to be to win the championship.
Where do you go after this, supercross like last year?
I doubt it. I’m getting an MRI on Monday for the knee and have a doctors appointment on Tuesday for the collarbone to get checked out. I just extended my contract with Babbitts for next year and I might just take care of some health stuff this summer and make sure my body is up to par for the next season and make sure I can get stuff done and be ready. We’ll look at supercross again next year and years after that.
What were some of the lows during the season?
In Little Rock, I was not wanting to race. I had broken my collarbone on Tuesday at the Kawasaki practice track with Zach [teammate, Ames] and I was pissed because I had such a good support group behind me and everybody believed in me. They were telling me, “You can do it, you can do it” and I said, ‘I know I can, but I really don’t want to.’ That was definitely the low point!
So what went down with this crash and why did you hide it?
Zach and I do sprint motos together and it helps for our overall speed. We do two laps with 30 seconds rest in between and we switch off who starts first. He will lead and I will lead, and this time he was leading and I went to pass him on the outside of a corner before a triple and he tried to stay low and out of my line, but when he went to seat bounce the triple out of the turn, his back end blew out sideways and in the air he was completely backwards looking right at me. I knew this wasn’t going to be good. My tire was just inches from him in the air. He tried to ditch his bike away from me, but when it hit, it bounced into my line and when I landed my front tire went right between his front tire and the frame and I stopped instantly. It threw me over the bars into the face of the next triple and I kind of rolled out of it, but I felt a bee sting in my shoulder and knew my collarbone was done. He was gasping for air and I was asking if he was okay, and he was just grunting so I asked again and he said yeah. I told him I broke my collarbone so I’m going back to the truck to get undressed. I called my pops when I got to my truck and he was pissed because he wasn’t there and couldn’t take me to the hospital. Luckily I have a great friend and teammate in Zach and he kind of felt bad about the whole deal, so he took me to hospital, took me to surgery the next day and drove me home from surgery, too. I made my flight on Thursday to Little Rock, kind of dizzy on anesthesia, made it to the event and had Friday to recover. I just wanted to salvage the weekend. I have some great doctors and they made some magic happen, and three days later, I was on my bike racing. The only ones who knew were my mechanic Junior, my parents and Zach. I just didn’t want to tell anyone else.
Bowers isn't done yet. He wants five titles to match Antunez's record.
Arenacross.com photo
Wow! Crazy story. Now tell me about what you like or dislike about some of the changes that the AMSOIL Arenacross Series has made this year.
The bracket racing is cool and probably one of the best things they have ever done. The suitcase deal [inverted start, picked at random] is stupid though. It turns this into a game show and I really don’t like it. I have told them that it is not safe when we have to come through the pack and try to pass some slower riders. I guess it can be exciting, but I don’t like when the crowd picks it or Ricky [Carmichael] picks it and it’s not the one I want. I have nothing but respect for Ricky, but when he comes to town, he picks my case or does it with the crowd. Last night, I wanted the first case and they picked the second one and it was a 16 spot inversion. The one I wanted was zero, so I’ll be honest and tell you I’m not a fan of that. I’d just like to control my own destiny at the final round of the series, you know?
Were you happy with this awesome new TV package they have?
I really didn’t see many to be honest. I wish they’d play them later on Sunday so I could get home and watch it. It’s awesome to have Grant [Langston] in there and having good, respective people talking about what they know when it comes to racing. I wish there were some more live rounds, though.
Are you pumped right now?
Yeah, I’m pumped. But I want to go for five titles and match Antunez’s title record. That’s what we are going for right now. We have next year and the year after that, so that’s where we’re aiming at.
Are you getting some good bonuses for this championship?
I am taken care of. I don’t worry about the bonuses. Let’s just put it that way.
Did you like this article?
Check out ACTION FIGURE
in our Latest issue of Racer X available now.
Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda’s Cole Seely is a man of many talents— skateboarding, BMX, import drifting … and he’s pretty good at this motocross thing, too. Page 156 .
Look for the verified symbol 
Impulse Studios
Arrenacross is a very water down version of Supercross. Bad air quality, and just a bunch of fans enjoying motorcycle racing at a local level. Not much better than the fair grounds racing we all have raced in the 80s.
Congrates to Bowers on another great year and being on tough racer by coming through the pain. Those early races after that crash and even now had to be painful, yet he motored on.
I respect RC so much but his involvement in what is becoming a circus show is somewhat embarrassing. Sure get the races closer together, keep the point spread low, and you will have some great racing. But like Bowers stated, the corny game show aspect has got to go.
@MXflorida - Except the winner of a fair race might have a little bit of a tougher time placing top ten in supercross.
Bonuses? Dude can't even afford a DVR? Instead of the circus bs let these guys defend a title for a year and then kick em out to the 250 sx class
@Jordan Roberts ,,, Excellent point.... I sure would have liked to have a few of these riders at a Fair Race. Lets remember,, its pretty hard to show your speed at an Arenacross.. Pretty tight tracks,, and honestly, most AXs have tougher whoops than SXs.
RC is doing the same shit to the Monster Energy Cup with it's "joker lanes" and crap!!! People need to start taking this sport seriously, it doesn't help when Feld and the industry want to turn it into a circus side show.
Mx florida....have you ever been to one? I've been to a lot of super crosses and been to one arena cross and loved it. Fast pace and they kept the show moving along nicely.
They should give the champion of the series a full season of free sign up for supercross of the next year. I heard bowers talkin on a podcast about how he can win money at AX so why go pay and struggle to be maybe a top ten guy? That makes sense but its lame to watch one guy win every race and it starts to seem "circus like" especially cuz bowers does kinda look like a gorilla on a bike. Any way I think they should make guys move on after they win or spend a certain amount of time there, that might at least give us something to be guessing about.
@wel11 - Excellent suggestion. When you take Jodi@MXA's suggestion of a full 250F class rather than two regional series, it puts AX as the entry series, 250F as the Entry Pro series, and the 450 as the National Champion series.
I wish I wasn't dreaming though. Ain't no way that they would do something so drastic when they haven't done anything for decades.
I say - Don't fear change, just fear failure. Change and failure as similar as peanuts and airplanes.
@persona....yeah who does that RC the G O A T guy think he is messing with all YOUR great ideas and not taking things 'seriously'......(huh?)...? just when I think I've heard the dumbest sh*t ever you go straight to the top the class with new and better completely ignorant sh*t....can always depend on ya.!!!! This years 250 'classes' have demonstrated (no offense guys ) that the classes need to be combined like we've ALL wanted for years.....just would make for better racing and a better overall experience for the fans.......
Bowers, you are the MAN. It took hella sack to endure the pain and ride Little Rock. I was there, and totally understand what it's like to be hurt and keep it a secret, not even telling your best friends. One time I couldn't even get on the bike, people had to physically lift me up and put me on the bike. If I crashed I woudn't have been able to get up, but I won, then revealed my injury. If they would have known in advance, my knee is exactly the spot they would have t-boned me. If they'd have even had a clue I was hurt, it would have bolstered their confidence and made them ride better and more aggressively. Smart move on your part to keep your injury a secret. I have a ton of respect for you for doing what you did, riding when every cell in your body screamed at you to stay home. You embody what motocross is all about, what a motocrosser should be. When I think of a sniveling, excuse-making, lazy, felonious rider in Supercross, it makes me disgusted. Then I see you: a strong, brave hero of a rider, and you totally redeem the whole sport with your character. I salute you, Mr. Bowers. You are the man.
Wow, not a bit self indulgent there SS? LOL.
Aside from making AX not as much fun to watch because he ran away with the lead in most races, I really like and respect Bowers. He is the good "old-school" type of rider that works hard and will stop at nothing to win a championship, despite the crazy game-show antics they have introduced (which have basically taken a serious sport and makes it look almost childish; would the NCAA ever consider having a drawing to dermine seeding for the basketball tournament? Of course not - the best teams are rewarded by getting to play the weakest in the early rounds). To me there is a big difference between having unusual things in a race (such as the "joker lane", which I think is fair because everybody has to do it) versus introducing elements that are completely out of the control of the rider. There is enough of the wild-card element on the track with just the other riders. If anything should be changed it should be having more dramatic track variations. Just my $0.02 (maybe $0.03).
@tonewall
You sure are sensitive when it comes to my comments. Geeeeez
RC will always be the Goat but that doesn't mean he can't be criticized for trying to turn major "RACING" events into circus side shows and game shows for Feld.
@pippidekok, my apologies...my point to Bowers is that I really feel for the pain he went through, because the pain I went through was freakin' unbearable, but the rewards are great and you never forget those days as long as you live. I've forgotten over 99% of the riding days I've ever done, but days like that I'll never forget. Just related a story of my own to let the man know how much I respect his monumental courage and will. Somebody who never took a chance, never bled and sweated and suffered and emerged victorious, would never understand on any meaningful level. I'm not suggesting that you are that person, by the way.