Gibson finishes 2nd in opening night defense of AX title

Grand Rapids, MI

Jeff Gibson stood out in the crowd of competitors Friday night at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids for many reasons.  First off he is boasting the #1 National Champion number on his back and bike, drawing a perfect bullseye for his competition.  Perhaps even more noticing was Gibson was the lone rider deciding to ride the Honda 250 while the entire field rode the new improved 450cc bikes.

“Right now, I feel stronger on it and until me or my team sees a reason to change, I will be on the 250″, claimed the Champ.

Gibson’s teammate, Brock Sellards started the night off for RWR/Tuf in the first heat and finished 2nd to former RWR Motocross rider Tyler Bright moving him into the Main event.  Gibson competed in Heat #2 and also finished 2nd and ironically to former RWR/Tuf teammate Josh Demuth moving him into the Main as well

During the main, Brock grabbed the “Hole Shot” with Gibson on his tail for the first lap.  By lap 3 Gibson took the point as Brock slipped back to 4th.  Jeff Gibson powered his FuelDoctorUSA.com bike in the lead for 23 laps as Chad Johnson, another former RWR rider and Champion closed in on him.  On lap 24 of the 25 lap feature, Johnson passed Gibson and went on for the win as Gibson finished 2nd and Brock in 8th.

“This was a good night for us”, claimed Gibson.  “Last year we finished 3rd in the opener.  We grabbed the hole shot and three top 2’s tonight and 4 top 10’s.  Thats big and Im sure Saturday will be exciting as well.”