LTD RACING’S NASH AND PUERTA EARN THIRD AND FOURTH AT MID-OHIO Lexington, OH LTD Racing earned third and fourth in the final AMA Pro SuperSport race at Mid-Ohio, with Huntley Nash adding another trophy to his collection while Tomas Puerta continued his streak of finishing inside the top five in every one of his races this season. The race turned into a three-man fight for third, with Huntley and Tomas battling with Dustin Dominguez for the final podium position. Both Nash and Puerta were able to pass Dominguez and hold him off at the checkered flag. “We had a chatter problem yesterday and we worked hard to improve the bike for today, and it was better,” said Huntley. “I got a good start and was able to run up front for a while and then in second place for a while behind Cameron Beaubier. I ended up racing with several riders “” Joey Pascarella, Dustin Dominguez, Tomas, and J.D. Beach “” at some point during the race. We had a good three-rider fight for third and it was pretty crazy. The last lap, I really rode protective of my lines and came out with the position.” Nash led the first lap of the contest. It was his sixth podium finish of the year. Puerta, in third place, leads Nash by one point in the East standings. “I started better than yesterday but I went to the inside on turn one and everyone else took the outside. We had a good battle out there for third place,” said Puerta. “One of the riders made some moves I did not like very much. There was some bumping, but that’s racing. In the last turn, I tried to pass Huntley but it wasn’t possible. He was riding very good. I was disappointed not to get on the podium this weekend, but maybe we can make it happen at Laguna Seca next week.” Sam Nash did not race after experiencing problems with his broken right hand on Saturday. “It was a better race today and we found a better setup for the boys. The team is not happy unless we’re winning, but things were better today,” said Gary Medley. “We’re looking forward to getting to Laguna Seca next weekend.” Joey Pascarella clinched the AMA Pro SuperSport West Division championship on Saturday. Pascarella won three races for LTD Racing before he received an offer from DNA CNR Motorsports to join their squad before the Infineon round. LTD Racing would like to congratulate Joey on his title. More, from a press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports: MICHAEL JORDAN MOTORSPORTS’ MCCORMICK SCORES A TOP FIVE AT MID-OHIO National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke sits third in championship points LEXINGTON, OH Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) maintains third place in the championship points race after completing races eleven and twelve of the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH this weekend. National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke scored a pair of sixth place finishes and 18-year-old Brett McCormick, Aaron Yates’ replacement rider, had his best result of the season with a seventh place finish on Saturday and a fifth on Sunday. On Saturday, National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Zemke ran as high as fourth before dropping back and eventually finishing sixth. Sunday, Zemke ran in fifth place until the last lap when he was passed by his Michael Jordan Motorsports teammate, McCormick. Zemke is a solid third in the championship points race heading into next weekend’s event at Laguna Seca. “Yesterday we killed both tires and today we killed one,” Zemke said. “By halfway today, the front tire was completely done and it was all I could do to hang on ’til the end. It was definitely a frustrating weekend. Coming to Ohio, it’s always been a good track for me. We were looking for good things here and we just never quite got there with the bike this weekend. So we’ll come out with something a little different for Laguna and regroup and move on.” On Sunday, McCormick started in seventh and quickly worked his way up to sixth just behind Zemke. McCormick made the pass on Zemke on the last lap, which gave him his first top five finish of the year. Saturday, Michael Jordan Motorsports’ McCormick ran as high as sixth before settling in for a seventh place finish. McCormick sits in ninth place in the championship points race. “I guess I got a seventh in Fontana and then a seventh yesterday,” McCormick said. “So this was the best finish when nobody crashed, nobody in front of me. I’m definitely really happy. I had a battle with Jake (Zemke) there and that was a lot of fun. And it was finally nice to go up there and race with somebody that’s closer to that top five and cool to learn stuff from these guys, for sure.” During the weekend, Jake Zemke’s National Guard Suzuki GSX-R1000 was proudly sporting the state patch of the Ohio National Guard’s 19th Special Forces Group, whose primary mission is to train and assist foreign indigenous forces in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The corresponding National Guard state patches will be placed on Zemke’s Suzuki for the remainder of the 2010 season. Look for the 2010 Michael Jordan Motorsports team at their next event at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA on July 23-25, 2010. ABOUT MICHAEL JORDAN MOTORSPORTS: Legendary NBA star Michael Jordan formed Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) in 2004 as a result of his passion for motorcycle racing. His mission is to bring a new level of excellence and style to the motorcycle racing industry. For more information on MJM, please visit www.23race.com, www.twitter.com/23race and http://www.facebook.com/23race. Michael Jordan Motorsports is proud to partner with: Jordan Brand (a division of Nike), National Guard, American Suzuki, Upper Deck, Hanes, Gatorade, Bazzaz, MMI – Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, Vortex Racing Components, Gemini Racing, K-Tech Suspension-Orient Express Racing, Maxima Racing Oils, K & N Air Filters, Dainese Leathers, AGV Helmets, Ancra Tie-downs, Chicken Hawk Racing Tire Warmers, Armour Bodies, DID Chains, Factory Pro Dyno, Roclun International, STAR Motorcycle School, Motion Pro Tools, Zero Gravity Windscreens, with transportation provided by Eastside Trucking. More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: Beach Wins Again in SuperSport Race Two at Mid-Ohio’s Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire LEXINGTON, Ohio – In a repeat of Saturday’s dominant performance, J.D. Beach and his Rockwall Performance Yamaha teammate Cameron Beaubier once again ran away from the field in today’s AMA Pro SuperSport race at the Honda Super Cycle Weekend Presented by Dunlop Tire at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. This time, Beach had to battle back from fourth place as the field swept into the first turn but once he took the lead on lap four, he was never headed again and swept to a 12.942 second victory over Beaubier and LTD Racing Yamaha rider Huntley Nash. Nash and Beaubier were the only other riders to lead any laps in the 17 lap race. Nash had a great start and held the point until Beaubier passed him on the second lap. Beaubier only led two laps himself as Beach re-established himself in what was, for the Mid-Ohio weekend, his rightful position at the front. Beach showed real domination in the ultra-close SuperSport field. The Mid-Ohio SuperSport event was a combined East and West Divisional Young Gun event and with his sixth place finish today, Joey Pascarella clinched the West Division Young Gun Championship with 172 points. Pascarella has won three races on his way to the Divisional title, one win at the season opener at Daytona and two at Auto Club Speedway. Pascarella and his DNA Energy Drink Yamaha now head to the last West Division race next week in California with the title in hand. “I love Laguna Seca,” said Pascarella as he and his CNR Motorsports team celebrated in the pit lane at the conclusion of today’s race. ” Now I can race for the win without worrying about points.” Beaubier was once again the only rider with anything for Beach but as the race went on he consolidated his position and took another second place, the second one-two finish in a row for the Rockwall Performance team this weekend, their third this year. Nash and his LTD Racing teammate, Tomas Puerta, battled with yesterday’s third place finisher, Dustin Dominguez and like yesterday, Dominguez showed great speed and racecraft as he battled with the duo. Unlike yesterday, Nash was able to get by Dominguez for third place and then Puerta moved Dominguez down one more spot to fifth on the last lap. Pascarella took sixth, followed by James Rispoli on his ANT-Racing.com Suzuki and Elena Myers on her Lucas Oil Roadracingworld.com Suzuki who again battled with Rispoli, Travis Wyman on his Yamaha and also Pascarella. Wyman took ninth and Miles Thornton rounded out the top ten on his Yamaha. The series now moves to the West Coast for next weekend’s race at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. The AMA Pro SuperSport race will be on Saturday, July 24th. Visit www.mazdaraceway.com for ticket and schedule information. Please visit www.amaproracing.com for results from today’s races. SPEED will have highlights of the SuperSport races and flag-to-flag coverage of today’s National Guard SuperBike and Daytona SportBike races from Mid-Ohio in same-day delay broadcasts. Tonight’s broadcast begins at 12:00 a.m. midnight ET. A full TV schedule can be found at http://www.speedtv.com/schedule/filter/program/948061. AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. More, from another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: Eslick Wins Daytona SportBike Race Two at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to Tighten up the Championship Battle LEXINGTON, Ohio – Just when everything was falling into place, the entire apple cart was overturned today in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Last year’s Daytona SportBike Champion Danny Eslick took a hard-fought victory today and with this year’s championship points leader Josh Herrin suffering a dramatic fall on the last lap, Eslick and his GEICO Powersports team have pulled themselves right back into the thick of the championship battle. Herrin and his Team Graves Yamaha team now lead Eslick by only two points, 249-247. The 21-lap race at Mid-Ohio began somewhat like yesterday’s event, with furious action at the front involving yesterday’s main cast, Eslick, Herrin, Martin Cardenas (M4 Monster Energy Suzuki), Bobby Fong (DNA Energy Drink Ducati), Herrin’s Team Graves Yamaha teammate Tommy Aquino and Team Latus Motors Ducati rider Steve Rapp. These six riders once again made a break and dueled back and forth, exchanging the lead lap after lap, sometimes two or three times per lap. Eslick would lead, Cardenas showed his speed with a nice outside pass into first at the end of the back straight, then Herrin would reassert himself back at the front. Under partly cloudy but hot and humid conditions, something had to give and it happened as the leaders were finishing the eleventh lap. Coming through the Carousel corner, Cardenas went down and Herrin had to take evasive action, allowing Fong, Rapp and Aquino quickly by. Eslick was in front and didn’t really know what happened until after the race but this gave him the break he needed to consolidate his second win of the season and vault him right back into the chase for the championship. In a great display of courage, Cardenas picked up his Suzuki and continued to the finish, and his persistence was rewarded as he ended up fifth at the flag. Another rider who stayed the course all day was Aquino, who raced hard with Fong, Rapp and Herrin as well and took home a solid fourth place finish. Gathering his second consecutive podium finish was Fong. He has been showing good speed so far this season but this weekend at Mid-Ohio he really showed his great potential with another strong run up front all day. It was only the hard riding of another Ducati rider, Rapp that prevented Fong from another second place. Rapp, who started strong yesterday but ran into some mechanical issues, came back today and contended all the way and took a well deserved second place for his close knit Team Latus Motors team. In a cruel twist of fate, as Herrin headed into turn six at the end of the long Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course backstraight for the last time, his motorcycle seemed to twitch and the next thing you knew, he was down. Rapp and Fong were quickly by as Herrin struggled to pick up and restart his Yamaha. He did so and to cheers from the appreciative crowd, he slowly rode back around on the damaged bike to post a 19th place finish, thereby scoring two valuable points. P.J. Jacobsen ran well again but was passed on the last lap by Cardenas; Jacobsen still had a solid weekend on his Celtic Racing Suzuki. Cory West took seventh on his Vesrah Suzuki, Josh Day, the 2009 SuperSport Young Gun East Division Champion ran well again on his Four Feathers Racing Yamaha, finishing eighth. After making a change in his Dunlop tire choice, Fernando Amantini took a nice ninth place finish aboard his Kawasaki followed by Kris Turner in tenth on his Turner Cycle Racing Suzuki. The AMA Pro Daytona SportBike riders will reassemble next weekend in California for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. The Daytona SportBikes will race on Sunday, prior to the MotoGP event. Please visit www.mazdaraceway.com for schedule and ticket information. Also check out SPEED TV’s coverage of all of the weekend Daytona SportBike action. Visit www.speedtv.comfor the broadcast times in your area. Visit www.amaproracing.com for full results from today’s races. SPEED will have flag-to-flag coverage of all National Guard SuperBike and Daytona SportBike races from Mid-Ohio in same weekend broadcasts. Tonight’s broadcast begins at 12:00 a.m. midnight ET. A full TV schedule can be found at http://www.speedtv.com/schedule/filter/program/948061. AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. More, from another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: Hayden Closes Championship Gap With Victory in National Guard SuperBike with Race Two Victory at Mid-Ohio LEXINGTON, Ohio – The tables were turned today as Tommy Hayden ended up two spots better than yesterday in taking his third career National Guard SuperBike victory ahead of main championship rival Josh Hayes during the last day of competition in the Honda Super Cycle Weekend Presented by Dunlop Tire at the 2.4-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Hayden, riding his Rockstar Makita Suzuki, bounced back from a third place finish in yesterday’s SuperBike race and took a calculated victory in the second race of the weekend. Hayden paid tribute to his Yoshimura team, “I told them what I wanted the bike to do and they gave it to me.” Yesterday’s winner, Josh Hayes paid tribute to Tommy, “My Team Graves Yamaha team gave me a winning bike, I just got beat.” Hayes did hold onto the points lead that he gained yesterday but Hayden trimmed it down from ten points to just four, 285-281. Foremost Insurance Ducati rider Larry Pegram thrilled his local fans by taking the lead into the first corner and leading lap one. Tommy Hayden had other ideas though, and he passed Pegram on lap two and proceeded to lead the next six laps. By this time, Hayes had passed Pegram and was shadowing Hayden’s every move and for a while it looked like Hayes was going to repeat his win from yesterday when Josh took the lead and led laps eight and nine. Hayden re-passed Hayes and controlled the race from lap ten on all the way to the flag. Hayes never let up though and the margin of victory was only 0.194 of a second at the end of the 21 lap race. Pegram was able to take what he felt was a satisfying third place finish ahead of yesterday’s second-place finisher Ben Bostrom on his Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha. As with the first two, Bostrom kept the pressure on Pegram all day but just couldn’t find a way by the Columbus, Ohio rider. After another strong start to the race, Jake Zemke with his National Guard Jordan Suzuki found himself battling with teammate Canadian Brett McCormick on the #23 Jordan Suzuki. These two ran nose-to-tail for the last part of the race and McCormick continued his nice progression in the sport by passing Zemke on the last lap. Behind the Jordan riders were Taylor Knapp on his RidersDicount.com Suzuki and Chris Ulrich with his M4 Monster Energy Suzuki in eighth. Georgia rider Geoff May finished ninth on his Erik Buell Racing Buell and Kurtis Roberts made a nice return to the sport with a tenth place finish on his RidersDiscount.com Yamaha. Tommy Hayden and Josh Hayes each staked a claim for this year’s National Guard SuperBike Championship this weekend and this fight looks like it is going right down to the wire. The teams will gather again in five short days as they will race next weekend at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix in California. Please visit www.amaproracing.com for full results from today’s races. SPEED will have flag-to-flag coverage of all National Guard SuperBike and Daytona SportBike races from Mid-Ohio in same weekend broadcasts. Tonight’s broadcast begins at 12:00 a.m. midnight ET. A full TV schedule can be found at http://www.speedtv.com/schedule/filter/program/948061. AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. More, from another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: Eslick Doubles up with Win in Vance & Hines XR1200 Series Race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course LEXINGTON, Ohio – After winning earlier in the day in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, Danny Eslick repeated his wining form again with his second consecutive AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Eslick took his RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing Harley-Davidson XR1200 to another well deserved victory, this time ahead of Shawn Higbee, riding another XR1200 supported by HOG Racing. Third was Danny’s RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing teammate, Jake Holden. Holden and Eslick resumed their battle from the inaugural race at Road America but Holden fell back in the late stages today and finished third. Kyle Wyman, one of three Wyman brothers racing at the Honda Super Cycle Weekend Presented by Dunlop Tire, took fourth on another RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing Harley-Davidson. His brother Travis ended up eighth riding the Harv’s Harley-Davidson sponsored XR1200. Eric Stump was another rider taking part in multiple events this weekend and he took fifth ahead of John Ashmead. Ashmead, a former Daytona 200 and SuperBike winner, was again riding his Brady Schwemmer Racing XR1200. Ashmead and the team had raced at Road America and in fact, had suffered a mishap due to another rider’s oil leak, not their own as was reported in the last AMA Pro Racing report. Paul James finished behind Ashmead on the James Gang Hoban Brother’s Racing XR1200 ahead of the aforementioned Eric Stump. Eslick commented on how much he loves riding in the Vance & Hines XR1200 Series, “This class is a lot of fun, I just like riding the XR1200, and winning is going to make my drive to California that much more fun, looking at my two trophies all the way!” The Vance & Hines XR1200 Series will resume at Virginia International Raceway on August 13-15. Please visit www.vanceandhines.com for more series and XR1200 kit information. Please visit www.amaproracing.com for full results from today’s races. AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. More, from a press release issued by Penny Nicolai on behalf of CNR Motorsports: MID-OHIO PROVES TO BE A BANNER WEEKEND FOR THE CROZIER ROBERSON MOTORSPORTS/DNA ENERGY DRINK TEAM Lexington, Ohio”¦ the Honda Super Cycle Weekend Presented by Dunlop Tire at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course proved to be a banner weekend for the Crozier Roberson Motorsports/DNA Energy Drink Team. Taking two top ten finishes in the AMA Pro SuperSport class, DNA Energy Drink pilot Joey Pascarella grabbed the 2010 SuperSport West title for DNA Energy Drink. “We came into this event with a large lead in the point’s battle coming,” explains Pascarella. “We knew if we finished ahead of Elena Myers, we could take the title and that was our goal. Everything went according to plan and I couldn’t be more pumped. Crozier Roberson Motorsports is a really good team and DNA Energy Drink is a great sponsor. It is really awesome to bring both of them this Championship. Now that we have the title locked up, we can go for the win at Laguna Seca and I’m definitely looking forward to that.” For Bobby Fong, Mid-Ohio also proved to be an outstanding weekend as he took back-to-back podium finishes for the team in both AMA Pro Daytona SportBike races. “We finally got the monkey off our back and showed what we can do,” said an obviously elated Fong, who earned a second on Saturday and a third on Sunday. “Those are my best finishes in this series to date. The team gave me an incredible Ducati. It ran flawlessly all weekend. They really out did themselves. I want to congratulate Joey for winning the SuperSport West crown.” Adding additional words of praise was teammate Michael Beck who unfortunately didn’t have as good a weekend as Fong and Pascarella. “This was just one of those ‘that’s racing’ weekends,” said Beck. “I got a good start today and was already moving up through the field when we had a mechanical that put us out of the race. But, we will be ready for Monterey and that should be a good one for us.” “Getting two podium finishes and a championship, all is one weekend, is unbelievable,” smiles co-team owner Robbie Roberson. We had hoped to do well this time out, but I didn’t dream the weekend would be this spectacular. It is amazing.” “I am so proud of everyone on this team, said team manager and co-owner Mark Crozier. “They did an outstanding job. All the long hours and their determination definitely paid off. Things are good and I know there is more to come. Both Robbie and I want to thank all our sponsors who made winning the title possible, especially DNA Energy Drink. They are a pleasure to work with and we are looking forward to carrying their banner on to the podium time and time again.” Crozier Roberson Motorsports is sponsored by: DNA Energy Drink, Quality Brands, Inc., FMF, Arai Helmets, Race Tech, Motion Pro, Pit Bull, EBC Brakes, EK, Melillimoto Ducati, Moto-Heaven.com, XES, Thrust Company, HEL, Woodcraft, Armour Bodies, Puma, Held Gloves, GP Tech, Active, Zero Gravity and Christopher Bean Coffee. More, from a press release issued by Chris Ulrich Racing: TOUGH WEEKEND FOR TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI AT MID-OHIO Roadracingworld.com Suzuki battled through a difficult outing at the Mid-Ohio round of the AMA Pro Road Racing championship. Santiago Villa struggled in his search for front-end feel and was only able to qualify 24th for the weekend’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike doubleheader at 1:35.728. The races weren’t any easier as the multi-time Colombian champion ran off-track in Saturday’s contest before continuing on to claim 22nd. Sunday was a similar affair as Villa crashed after coming together with a fellow rider, but he picked his machine back up and soldiered onto a 23rd-place ride. “It was not a very good weekend for us,” Villa admitted. “I never had a good feeling with the front of my bike and I couldn’t progress during the weekend like we had hoped. I had some bad luck and that didn’t help, either. In the second race I touched with another rider and that was it.” Meanwhile, Daniel Guevara qualified 18th best in the combined AMA Pro SuperSport field at 1:35.728. He improved on his starting position to finish 15th on Saturday and 14th on Sunday aboard his GSX-R600. He stands seventh in the East Region standings, just seven points removed from a fifth-place ranking. Team owner Chris Ulrich said, “The guys had a trying weekend but the positive thing is the team gets to try again in a few days. Having a quick turnaround to the next race is always good after a difficult weekend. We’ll see how it goes in California.” Villa is expecting stronger results in next weekend’s combined MotoGP/AMA Pro Road Racing weekend at Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA. “I’m really looking forward to next week. Laguna is my favorite track. We’ll shake the bad luck and go to the next round.” More, from a press release issued by The Elena Project: PLENTY OF ON-TRACK BATTLES FOR ELENA MYERS IN OHIO Lucas Oil Roadracingworld.com RMR Suzuki’s Elena Myers registered a convincing performance in AMA Pro SuperSport action at Mid-Ohio this weekend, scoring a pair of strong results despite facing off against a deep field in combined East/West action. In the midst of a learning season, the talented teen racer continued to hone her craft during some tough on-track battles at the challenging circuit. Having to wait six weeks for a chance following a difficult round at Road America, the Infineon Raceway SuperSport winner was immediately on the pace, ranking near the top of the sheets of the first practice. Qualifying proved to be more of a challenge but she found her form once again during the races. Starting ninth after qualifying with a time of 1:33.206 aboard her GSX-R600, Elena found herself emerged in a race-long scrap for eighth position in Saturday’s contest. She earned the position by a narrow margin of less than three tenths of a second after 17 laps of racing. Sunday’s race was similar, only this time she battled for seventh in a three-way tilt. While looking as if she had the measure of her rivals, a last-lap mechanical issue cost her a position. Elena held on for a second eighth-place result of the weekend as the three riders were separated by just 0.087 seconds at the checkered flag. Elena said, “We started really great this weekend, running fourth in the opening practice, but I had a bunch of struggles in qualifying. I don’t know why, but for some reason I couldn’t go as fast as I did in practice. “But the first race was quite fun. We had a good battle and it was really close right to the end and I came out on top of my fight for eighth. “Sunday’s race went great. I made my way up from ninth into seventh and held the lead in that battle for the last four or five laps of the race. Unfortunately, on the last lap we had a problem with the bike, which was really a bummer. I still held on for eighth, so it was another good race in the end.” Myers heads to next weekend’s combined MotoGP/AMA round at Laguna Seca ranked second in the West Region with 118 points and expecting another strong result. “I’m all warmed up for Laguna now so I’m really looking forward to a good result there. I raced at Laguna last October and it went well. It’s now my favorite track so I’m really looking forward to going there,” said Myers. More, from a press release issued by Acorn Woods on behalf of Yoshimura Racing: Chino, Calif. July 19, 2010 Yoshimura racer Tommy Hayden earned his third career Superbike win in Sunday’s race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, putting him just four points out of the championship lead. The Kentucky native calls Mid-Ohio one of his home tracks due to its proximity to his hometown of Owensboro, and the fans came out in droves to cheer him on. After taking the provisional pole during Friday’s qualifier, Tommy qualified second on the grid for Saturday’s race. Some adjustments were made to the bike between the morning qualifier and the afternoon race, and Tommy noticed a difference in the bike’s handling. “Whenever the front came unloaded, I lost a lot of my ability to steer the bike,” said Hayden. He also commented on the difference in the track from Friday to Saturday, “The track surface wasn’t as fast today. I wasn’t getting as much grip as I was on Friday.” The loss of grip was likely a result of the rains that pelted through the area overnight. When it came time for the race to begin, Tommy lined up on the grid and launched off the line. At the end of the first lap, Tommy was running fifth and struggling to find the grip to pass his opponents. A few laps in however, Tommy rallied and began his charge for the podium. He quickly made his way into the fourth position, and made the pass for the podium with a few laps to go. Tommy’s podium put him just ten points behind the championship leader at the end of the day. After making some further adjustments to improve his bike’s handling, Tommy came back more determined than ever for race two. At the drop of the flag, Tommy unleashed his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R1000 and rocketed off the line. Coming into turn one, Tommy was running a strong second. It wasn’t long before he made the pass for the lead, a position he held for much of the rest of the race. About halfway through the race, Tommy dropped back into second for a lap, but he got back on the gas and made a second pass for the lead. Once he was back at the front, he stayed there for the rest of the race. Hayden crossed the finish line with a 0.194 second gap between him and the second place rider, and took his third career Superbike victory. “My hat is off to my team,” said Hayden. “They made great changes to my bike after yesterday, and today it did exactly what I wanted it to do.” Tommy’s victory on Sunday puts him just four points out of the championship lead, a gap that could easily be overcome at the upcoming Laguna Seca race in Monterey, California. With only four rounds left in the 2010 AMA American Superbike Championship, you won’t want to miss a minute of the excitement as the series comes to a close.