Hayden Over Hayes in Thriller

Henny Ray Abrams | June 6, 2010

ELKHART LAKE, WI, JUNE 6: Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden turned the tables on Team Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes, taking advantage of Hayes’ mistake in the final corner to outrace him to the line and win his second American SuperBike race of the season, this one coming on an overcast afternoon at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.The race for the win was an almost carbon copy of Saturday’s race, which Hayes won in a photo finish. Again Hayes went to the lead, again Hayden spent the race stalking and waiting for an opening.It came on the penultimate lap when Hayes ran wide out of the dead stop chicane and Hayden sped through, taking the lead for the first time and leading across the stripe by .262 secs.On the final lap Hayden led to turn one and protected the lead into turn five, the hard braking left where Hayes had taken the lead a day earlier. But Hayes wasn’t through. Instead he attacked and re-took the lead in the downhill turn eight left hand approach to the Carousel. And just ahead was a slower rider.Hayden continued to stick to Hayes, closer than he’d been on Saturday, and pushed hard into the final corner, the 90 degree right hand turn 14 that heads to the uphill ramp and run to the flag. Under pressure from Hayden Hayes ran wide and onto the grass, a puff of brown dust signaling a loss of traction as Hayden sped by on the inside.Rather than ending in a photo finish, as Saturday’s race had, today the winner was clear: Tommy Hayden by .177 secs.Hayden, with his first win since Auto Club Speedway in March, re-takes the championship lead. At the halfway point in the 19 race season, Hayden leads by a single point, 229 to 228.National Guard Suzuki’s Jake Zemke had a solitary ride to the final podium spot. Zemke got away with the leaders and stuck with them for a handful of laps before losing touch. He would finish nearly six seconds behind, but with slightly more than that margin on fourth place finisher Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing Ducati).Zemke remains third in the points with 215 points.Pegram was immersed in the battle for fourth, moving up and down the order before making a late run that secured the spot. M4 Monster Suzuki’s Jake Holden finished a close fifth.Pat Clark Motorsports’ Beb Bostrom (Yam), who’d also been in the fight for fourth, fell back to a distant sixth, just in front of Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young. Young, too, showed promise early, but fell from fourth to seventh on the 11th of 13 laps.Canadian Brett McCormick finished eighth as the stand-in for Aaron Yates on the Jordan Suzuki. McCormick was well clear of the fight for ninth, decided in favor of M4 Monster Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich over Buell’s Geoff May.

Results:

1. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki)

2. Josh Hayes (Yamaha)

3. Jake Zemke (Suzuki)

4. Larry Pegram (Ducati)

5. Jake Holden (Suzuki)

6. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha)

7. Blake Young (Suzuki)

8. Brett McCormick (Suzuki)

9. Chris Ulrich (Suzuki)

10. Geoff May (Buell)