VOL. 51 ISSUE 29 JULY 22, 2014 P83
I was just looking for any way I
could to get around him. He was
braking pretty deep trying to not
give it away. I tried to set him up
coming off the last corner and I
didn't know who won.
"Regardless who won today, it
was a great race. It's kind of cra-
zy not knowing who won until we
came into pit lane."
As a result of their alternat-
ing victory-runner-up weekends,
Hayes' advantage over second-
ranked Beaubier remains at 40
points with just the New Jersey
Motorsports Park finale to be
contested. That means if Hayes
merely finishes on the podium in
Saturday's race, he could watch
Sunday's contest from the stands
and still be guaranteed his fourth
AMA Superbike crown.
THE REST
Hayden came into Mid-Ohio
with high expectations that went
unmet. Despite finishing a clear
third both times out, he was look-
ing for more.
Hayden and teammate Carde-
nas kept the Yamaha pair honest
for a handful of laps in the morn-
ing race, but slowly lost touch.
After Cardenas suffered three big
moments on lap eight and gave
up the chase, Hayden threw in
the towel two laps later and ac-
Briefly...
by AMA Pro Racing officials to test
the track in the wet on Saturday.
AMA Pro Racing's Director of Com-
petition David McGrath explained
the reasoning behind the test. "We
don't know what the current sur-
face of the track is in the wet until
we get a chance to test it," McGrath
explained. "Even in 2006 when we
last tried it in the rain, I don't think
a lot of the top riders tested. The
racing surface can change over
time and we asked the riders to go
out and give us an assessment. At
this point the riders told us the track
was unrideable in the rain."
cepted third.
"I hung on for a while but I
started to make some mistakes,"
Hayden said. "I was having trou-
ble getting my bike into the cor-
ner and was missing my apex in
a couple spots. A little over half
way they started pulling away
and I didn't want to crash and
How close is close? This is the photo
finish from race two with Hayes (4)
just edging Beaubier (2).
