AMA Pro Road Racing - Virginia International Raceway Preview

Tyler Hopper
AllAboutBikes Staff Writer

The 10th anniversary Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals is set to feature all of AMA Pro Road Racing's divisions in six races this weekend at VIR. As the next to last event of AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike, AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike, and AMA Pro SuperSport, the action at VIR is sure to be heated as racers struggle to obtain those valuable points for championship standings.

AMA American Superbike points leader Mat Mladin on the Rockstar/Makita/Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is on his way to win the 2009 AMA Pro American Superbike title. Even after opting out of a race at Heartland Park, Mladin still leads the series. Mladin's nearest challenger and teammate, Tommy Hayden, trails behind Mladin by 83 points. A margin this size could mean that Mladin's fate could be sealed this weekend if he beats Hayden by enough points that it would be impossible for him to make up the difference.

While Mladin, Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura and Suzuki have all but sealed the American Superbike championships, the title battles in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL have never been closer.  Martin Cardenas on the No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600 scored a class-leading seventh win of the season on Sunday at Topeka a day after chief championship rival Danny Eslick on the No. 9 GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell 1125R won his sixth race of the year in the Saturday final. The duo and their teams are now tied at 318 points in both the Daytona SportBike Rider and Team championships with just the Big Kahuna and one more double-header weekend of racing left this season.

Ten years ago, the Big Kahuna was the first to feature a dual-final American Superbike race format that has now become the standard at the majority of AMA Pro Road Racing events. This means that the rider in either the Daytona SportBike division or the Superbike division that has the most total points at VIR this weekend will be crowned The Big Kahuna.

The American Superbike and Daytona SportBike races are each 23 laps for 50 miles on the 2.25-mile VIR Short Course, while the SuperSport race is an 18-lap distance for 40 miles.

Saturday's American Superbike and Daytona Sport Bike finals will be aired in a two-hour show at 8 p.m. EST (5 p.m. PST) while Sunday's premier class races and other highlights will air in a two-hour show Sunday evening at Midnight EST (9 p.m. PST).