AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike

Josh Hayes took advantage of the fast-improving conditions on Sunday morning to lay down a blistering 1:49.729 lap around Miller Motorsport Park, strong enough to increase his perfect run of pole positions this season to four.

And with that, the Monster Energy Graves Yamaha pilot moved clear of motorsport legend Wayne Rainey for fifth on the all-time list with his 16th career AMA SuperBike pole position. Should Hayes continue his streak through June, he'll move alongside two other former world champions in Freddie Spencer (17) and Doug Polen (18).

The Mississippian was immediately up to speed on fresh rubber during the session but cautioned that tire wear could be a deciding factor in Monday's 16-lap race.

"I think tire life is probably a bit of an issue for everyone right now," the defending champ stated. "At the start of the session, I went out on yesterday's tires, and it was tough to get up to speed. I was watching Roger (Hayden) ride away from me, and I was like, 'Man, I hope it's not like this when I get a new tire.' We got a fresh one and it was definitely worth quite a bit to us."

Lining up alongside Hayes will be current points leader and '11 MMP victor Blake Young, who qualified second at 1:50.141 on the #79 Yoshimura Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000. Young was frustrated to see Hayes pick up another point in qualifying but sounded confident heading into tomorrow's race.

"We made some improvements compared to yesterday," Young said. "I think we have a pretty good racebike and that's what matters. I'm looking forward to the race and the Yoshimura Suzuki is working good for me once again. It should be an exciting race."

Meanwhile, the Erik Buell Racing contenders continued to underline the fact that they have truly arrived at the front and intend to stay there. Following an impressive double podium outing in Sonoma, the EBR1190RS of Geoff May (Team Amsoil/Hero EBR) and Danny Eslick (Team Hero EBR) will both start Monday's final from the front row with May third and Eslick fourth.

May, who was only 0.078 seconds behind Young at 1:50.219, felt he could have gone even faster. "I got off one of the corners a little too hot. It's all about momentum here. You screw up once, and it costs you. I feel like I definitely have more there. I kept surprising myself; every lap, we kept getting better and better. I kept asking more out of the bike, and it kept giving it to me. I'm having a blast out there. This is one of my favorite tracks, and I love being here."

Fourth-ranked Eslick said, "With the wind and everything, I parked it with 20 minutes to go in yesterday's session. I didn't want to throw it down the road or do anything stupid. We rolled the thing off the truck this morning, and it was rolling pretty good. On my fast lap there, I snuck in behind Josh and tried to get a tow. It definitely helps at a big, long track like this. Josh was on some good laps; we went through some traffic, so I think it could have been a little better but I have no complaints sitting on the front row at Miller Motorsports Park with the fastest guys in the business."

National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden leapt to the top of the charts early and was looking to post an even quicker lap when he clipped a curb and crashed his #54 Suzuki GSX-R1000. The Kentuckian returned to the track and lowered his time but was shuffled down the order as others improved even further.

Jordan Suzuki's Ben Bostrom was sixth, followed by Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha's Josh Herrin and Yoshimura Racing Suzuki's Chris Clark, who rounded out the second row.

Row 3 will feature Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing BMW's Larry Pegram, Attack Performance's Steve Rapp, Kneedraggers.com/Motul/Fly's David Anthony, and Team Venezuela Suzuki's Robertino Pietri.

Monday's AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike race will air on SPEED in a same-day delayed broadcast at 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT.