Blake Young edged Josh Hayes at Daytona by 0.002 seconds (Photo: Brian J Nelson)

Young is not able to run Hayes' pace in practice or qualifying, but the Yoshimura man consistently readjusts his limits when he sees firsthand what the Yamaha ace is doing. That's why Young likes to try to sneak in behind Hayes in QP and also why the man with the #1 plate keeps a close eye on who's following him around during practice.

But Josh can't slow up or head back into the pits during a race just because there's a #79 Suzuki riding up the rear of his R1. And Young is a quick study as evidenced by his seven wins versus one pole in 2011.

If Hayes' bike is quicker in '12, I suspect Young will expand his limits accordingly and figure out a way to stay attached more often than not. Such a development might threaten Blake's year-plus run of staying upright (and really, Hayes likely only needs to force one big mistake out of Young all season), but it would also better prepare him for an international future, the same way Mat Mladin helped Ben Spies tap into the depths of his talent before leaving AMA Superbike behind.

The second key question heading into the weekend is whether or not anyone else might tag along and fill a Tommy Hayden-sized hole at the front of the field.

Roger Hayden, Josh Herrin, and Ben Bostrom all have the equipment and skill set to do so.

Hayden in particular could make things interesting. I don't think I'll ever forget Rog's 0.009-second victory over Jason DiSalvo in the '05 Superstock race at Road Atlanta, in which he stole away the win with a rear-wheel-steering, around-the-outside pass down the hill as they raced to the checkered flag.

Former World and British Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson -- who also clocked up time in MotoGP and AMA Superbike -- later referred to the move as the most amazing pass he'd ever seen in his life.

Imagine trying to pull something like on Hayes and/or Young.

That right there would be worth triple the price of admission, complimentary Santa-riding-a-tiger tattoo or not.

SPEED.com Motorcycle Racing Editor Chris Martin saw Eddie Lawson win aboard a Kawasaki the first time he attended an AMA Superbike race and witnessed Ben Bostrom win a World Superbike race aboard a V&H Ducati the first time he worked one. He has written about AMA SBK, WSBK, and MotoGP for SPEED.com since 2003. Chris is now on Twitter.