(Photo: Brian J Nelson)

The low-keyed Hayden, who, quite frankly, perpetually looks a little like his dog just died, didn't let emotion get the better of him following Saturday's disappointing outcome. Coming across no higher or lower than his usual even-keeled standard, the exceptionally mature Hayden refused to curse McCormick or his poor luck, instead pointing the finger at himself.

"It's definitely frustrating, but what am I going to do about that?" he asked. "That's the way it goes. I should have been up there quicker and not had myself in that position. That's all you can do. It didn't work out. I'm definitely frustrated but just at the situation. Josh did what he's supposed to do. The more laps you lead, the less chance you have of something like that happening…

"Very frustrating, but that’s racing…That’s just the way it goes, sometimes you’re on the right end of it, sometimes you’re on the wrong.”

Hayes pointed out that the race wasn't quite over when the red flag flew, claiming he was going to do everything in his power to fight back prior to the checkers. That said, how often does a racer who has been run down from seconds back and passed with relative ease ever mount a successful counterattack?

"I can tell you, on the last lap I was sure willing to take a few chances," Josh said. "I wanted to win the race, that’s what the championship is all about. Tommy said it earlier, whoever wins the most races is probably going to win this deal, so I was willing to stick my neck out there and go for it. I had a plan of some things I would try before the lap was over."

However, he acknowledged, "I got a little bit of a gift today with the red flag. Tommy rode a masterful race and he kind of got robbed today but these Superbike wins are hard to come by and I’ll take them any way I can get them."

Yes, Superbike wins are hard to come by. No one knows that better than Tommy Hayden, who finally got his first earlier this season after nine seasons of trying.

And Superbike titles are even harder to come by. Difficult enough certainly that no one needs fate to meddle and further increase that degree of difficulty.



The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED