Runner-up Young said, "I've been struggling all weekend long with my GSX-R, but the crew is working hard for me as always. Starting second row doesn't make things easy and racing with Danny doesn't either. I think we definitely learned a lot in today's race and we need to apply it. I think we learned more in today's race than we learned all weekend long.

"I got off to a fairly good start and found myself behind Josh. I didn't know if I maybe needed to make a pass immediately but he's just had the pace all weekend long to run up front and do as he pleases. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's race and being able to apply what we learned and shorten up the gap, if not race with Josh."

"That was pretty awesome," Eslick said of his maiden Superbike podium. "As soon as we showed up on Friday we had a bike that was working pretty good. Overnight we made a few changes and it really got the Team Hero EBR 1090RS hooked up. It didn't even really concern me when I got bumped off the front row. The race definitely showed that we could do it pretty consistently.

"It's just awesome -- hats off to the team. To get a Superbike podium is a dream come true, and I'm sitting up here with guys I've beat so I know I can win one of these."

Hayes' factory Yamaha teammate, Herrin, picked up a solitary fourth. The result was a fairly encouraging result for the class rookie considering his pre-race struggles around the physically demanding Infineon Raceway circuit.

Herrin's regular sparring partner, National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden, didn't fare so well. The Kentuckian earlier warned that his second-place effort in qualifying was something of an illusion and he faded down from an early fourth to a disappointing tenth aboard an unruly machine.

Front-row qualifier Geoff May backed up teammate Eslick's success with a top-five ride of his own on the Team Amsoil/Hero EBR1190RS. May sputtered off the line in ninth and suffered a second mishap, which dropped him outside the top ten. However, the Georgian made a steady climb forward, moving into sixth behind KTM/HMC Racing's Chris Fillmore late in the race. And under the heavy pressure of May, Fillmore lost the front and crashed out of the position with just a handful of laps remaining.

Attack Performance's Steve Rapp overcame Jordan Suzuki's Ben Bostrom for sixth, while Kneedraggers.com/Motul/Fly Racing Suzuki pilot David Anthony and Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing BMW's Larry Pegram came home in eighth and ninth, finishing ahead of the aforementioned Hayden.

Hayes will look to put the finishing touches on a perfect points haul weekend in Sunday's 22-lap Superbike contest.