Hayden Victorious in California

After years of near misses, including 10 podium finishes during the 2009 season alone, Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider Tommy Hayden earned his first top-class victory in Sunday's AMA Pro American SuperBike final at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Younger brother Nicky witnessed the win and greeted Tommy with a big hug in pit lane.

I spoke with the 32-year-old Hayden in the Yoshimura Racing 18-wheeler after the race. "It feels like a big weight has been lifted off me," he admitted. "I don't know why it took so long, but I knew if I kept leading races, kept getting podiums, I knew I'd win one." Hayden's teammate, Blake Young, finished third. Graves Yamaha rider Josh Hayes was second.

Hayden called the previous day's race, in which he finished sixth, "a disaster all the way around." Foremost Ducati's Larry Pegram won that event, followed by Jordan Suzuki teammates Jake Zemke and Aaron Yates. "I was really disappointed last night," said Hayden. "We used a little bit different fork setting today—something I have more experience with. The rider had a better attitude, too."

While he preferred the previous-generation AMA Superbike ("more fun, faster and everything worked better"), Hayden tries to look out for the sport. "Whatever is going to allow people to go racing—a more competitive field, a better show—I'm all for it. The most important thing is to have as many competitive bikes out there as possible."

Hayden won't have much time to celebrate his maiden victory. A two-day AMA test is scheduled later this week at Infineon Raceway, near San Francisco. " is a cool feeling," he said. "But it'll wear off. It always does."