Spies confirmed as Superbike champ

From AMA Pro Racing

AMA Pro Racing offers its congratulations to Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ben Spies on his third-straight AMA Superbike Championship.

In another hard-fought, season-long battle with teammate Mat Mladin, the 24-year-old traded wins -- as well as points for pole positions and most laps lead -- with the six-time champ in most of the 2008 season races.

Last Sunday, Spies captured a dramatic win in the second Superbike race at Road Atlanta. After Mladin built up what appeared to be an insurmountable lead, the reigning champ clawed his way back and was poised to strike by lap 19. Running down the back straight, Mladin looked back to see how close his rival was, only to get an eyeful of Spies’ #1 plate. Both men pulled identical wheelies and wobbles as they crested the hill. Spies made the pass and took control of the contest, riding to an eventual 7.107-second margin of victory.

The victory on the 2.55-mile, 12-turn track in Braselton, GA was the Texan’s 10th race win of the season. It was also the year in which Spies earned seven victories in a row, breaking the six-race Superbike win-streak record shared by Mladin and Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel.

In his eight-year AMA professional road race career, Spies is now a four-time national champion as well as a 45-time winner, including 28 victories in Superbike.