The AMA Pro Racing Championship will pick up this weekend at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia. The last round at Laguna Seca captured intense racing in all three classes, with Pat Clark Motorsport’s Ben Bostrom taking the SuperBike victory by just 0.4 seconds ahead of championship leader Josh Hayes. Round 8 of the series will feature a doubleheader in each class, and includes racing action in the recently established XR1200 series on Sunday. With only three rounds left in the 2010 season, here’s what you can look out for in each class.

American SuperBike

There are only nine points separating the top-two riders in the American SuperBike class. Hayes currently leads the series with 311 points, and his record at the Virginia circuit is strong with a double victory scored there last year. Recently, Hayes finished second-place at Laguna Seca and as a result he’ll be approaching the upcoming round with confidence.

"I like my chances at VIR,” said Hayes. “I won there last year and with the way my Yamaha is running this year, I feel pretty good about the upcoming weekend."

Hayes’ efforts, however, will be met with fierce opposition by Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden. In addition to clenching his first SuperBike victory earlier this season at the Auto Club Speedway, Hayden has also captured wins at Road America and recently at Mid-Ohio. The results of his two most recent wins have prevented Hayes from extending his lead in the championship.

Jordan Suzuki ‘s Jake Zemke is another rider who’s been making waves this season, beginning with his double victory at Daytona International Speedway. While he hasn’t been posting wins consistently, he’s been a solid podium threat throughout. Zemke’s combined efforts have placed him in the middle of the battle for the title, and the Jordan Suzuki rider will look to close the sizable gap in the final three rounds.

Foremost Insurance Ducati rider Larry Pegram has also been to the top of the steps this season after winning at the Auto Club Speedway. While struggling shortly after his victory, Pegram returned to strong form at Infineon Raceway with two third-place finishes followed by a pair of fourth-place results at Road America. In his most recent ride at Laguna Seca Pegram scored another top-five finish. Adding special emphasis to the upcoming round is that his longtime sponsor - Foremost Insurance – will be the presenting sponsor of the contest.

Daytona SportBike

In the Daytona SportBike class Team Graves Yamaha rider Josh Herrin leads the series, but not by much. Sitting only one point ahead of GEICO Powersports Suzuki’s Danny Eslick, Herrin will have to be in top form for the remaining rounds. Last year Herrin put in a strong performance at the Virginia circuit, winning both races directly ahead of Eslick. Between the two they share a total of six race wins this season, and it will no doubt be an exciting contest on Saturday and Sunday at VIR.

"It’s like a couple of our tracks where you have to be aggressive to make passes and I like that type of race track," said Eslick. "The track has a nice rhythm to it and that suits me just fine."

Another competitive rider this year has been M4 Monster Energy Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas. Only 12 points behind Herrin, Cardenas holds the honor of having the most race wins this season with six. The Colombian could be leading the series right now if not for two DNFs. With three rounds left, however, Cardenas is definitely still in the mix.

Lurking outside of the top-three in the championship is Ducati rider Steve Rapp. While he’s yet to take a race victory in the 2010 season Rapp has been edging closer with each race, including three second-place finishes with his most recent occurring at Laguna Seca. In addition, Rapp has also finished third in three different rounds to bring his podium finishes up to six out of 12 races.

Versah Suzuki’s Cory West has also been putting together a nice season with 11 top-10 finishes. West posted some of his best rides of the season at Road Atlanta, where he went 2-3 for the weekend, following it with a solid fourth-place result at Road America. West is currently fifth in the championship heading to Virginia.

SuperSport

Some of the most intense racing action this season has been taking place in the SuperSport division. In the East standings J.D. Beach currently leads the field with 202 points - a full 35 points ahead of his Rockwall Yamaha teammate, Cameron Beaubier. In the last round that saw them compete together Beach took a crushing double win over Beaubier in both races. Prior to that at Road America, Beach scored another victory over his teammate.

Only 14 points behind Beaubier and 49 points behind Beach is LTD Racing’s Tomas Puerta. In his most recent performance at Mid-Ohio Puerta took home a pair of fourth- place finishes, and before that the Yamaha rider pulled in a second-and third-place result at Road America.

XR1200

Also in the lineup this weekend is the XR1200 series which made its debut at Road America back in June. In the most recent round at Mid-Ohio, Danny Eslick captured his second consecutive win in the series ahead of Shawn Higbee and Jake Holden. Leading the series by 18 points over Holden, Eslick will look put even more distance between himself and the field in Round 3 of the championship.

For a listing of broadcast dates and times on SPEED network see below

TV Schedule (SPEEDTV.com):
Saturday, August 14th 10:00 PM National Guard SuperBike Race 1
Saturday, August 14th 11:00 AM Daytona SportBike Race 1 & SuperSport Race 1 Highlights
Sunday, August 15/16th 12 Midnight Daytona SportBike Race 2
Sunday, August 16 1:00 AM National Guard SuperBike Race 2 & SuperSport Race 2 Highlights