Gagne got a great start from the fourth row of the grid in Race 2 and made his way to within reach of the podium on the opening lap. He patiently waited in fourth as the two riders ahead battled for second and then made his move to third at the beginning of Lap 6 as they lapped his teammate. Gagne kept second in sight, but with five laps to go, the race was red-flagged due to a deer crossing the track. With the required percentage of the race completed, it was called, and he returned to the podium in third.
After two bizarre races, Gagne returned to dominant form in the final race of the season. He claimed the lead early and set a blistering pace to quickly build a comfortable gap up front and cross the line with a 12-second margin of victory. It was a fitting end to a landmark season for the 29-year old who, in addition to claiming his first title in the premier class a weekend early, added several record-breaking accolades to his resume. He broke five lap records out of nine venues and led a phenomenal 244 laps. Gagne also broke the record for most consecutive wins with 16 and then for the most race wins in a season with today’s 17th victory, which also puts him in a tie on the AMA Superbike all-time win list with Nicky Hayden.
Looking for that first win of the season, Herrin rolled the dice in the morning race and put on slick tires in hopes that the track would continue to dry. Unfortunately, it did not dry as quickly as it has done in previous years and Herrin was lapped by the lead group just after the start of Lap 6. He kept pushing and was starting to drop his times as the track dried out, but unfortunately, it started to rain again, and he ultimately withdrew from the race.
In Race 3, Herrin rebounded with a great start from the fourth row of the grid and made his way to fifth on the opening lap. He was riding comfortably in fifth but unfortunately went off track on Lap 6 and rejoined in eighth. The Californian quickly recovered a position but also found himself in a multi-rider battle and jockeyed for position. He was seventh until the penultimate lap but unfortunately went off track again and was shuffled to 10th. Herrin rode it home to score his second top-10 finish on a difficult weekend in Leeds, Alabama.
