After a weekend of racing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, the AMA Superbike Championship rolls into Lexington, Ohio, August 1-3.

The series has visited the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course circuit every year since the series inception in 1983. As in years past, this 2008 event stands as one of the top draws on the track's calendar.

Coming off a decisive victory at Laguna Seca - the 68th of his AMA Superbike career - Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Mat Mladin enters Mid-Ohio with two straight victories to his name. He also has won the last three Superbike races at Mid-Ohio and eight over the course of his career, the first coming in 2001.

The six-time AMA Superbike champ is hoping to claw his way back into the title fight after teammate and chief rival Ben Spies, the defending title holder, built up an imposing series lead on the strength of a record-setting seven straight wins. Despite Mladin's recent triumphs, Spies currently leads him 411-375 in the overall standings with seven races remaining.

Ben Spies felt feverish and suffered from nausea after competing in back-to-back MotoGP and AMA Superbike races at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix and was hospitalized two days later. Instead of simply trying to regroup after losing two races in succession to Mladin, now he's also recovering from minimally invasive laparoscopic appendix surgery performed on Tuesday, July 22.

Spies is no stranger to competing with injuries. He raced his first two seasons as a pro with a bad knee, before having surgery to correct the problem. In 2006 he won his first AMA Superbike title despite riding with a broken hand late in the season.