In a long battle between some of the biggest names in MotoGP Road Racing, Nicky Hayden emerged victorious when he brought the MotoGP World Championship back to US soil in the last race of the 2006 season.

It seemed an almost insurmountable task to maintain a lead against the highly acclaimed Valentino Rossi in the points race. Especially when you consider how Hayden's own teammate, Danny Pedrosa, took him out of the race in a blatantly disrespectful pass attempt gone terribly bad.

I'll never forget the look on Nicky's face as he walked off the sand trap. I'm sure Pedrosa didn't do it on purpose, but it seems he didn't even consider the consequences of what could, and did happen.

So I sat watching that last race. Quietly but feverishly hoping beyond hope that Rossi would break. I never considered he would fall. It's just not like Rossi to throw it away when so much is on the line. But he did. The Doctor tossed it away in a corner with no outside help. I thought that would be the last thing I'd see from a rider of Rossi's caliber.

Image courtesy SpeedTV.com