When the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship arrived at Miller Motorsports Park last year for its first North American appearance since 2004, there were no Americans competing in the series full-time. Things are different this year.

Spies, 24-year-old from Texas, made the jump to the world stage for 2009 after winning three consecutive titles in the AMA Superbike Championship. He has taken the series by storm, winning pole position at all six events to date, all at tracks he had never raced on before in his life. Out of 12 races (two per event) to date, he has five wins, one second and one third and is currently third in the championship.

His results have, admittedly, been somewhat feast-or-famine. When he hasn't finished on the podium, he has crashed (twice, once while leading and once while running third), been run off the track (twice), run out of fuel while leading on the last lap (at Monza, Italy) or had his shift lever break while leading (at Kyalami, South Africa).

Despite that, where once pundits were wondering whether he would be able to win a single race in his rookie World Superbike season, now they are wondering whether he can win the World Championship.

Coming to Miller Motorsports Park should offer some reassurance for the tough Texan. In the six AMA Superbike races held here since the track opened in 2006, Spies has won five. Since the USA round in Utah is the series' only North American appearance of the season, this is for all intents and purposes Spies' "home" track.

"It's going to be good to be on a track I'm familiar with," Spies said of Miller Motorsports Park. "It'll be nice to go back and spend a little time at home and catch up with friends and family. I'm confident we can have a good result at Miller. I want to do what I can to win as many races as possible and see if by some miracle we can make a comeback in the series."