"It's a real pleasure to be nominated," said Hayden, who is slated to race in MotoGP for Honda in 2003. "I raced in the Superbike and Flat Track Championships this year and I watched a couple of supercrosses so I know what kind of athletes we have in AMA Pro Racing. These guys are some of the best athletes in the world and I'm happy to be among them. It was a real team effort with Honda this year and I don't want to forget to thank them for making this possible."

Hayden won nine AMA Superbike races this year, which marked the highest number of wins in a season in the series since 1984. The Superbike title marked Hayden's second AMA Championship; he won the Pro Honda Oils Supersport title in 1999. Hayden also was named the AMA Ricky Graham Dirt Track Rookie of the Year in 1999.

2002 was special for the Hayden family. All three brothers, Nicky, Tommy and Roger Lee, made the podium at the Springfield (Ill.) TT this May. It marked the first time in AMA Pro Racing history that brothers finished one-two-three.

The presentation of the AMA Pro Racing Speed Channel Athlete of the Year Award will take place at the AMA Pro Racing Awards Banquet on Saturday evening, Nov. 23, at the Venetian Resort Hotel Las Vegas -- home of the Guggenheim Museum's "Art of the Motorcycle" exhibit. The ceremonies will be televised on a special edition of Speed Channel's "Bike Week" The winner of the Athlete of the Year Award will be presented a commemorative Rolex watch.