A prolonged break did nothing to slow down the dominant defending world champion in Pro Stock Motorcycle, as Gaige Herrera rolled to his second straight win this season on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki with a run of 6.684 at 202.73 in the final round at the 14th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte.
Dating back to last season, Herrera has now posted seven consecutive victories, putting together another incredible weekend at Zmax Dragway.
Herrera qualified No. 1, setting the track E.T. record, picked up the victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday and then made the quickest pass of each session on Sunday, defeating John Hall, LE Tonglet and Richard Gadson in the finals to earn his 13th career victory and extend his points lead in the process. Herrera also defended his four-wide win from a season ago at zMAX Dragway.
“After Q1 and Q2 I was a bit worried. On the first run we had a malfunction in our wiring, and then after the second run, Matt [Smith] held on to the top spot and that’s because of the rule change,” said Herrera, referring to a recent NHRA rules revision that mandated the same fuel type for both V-twin and inline four-cylinder bikes. “It has created parity and made for better racing. We still had three Vance & Hines bikes in the final (quad).
“In the end, me and [crew chief] Andrew Hines and the bike bond so well. We’re a hard combo to beat. This is just the beginning. It’s all the haters that make us push that much harder and we’re out there to prove them all wrong. I hear people say it’s the bike and that I can’t cut a light, and today my worst light was a .021, so I was here to prove a point. We had three fast bikes and almost everyone is running the same.”
Hall’s 6.758 at 202.12 gave him the runner-up finish, while Gadson was third with a 6.767 at 198.41.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action May 17-19 with the 24th annual Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Route 66 Nationals presented by PEAK Performance at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago.
ROUND ONE — John Hall, Beull 1190RX, 6.771, 202.61 and Angie Smith, Buell 1190RX, 6.792, 201.19 def. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.893, 193.49 and Chris Bostick, Suzuki Hayabusa, 6.960, 194.46; LE Tonglet, Hayabusa, 6.745, 200.68 and Richard Gadson, Hayabusa, 6.853, 199.67 def. Jianna Evaristo, 1190RX, 6.858, 200.17 and Ryan Oehler, EBR, 7.010, 191.59; Matt Smith, 1190RX, 6.747, 201.22 and Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.805, 198.93 def. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki TL, 6.829, 199.37 and Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.936, 197.88; Gaige Herrera, Hayabusa, 6.696, 203.34 and Chase Van Sant, TL, 6.802, 199.29 def. Steve Johnson, Hayabusa, 6.967, 191.13 and Hector Arana, EBR, 6.992, 196.93;
SEMIFINALS — Gadson, 6.784, 200.53 and Tonglet, 6.778, 198.76 def. M. Smith, 14.421, 53.08 and Arana Jr, 10.125, 84.52; Herrera, 6.698, 202.70 and Hall, 6.748, 202.27 def. A. Smith, 6.798, 200.92 and Van Sant, 6.838, 198.35;
FINAL — Herrera, 6.684, 202.73 def. Hall, 6.758, 202.12, Gadson, 6.767, 198.41 and Tonglet, foul.
Pro Stock Motorcycle Points
1. Gaige Herrera, 254; 2. Matt Smith, 165; 3. LE Tonglet, 157; 4. John Hall, 150; 5. (tie) Richard Gadson, 130; Angie Smith, 130; 7. Steve Johnson, 89; 8. Hector Arana Jr, 86; 9. Chase Van Sant, 85; 10. Marc Ingwersen, 84.
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