Gaige Herrera picked up right where he left off in Pro Stock Motorcycle, both from his championship-winning 2023 season and last year in Gainesville, going to the No. 1 spot with a run of 6.752 at 198.64 on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki at the 55th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. Herrera dominated the 2023 campaign, winning 11 races and grabbing 14 No. 1 qualifiers – both single-season records in the category – and showed no signs of slowing down Friday in Gainesville. The defending event winner made the quickest runs of both sessions as he looks to repeat at the site of his first NHRA win.
“We started where we left off and all the credit goes to my team,” Herrera said. “They’ve worked really hard in the off-season. I’m very happy with how I ran today. Everybody in this class has been working and it shows. This season is going to be very exciting and I’m really looking forward to it. Andrew (Hines, crew chief) works day and night in the shop and that’s where we shine. He keeps pushing and pushing, and this team never stops working.”
Matt Smith went 6.785 at 199.55 to go into the second spot, while Steve Johnson is currently third after going 6.804 at 195.70.
Qualifying continues at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.752, 198.64; 2. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.784, 199.55; 3. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.804, 195.70; 4. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.814, 198.23; 5. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.817, 198.32; 6. John Hall, Beull, 6.825, 196.39; 7. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.857, 197.22; 8. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.893, 194.72; 9. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.966, 191.95; 10. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.983, 193.90; 11. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.997, 192.03; 12. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 7.043, 192.66; 13. Bud Yoder II, Buell, 7.111, 186.43; 14. Hector Arana, EBR, 7.230, 191.24; 15. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.323, 184.62; 16. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 7.437, 186.69. Not Qualified: 17. Angie Smith, broke; 18. Joey Gladstone, broke.
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