Reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Richard Gadson celebrated a milestone birthday in grand fashion by winning the opening round of the NHRA 75th Anniversary season on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki Gen 3 Hayabusa at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, FL, on Sunday.
With Sunday eliminations falling on his 40th birthday, Gadson was primed for a special day of racing. In round one, he defeated Geno Scali (6.836 seconds/198.44 mph) with a 6.769-second/200.83 mph run, then advanced past Chase Van Sant (6.808 seconds/198.82 mph) in round two with a 6.757-second/200.59 mph pass that carried him into the semi-finals.
Gadson received a welcome birthday gift in the third round after opponent Clayton Howey fouled on the starting line. Despite slowing to a 7.118-second/150.06 mph pass when his motorcycle drifted towards the centerline, what should have been an automatic win for Gadson briefly appeared to be in doubt when a timing pylon near the end of the track became dislodged.
However, TV replays showed the pylon was displaced by the high-speed slipstream from Gadson’s Hayabusa, not by contact, avoiding a disqualification and sending him to his tenth career final round appearance.
After two short late-afternoon rain delays, Gadson powered to a 6.753-second/200.05 mph run in the final round, making full use of his Suzuki Hayabusa’s superior performance and a reaction time advantage to overcome John Hall (6.799 seconds/198.38 mph) and claim a statement win in the opening salvo of his title defense.
With the victory, Gadson earned a special edition diamond-anniversary Wally trophy commissioned to celebrate the sanctioning body’s 75th anniversary season.
“It’s very sweet. One of the best days of my life. I pictured last year’s championship ending differently, and a lot of fans did too. It angered some people and they directed that anger towards me. Winning this weekend has some extra meaning behind it. It meant a lot to be able to make that statement today,” Gadson said, referring to the unusual ending of last year’s championship at the final race in Pomona, which was cancelled due to inclement weather, denying Gadson and teammate Gaige Herrera a chance to race head-to-head to settle the championship.
“I made a mistake in the semi-final, and it was almost party over. I thought the bike would come back to the right for me when it got out of the groove. I didn’t correct early enough, and I almost hit that cone. That would have been the end of it, so that’s a lesson learned. Even at this level, and having the No. 1 plate, I’m still learning,” Gadson said. “Some great advice I’ve been given is ‘Don’t race like you are the champion. Race the same way that got you the championship.’ My approach this season is to continue to ride aggressively, and my title defense starts now.”
Searching for a fourth-straight win at the Gatornationals, Gaige Herrera, the 2023 and 2024 Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, opened the books on his fourth season with the Vance & Hines team by qualifying fourth with a 6.761-second/199.91 mph run.
In an exciting side-by-side drag race, Herrera narrowly lost in the second round to John Hall, posting a 6.758-second/200.65 mph run that came up just short of Hall’s 6.748-second/200.68 mph pass. With both riders putting up low single-digit reaction times, Hall’s margin of victory was just 0.012 second.
The early exit was a rare defeat for the three-time Gatornationals winner, who until that point had never lost a round of competition in Gainesville.
Last year, Herrera missed out on an opportunity to close the 21-point gap that separated him from Gadson heading into the finale in Pomona. After the anti-climactic end to the season, the two-time champion was hoping for a shot at redemption in Gainesville, a race he has dominated for the past three seasons.
“It felt nice to get back on the bike this weekend. I was hoping it would be me and Richard in the final because I feel like I need to redeem myself, but it didn’t work out that way,” Herrera said. “John pulled one out of the hat against me. But I’m glad Richard got the win and the cool new diamond Wally on this birthday.”
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki crew chief Andrew Hines said the theme of the weekend was perseverance from the team and redemption for Gadson.
“The track was tough for these riders to navigate with the wind changing direction all weekend. It took every bit of effort from everyone on the team to make sure we came out of here with a new diamond Wally,” Hines said. “This win also really justifies Richard’s last season. I think it’s a big monkey off his back to be able come in here and qualify higher than Gaige, win this race, and prove that he has the No. 1 plate on his bike for a reason.”
“Everybody knows what it takes now to win a championship. It takes double-oh lights and cut-throat ETs to turn on win lights. Our guys always rise to the occasion. They ride above 100 percent of what their motorcycles are capable of, and that’s why we’re super happy to have them on our team and super excited for what’s going to happen in the 2026 season. It’s a breath of fresh air to start the season with this win and move on down the road to Charlotte.”
After the first of 14 rounds in the 2026 Pro Stock Motorcycle season, Gadson and Herrera sit first and seventh in the championship standings with 124 and 59 points, respectively.
The RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines team returns to action April 24-26 at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway in Concord, NC.
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