Courtesy of the NHRA
SONOMA, Calif. – Two-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Gaige Herrera put together a dominant Saturday at Sonoma Raceway, rolling to the victory over teammate Richard Gadson in the final round of the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout.
The single-day bonus race took place on Saturday after two time trial runs on Friday and Herrera was on another level over three rounds on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki, going 6.689-seconds at 202.15 mph.
Herrera won the $25,000 prize handed to the Callout winner and he was nearly untouchable in the three rounds of eliminations, making a trio of runs in the 6.60s to win the GETTRX All-Star Callout for the second time in his career. The first came in 2023 during the inaugural Callout race for Pro Stock Motorcycle.
“It felt like I was back in 2023, you know,” Herrera said. “We burned the clutch up on the first run, but after that, it was like 2023 where we had the fastest bike in the field. Previously, I had not had good luck at this racetrack, so this is a big win.
“We came here with a brand new motor, broke it in, and everything just clicked. I came to the track this morning, and I said, ‘I’m going to [JH1] win today’. That’s just the mentality you come here with and it worked out in my favor. I haven’t had that feeling in a long time and to come out here and get the win, that’s what means the most to all of us.”
In the opening round, Herrera, who had the first pick of opponents, got past Steve Johnson with an incredible run of 6.665 at 202.76. That set up a semifinal matchup with Maryland winner Angie Smith, but Herrera was again impressive, going 6.687 at 202.45 to advance to the final round.
Gadson left first with a strong .028 reaction time, but Herrera quickly tracked him down and rode off with another dominant performance en route to the victory.
“We were really quick, so I felt like I was the only one that could screw it up, but that didn’t happen. I gave away the last two finals to Richard, so I wasn’t about to give him a third,” Herrera said.
Gadson took down Chase Van Sant and Jianna Evaristo to reach the Callout final round for a second straight year.
The Pro Stock Motorcycle category returns to action at the world’s biggest drag race, the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, which takes place Sept. 2-7 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
GETTRX NHRA PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ALL-STAR CALLOUT :
ROUND ONE — Angie Smith, Buell, 6.691, 203.22 def. John Hall, 6.770, 199.43; Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.723, 200.08 def. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.703, 202.24; Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.716, 201.10 def. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.824, 197.94; Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.665, 202.76 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.802, 193.96;
SEMIFINALS — R. Gadson, 6.782, 200.71 def. J. Evaristo, 6.832, 198.90; G. Herrera, 6.687, 202.45 def. A. Smith, 6.737, 201.88;
FINAL — G. Herrera, 6.689, 202.15 def. R. Gadson, 6.795, 198.73.
