Since Gaige Herrera joined NHRA powerhouse Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team at the beginning of the 2023 season his results have been mind-boggling.
That trend has continued in the start of the six-race Countdown to the Championship at the Pep Boys Nationals.
Herrera, riding the RevZilla/Mission/Vance & Hines Suzuki, clocked a blistering 6.743-second elapsed time at 200.20 mph in Q3 on Saturday. That was stout enough to earn the No. 1 qualifying spot at the Pep Boys Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pennsylvania.
“We were very pleased with that. We won the 6.74 in Q3 and then a 79 there in Q4, so we’re happy with that going into (Sunday),” Herrera said. “We’re in a position to be pretty much the same, I feel, maybe a little cooler last time I checked. We’re very happy with that. I’m glad to get the No.1 qualifying spot to try to get as many points as we can. Now it’s going to be a lot tighter, and Matt (Smith) and I are running really close together, so it’s going to be an interesting day of racing (Sunday).”
Rival Matt Smith, riding a Buell, was second on the qualifying ladder at 6.795 seconds at 200.50 mph.
This was Herrera’s sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season in 10 races and the 20th of his career since the start of the 2023 season.
“Based off the data (Friday), we just missed it,” Herrera said. “Basically, now we’re about two-tenths off of it with the added weight, so we were just trying to figure on that. And (Friday night) we stayed and looked at data for a good bit and came up with a game plan for (Saturday), and it paid off in Q3. As I would say, we threw the kitchen sink at it and it worked. Not too often does it work. So that gave us a lot of confidence in the machine, and it’s going to be good for racing (Sunday).”
He faces Kelly Clontz in round one Sunday as he chases his 19th win in the last 25 races since the start of the 2023 PSM season. Herrera has an incredible 81-6 elimination round record over that span.
“My mindset now is basically I got to show everyone that last year wasn’t a fluke. I feel like I have more pressure now than I did last year,” Herrera said. “Last year I was just out here having fun and living the dream. And for me to get the championship last year, now I have that weight on my shoulders to try to keep continuing that. I’m not saying win the championship, but just do good in the Countdown overall and all season long. So, coming here to Reading, I think I lost second round last year, and I lost the points lead, so we’re hoping to change that this year.”
If the points hadn’t reset in the Countdown – where Herrera arrived in Reading with just a 20-point lead over Matt Smith – he would have basically won the championship.vAfter winning the U.S. Nationals on Sept. 2 in Indianapolis, Herrera had nearly a 300-point lead over Smith in the points.
Still, Herrera isn’t his success for everything that is wrong for the Countdown format.
“Since I had such a big points lead, obviously I didn’t like the Countdown, but all in all, I like the Countdown because it mixes things up and it makes it more interesting,” Herrera said. “I had such a big points lead that it would have been hard for anyone to catch me. So, there’s pros and cons to it. I like it and I dislike it. I think overall I like it just because it brings excitement to the teams, the fans, the racers, just overall. You got to have something to mix it up every once a while, so overall, I like the Countdown.”
Although Herrera is a product of the West Coast, he is no stranger to competing on the East Coast.
“I like coming to Reading. It’s a beautiful facility in the middle of all these trees. And not only that, the fans, they’re big motorcycle fans. And I race at XCA, which is the East Coast central body. A lot of people are from out here, so I have a lot of extra fans as far as that. It’s very cool to interact with all of them. And not only that, but I also feel like there’s a lot of younger people fanbase-wise here, which are actually very into motorcycles. It’s cool to see that overall, and it’s Reading.”
