Now that is how you make a first impression.

Less than two months after being introduced as the newest rider with the Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team, Gaige Herrera immediately established himself as a threat. With a lightning-quick final pass and a track speed record, Herrera took the No. 1 spot in his first NHRA race with his team and heads into race day with a shot to add a Wally at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.

“It has been a dream come true,” Herrera said. “It still doesn’t feel real to be at the Gatornationals. Not only that, but being on the top team with the Vance and Hines Mission Suzuki team. When I got that phone call in November from Andrew (Hines), that right there took forever to sink in. To be here and to be on top, I can’t ask for much more. It has been an awesome couple days of qualifying.”

Herrera was one of the top three riders in all four qualifying sessions Friday and Saturday at the historic north-Florida facility, but it was his final two qualifying passes that turned heads. Herrera came into the final session as the top qualifier with a 6.688-second elapsed time, but lowered that number with a 6.685-second pass at a track-record speed of 203.49 mph aboard his Gen III Hayabusa body.

“We tried a few new things which worked out very well,” Herrera said. “The new Gen III Hayabusa body is very nice to ride. It’s very stable, very neutral. I’d say it is the best bar bike I’ve ever ridden. The bike is so predictable to the point where I can refine what I have to do and go A to B the best that I can.”

Herrera added that while qualifying first is quite an accomplishment in his first time out, his speed during that final round tipped just how much performance this new bike has for race day.

“I never stop pushing myself,” Herrera added. “Going to the top and running 203, that right there is a big accomplishment as it is.”

Steve Johnson, who topped the class after two rounds of qualifying Friday, slipped to second with a 6.746 at 198.90 mph. Rookie Chase Van Sant, aboard the same WAR Racing bike that Karen Stoffer rode to a victory and a record 6.66 at last year’s Gatornationals, was third in his debut with a 6.747 at 200.80 mph. Matt Smith (6.751) and Jianna Evaristo (6.789) rounded out the top five.

With such a strong debut, Herrera admits that he already has a target on his back -- something he knew wouldn’t take long to develop when he joined the Vance & Hines team.

“Obviously I’m on the best team out here, so there is a lot of weight on my shoulders the whole time,” Herrera said. “I have to perform to make them look good, and at the same time make myself look good. So there's definitely more pressure on my shoulders now to keep the performance going.”

The 29-year-old is a fourth-generation racer who comes from the world of Pro Street and Outlaw competition. He made six starts with NHRA in 2022, qualifying in four of the six races he entered before having an opportunity to test one of the Vance & Hines machines toward the end of the season.

“I would say, coming from a Pro Street background, those bikes make 700, 800 horsepower on a seven-inch street tire with no wheelie bar,” Herrera said. “I would say it prepared me for the unexpected because those bikes, you’d be going on what you think is a perfect pass, and the next thing you know they’re tucking the front end, heading toward the wall. So I would say those bikes helped me be ahead of the bike.”

With the easy part out of the way -- simply making the field -- Herrera now shifts to winning rounds Sunday as he prepares to face Ron Tornow in Round One.

“Tomorrow is race day and anything can happen,” Herrera said. “I wouldn’t say there is less pressure than there was during qualifying, there’s more, especially on my shoulders. (There is pressure) to cut a good light and go A to B and hopefully turn on some win lights.”

Shortly after wrapping up his post-qualifying interview, Herrera shared a moment he had with team patriarch Terry Vance that he hoped he answered Saturday.

“Terry brought me in his office and basically said, ‘Why are we hiring you that rode street bikes and hasn’t really rode a motorbike?’” Herrera said. “I would say after today, I hope I proved to him that he made a good decision."