The Gaige Herrera phenomenon continues. 

In capturing his second No. 1 qualifying position in as many Pro Stock Motorcycle races this young season Saturday at the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, the young California Suzuki racer’s dominance of the class is raising eyebrows. 

The unassuming Herrera powered his Vance & Hines-fielded Gen3 Hayabusa down the zMAX Dragway quarter-mile at Concord, N.C., with a class-best elapsed time of 6.735 seconds and 201.52-mph speed. 

“My whole goal for this whole year was just to come out here and be consistent as a rider and go a few rounds,” Herrera said. “I definitely did not expect to come out here at Gainesville and go to the top and qualifying to win the race. And now to qualify No. 1 here at Charlotte, it's unbelievable. I definitely did not expect it.” 

He said he’s “very impressed” with the motorcycle he has been tapped to race. “The whole Vance & Hines Mission Suzuki team's got my bike and Eddie's [Krawiec’s] bike firing, going one and two [in the Charlotte order]. Can't ask for anything better as far as the team, and just to be a part of it, it’s awesome,” he said. 

“We're always trying to improve. You're always trying to basically outdo yourself each round,” Herrera said. “So, for us to be able to improve during the day compared to last night, that was a big improvement for us, especially Andrew [six-time champion Hines], our crew chief, has got both bikes on rails and it's showing, absolutely. 

“It's exciting to have a top-tier bike. And it's a lot of pressure on me, because more pressure is on me then I would say the bike,” Herrera said as qualifying wrapped up for this second appearance of the year for the bike class. “My whole team, they're the best there is out there, and they got a lot of confidence in their machine and what they do. At the end of the day, as soon as we're in the water box, and it's time to go, it's all on me.” 

He did say the recognition from his peers “makes me feel good, but at the same time I think puts more pressure on my shoulders, because they're expecting us, for me and us as a team, to go out there to do good. So I feel like that is a lot of pressure. But to hear people [expressing compliments and praise], that’s an awesome feeling that you can't really explain.” 

Herrera’s rapid progress after making a few appearances last season for another team hasn’t shocked Andrew Hines at all. 

“Honestly, it didn't surprise me.  He has been in pressure situations outside of NHRA racing. I knew if I gave him a great motorcycle that he would be capable of what we accomplished," Hines said." When I watched him through the later part of the '22 season, he showed the traits that he was ready to win.” 

However, Hines said he recognized that Herrera will need to have some rough edges, as it were, sanded down this season.

“I'm sure this season will come with some bumps in the road. There are some scenarios that we haven't gone through yet,” Hines said.

One was four-wide racing, which Herrera seems to be acing so far; another was a Countdown with a different kind of pressure on the line. 

“Winning a race, has fortunately been proven already, along with riding a motorcycle fast enough to be able to reach the records,” Hines said. “A lot of skill is required to understand how to go 6.6 [seconds] and 203-plus mph.  These bikes don't just run that fast for no reason. Navigating a racetrack, although it is only a straight quarter-mile, can be tricky.  We have helped him learn the chassis setup of these 10-inch-wide tire bar bikes. It's quite different from the Pro Street/grudge bikes he was accustomed to. These Pro Stock Motorcycles require fitness to extract the performance. They don't have the aid of hundreds of more horsepower to help lower the E.T. 

"With Ed [Krawiec] and myself, I feel we can be a real benefit to him when we get to new territory.  We understand the class and racers really well and can make him aware of scenarios that may unfold.” 

Herrera wholeheartedly agreed.

“Obviously, me coming from a no-bar side of things, I had a few little bad habits which Andrew helped me get around. And like Q1 this weekend, I had a little issue. I kind of was lined up. I wasn't lined up crooked – I was lined up straight, but I threw a lever, and I went crooked on my own and kind of rung out first gear, and it caused a little issue with the transmission," Herrera said. "So that right there is kind of a stepping stone for me. Being off the bike for a little while definitely, I think, was a big issue with that or a big part of that.” 

A gap of more than a month between Camping World Drag Racing Series events surely has affected every racer in the category. 

“Just to be able to go out there and repeat, that's the biggest thing that they helped me with,” Herrera said. 

And he is listening and making adjustments: Race. Excel. Repeat.