Gaige Herrera was unstoppable to start the 2023 NHRA season.

He won the first three races of the season from the No. 1 qualifying spot on his Suzuki and seemed on the verge of making it four in a row at the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.

But that 1.000 batting average went out the window Sunday. Herrera, in his first season riding for powerhouse Vance & Hines, saw the streak come to an end when he had a redlight start against veteran Steve Johnson in the finals.

Johnson wasn’t complaining. Johnson, who also is aboard a Suzuki, cruised to the finish line in 7.174 seconds at 158.63 mph.

“I thought there's no way,” Johnson said about defeating Herrera. “But I figured at the end of the year in the Countdown, we'd have our stuff
together and it would be right. So, I knew this was a pattern and I'm like, ‘You just write off the first part of the year to get ready for the Countdown.

Everybody knows that strategy. So, we went and had this body done. It took 12 days at Mike Mullaney'place, he used to work at Vance & Hines. Then our truck got run into the ditch and it flipped, and it got wrecked and destroyed, so it's been a nightmare. My point with J.R. Todd is he went through a heck of a deal there when he got hit and they rebuilt the car and all the testing and stuff. We didn't have the same thing. But proportionately for the dollars, we had every bit of headache and drama.”

Seeing drivers beat the odds is something Johnson is well aware of since he’s been competing in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class when Bon Jovi's “Livin' On A Prayer,” was a No. 1 single. The year was 1987.

“I think that's what makes our sport so good, is we have such fighters in NHRA,” Johnson said. “We have such a charismatic fight in trying to win one of these trophies (a Wally). I think in the David Goliath scenario, that's what makes it so cool, is it gets done on the racetrack and you have to have four lights and your engine's got to be running to let go of the clutch or floor when you're in a fuel car. So, David and Goliath are in the Bible, but this happens right here at Bristol, and this is my new Bible right here, Bristol.”

Johnson then discussed what it's like riding the Suzuki Hayabusa with the Gen3 body.

“Well, it's well documented,” Johnson said. “The Suzuki Hayabusa Gen3 body is the newest, coolest thing in Pro Stock Motorcycle racing. It's half a million dollars to design it and build it. We got it. Suzuki wants us to have it. It's totally different. You can sit in a Camaro, and you can go sit in a Mustang and you can floor it and you could even drive it down a dragstrip. But it's so different with us because we don't have a seat, we're not strapped into it. The seat's just totally different.

“It looks the same, it's the same height. But the feel and how the motorcycle rides down the track, it's just totally different. Not to mention it's three G's trying to pull you off the back of the motorcycle. Then when you stretch out, 'cause it's aerodynamic, you can put a second rider on the back. So, I scoot back the first time and I'm like, ‘Wow, there's no backstop there.’ I scoot all the way back. So that's a big advantage. It hasn't shown up in mile per hour yet for us.

"But the first round was exciting, and second round was really exciting to beat Eddie (Krawiec), especially on a holeshot. Third round, we got lucky. But in the finals race and Gaige, he's got a really, really fast Suzuki and I was like, ‘Okay, we had a quick little meeting, what do you want to do with timing? We talked about jetting and moving the wheel and all this stuff, and we just got to throw the kitchen sink (at it).”

On Sunday, Johnson’s victory parade consisted of wins over Joey Gladstone, Krawiec, Hector Arana Jr., and then Herrera.

This was the 12th national event win for Johnson in his 481st start. He last won a national event in Houston in the spring of 2022. This was the first
Wally Johnson has won in Bristol.

In the finals, Johnson and his crew member Jock Allen did everything possible to score the upset, but they weren’t coming up with answers.

“Jock went in to get the sink and he came back, and he says, ‘We don't have one.’ So, I'm like, ‘Well, we'll just do what we can,’” Johnson said. “We did some stuff, and it wasn't probably right. I looked up and saw the red light or saw his win light and I let off because we are on a major budget, so I want to save the parts. Our engines read 14,000 rpm. So, lots of parts want to change. Want to change holes and swap around and things at 14,000 rpm. So, I wanted to give it a break. I was really happy with it. Our engine's double trouble and the rest is pretty shocking.”

Johnson also used the winning platform to address the state of the PSM class, which doesn’t share the same limelight as the Top Fuel and nitro Funny Car drivers.

“This is really random. But we had a situation in Charlotte y'all saw with almost an accident, and J.R. Todd commented on it. ‘We need parachutes
and there were some blah blah blah.’ I'm like, ‘Do y'all understand there's a Top Fuel driver commenting on Pro Stock motorcycling? You're running him under the bus?' I'm like, ‘You should love on the guy.’ I think it's the first
time in history.

“It is a constant battle for us to try to be proud of our category. But I think when you try to convey the specialty things that go on in our class and now with this body and how hard it is to really ride the motorcycle properly, it's something that you want to shout about a lot. I wish we could all swap rides for a while. I have a blast, I think, trying to drive a Pro Stock car and especially fuel cars. But gosh, I'd love to see John Force pop the clutch on
my bike. Oh my gosh, it would be awesome. There are some drivers (who would) do really, really good. Obviously, Antron (Brown) did.”

Johnson knows winning in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class with the powerful Vance & Hines and Matt Smith Racing isn’t easy, but he welcomes the challenge.

“Everybody knows that the Vance & Hines bikes (are) fast, and I think everybody knows who can run good,” Johgnson said. “We just need a little
bit more resources. Again, $25,000 for a body, for our team, there's a lot of things we would've maybe rather bought. But another $10,000 to have it wrapped and mounted. It's a lot of money. So, you don't expect any of this stuff. That's why I think that the sport's so fun because there is the David and Goliath. That's what's so cool about racing is you show up and you just never know what can happen. Today, we're living proof of that.”