Richard Gadson clinched his first NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship Sunday under circumstances far from what he envisioned, but none he was willing to give back. With persistent rain wiping out every professional run at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at Pomona, the championship points frozen entering the weekend delivered Gadson the title he had spent a season chasing.
Gadson had entered the event with a 21-point lead and expected to settle the championship head-to-head with teammate and rival Gaige Herrera. Instead, weather determined the outcome, and the title went to the rider who led the points coming into Pomona. Gadson finished the season with four wins, six final-round appearances and two No. 1 qualifiers.
He acknowledged the unusual circumstances but refused to diminish the accomplishment. “Big, big, big emotional roller coaster, the journey,” Gadson said. “Once we found it, I would say Bristol, Charlotte won on, starting to feel like you belong.”
Gadson reflected on how far the team had come from the struggles of the previous season. “Last year, really a lot of lows. A really, really, really hard season to get through,” he said. “Still trying to find that groove.”
He credited the internal competition that elevated the entire program. “My teammate Gaige, I want to take a minute to give him his flowers,” Gadson said. “He pushes you. I’m sure I’m pushing him as well, but we’re both pushing ourselves beyond limits that we even knew we had.”
A season he hoped would end with two bikes deciding a championship instead ended in a quiet room rather than at the finish line. “You envisioned turning off the end of the racetrack, but this was God’s plan,” he said. “None of us picked this.”
Gadson said the rain-out moment left him wishing he hadn’t canceled his family’s trip. “I really wish I hadn’t done that right this minute,” he said. “But stand before you guys Pro Stock Motorcycle World Champ is a pretty crazy thought.”
The path to Pomona was shaped by his ability to deliver when it mattered most. Two Countdown victories shifted the pressure toward a tight finish, and Gadson admitted he felt every bit of it. “As I remember in Dallas, you were saying you couldn’t wait for the season to be over,” he was reminded.
“That’s the truth,” Gadson replied.
Carrying a 21-point margin into the final weekend demanded full commitment. “The mentality was kill or be killed,” he said. “I was willing to lay it all on the line out there.”
The anticipated matchup with Herrera loomed over the entire event, but the rain prevented it. “Everybody avoided the conversation and we were all waiting on Mother Nature to stop raining so we could go do this,” he said.
Even without making a pass, Gadson said his season justified the outcome that circumstances delivered. “Every pass was the bottleneck to get here was to be an NHRA champion I believe,” he said.
Gadson stressed that his team’s success is often misunderstood outside the pits. “The guys get a bad rep for from their previous days of dominating and they don’t really understand how hard we fight,” he said. “People think that there’s a red carpet laid out there we just walk to championships.”
He singled out crew chief Eddie Krawiec for elevating the program. “Eddie Krawiec, my crew chief, I want to zero in on him,” he said. “I think that he had the same thing on his mind this year that I had, which was prove a point.”
He said Vance & Hines leaders Herrera and Andrew Hines reset expectations for the entire class. “They’ve changed our class and what it takes to win forever,” he said. “They raised the bar.”
Gadson said the team’s work ethic fueled their growth throughout the season. “I think the performance of the motorcycle, the performance of me has shown that all year,” he said. “Racing with that little extra chip on your shoulder is pretty much the extra motivation we needed.”
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Gadson’s role as a mentor and example for young fans added deeper meaning to the championship moment. He has spoken often about wanting to represent kids who come from backgrounds similar to his. His on-track accomplishments and his recent Big Brothers Big Sisters honor strengthened that connection.
“This is literally my life, my story,” he said. “If I can’t get here and tell it to the world, tell it to those kids, it was all for nothing.”
He said earlier missteps shaped him but never derailed his pursuit. “I didn’t always make great decisions,” Gadson said. “I thought I had messed it up and it didn’t have anything to do with my performance on the racetrack.”
Now, he said, he can deliver a new message. “I’m not talking about chasing the dream, I’m talking about obtaining it now,” he said. “It changes the message a little bit.”
The rivalry with Herrera will continue well beyond Pomona. Both riders expect to settle their unfinished duel on their own terms. “We are going to figure something out,” Gadson said. “If we can, it’ll spill over to Gainesville.”
He said he plans to enjoy every moment of a championship a lifetime in the making. “You can’t smack the smile off my face right now,” Gadson said. “Sucks to be this way, but I’ll take it.”
Asked what he’d tell his younger self, the answer came instantly. “‘You did it. You did it,’” he said.
