Richard Gadson began his Pro Stock Motorcycle championship defense Sunday the same way he finished the previous season — with a statement. The reigning champion rode his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki to victory at the NHRA Gatornationals, defeating John Hall in the final round with a 6.753-second pass at 200.05 mph.
The win delivered Gadson his fifth career Pro Stock Motorcycle victory and his first at Gainesville Raceway. It also gave the defending champion an early reminder to the rest of the field that the No. 1 plate still belongs to him.
For Gadson, the victory carried deeper meaning after an offseason filled with reflection and outside criticism.
“I kind of rode with that all weekend,” Gadson said. “I would like to say it was a long winter. I already had my own kind of issues with how things went.”
Gadson’s 2025 championship came under unusual circumstances when the season finale at Pomona ended without eliminations because of rain. The title was ultimately decided by points without a single session of qualifying.
Gadson received the trophy and the title, but the moment lacked the traditional final-round finish that usually defines a championship.
“I got the trophy. I got a check. That happened,” Gadson said. “But you kind of wish that you envisioned to turn off the track and everything.”
Instead of ignoring the discussion that followed, Gadson used it as motivation during the offseason. The result was a focused approach heading into the opening race of NHRA’s 75th anniversary season.
“I kind of still felt like I had something to prove,” Gadson said.
Crew chief Matt Hines reinforced that approach before the team even left the shop.
“Matt Hines told me before I left the shop, he says, ‘Don’t race like you’re the world champion. Race the way that got you to championship. Don’t let up,’” Gadson said.
The message resonated throughout the weekend as Gadson delivered one of the most consistent performances in the Pro Stock Motorcycle field. Run after run, the defending champion showed the same precision that carried him through the 2025 season.
“I think I made eight passes between 200s, two and a half hundreds, between a 74 and a 77 zero or something like that,” Gadson said. “Every light was between 021 and a double 9, and it was just watch, rinse, repeat.”
That consistency helped Gadson defeat Geno Scali, Chase Van Sant and Clayton Howey before meeting Hall in the championship round.
The semifinal round nearly turned into disaster when Gadson drifted toward a timing cone after Howey left early with a red-light start. Gadson said he knew the foul occurred but was unaware that striking the cone could have reversed the outcome.
“So, I knew he went red, but I did not know that if I would have hit the cone, I would have been disqualified and he would have been back,” Gadson said. “I made sure I didn’t hit the cone, and thankfully I didn’t.”
The final round required another adjustment when Hall selected the right lane during pre-race lane choice. Gadson’s team had prepared their motorcycle for the opposite lane and was forced to make quick changes in the staging lanes.
“In the staging lanes he surprised me and said he was going right,” Gadson said. “So we made an adjustment to the chassis and we just kind of guessed on it.”
The change worked well enough to keep the Suzuki pointed straight long enough to reach the finish line first.
For Gadson, the victory was also personal.
He dedicated the win to his young cousin, Layla Gadson, whose passing deeply affected the family during the offseason.
“I actually dedicated this win for Layla Gadson,” he said. “She was my little cousin.”
The emotional weight of the moment added to what was already a milestone weekend.
Gadson celebrated his 40th birthday during the event, received his championship jacket and ring during pre-race ceremonies, and then capped the weekend with one of the sport’s most prestigious trophies.
“The Gator Nationals isn’t one that doesn’t hit,” Gadson said. “It’s the U.S. Nationals to me, and then it’s the Gator Nationals.”
Beyond the symbolism of the victory, Gadson also acknowledged the depth of competition awaiting him throughout the season.
“I don’t feel like anybody’s going to dominate this year,” Gadson said. “We’re all jam packed in there, and it’s going to be a fight.”
If Gainesville was any indication, the defending champion is ready for that fight.
And after a winter spent hearing the doubts and questions about how his championship ended, Gadson delivered the only response that really matters in drag racing.
He turned on the win light.
