Gaige Herrera got back on track in the championship hunt Sunday at the NHRA Midwest Nationals, taking advantage of a red light by teammate Brayden Davis in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final. Herrera ran 6.791 seconds at 199.61 mph on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki, picking up his sixth win of the season and the 27th of his career on his 31st birthday.

 

The back-to-back world champion had stumbled in the first two playoff events, losing in the second round at Reading and going out in the opening round at Charlotte. But he made the most of his return in St. Louis, qualifying No. 1 and defeating Jianna Evaristo and Angie Smith before reaching the final.

 

Davis, in his rookie season, handed Herrera the win when he went red by .001 at the starting line. It was still a breakthrough for Davis, who reached his second career final after knocking off Chris Bostick, Chase Van Sant and points leader Richard Gadson.

 

Herrera admitted the victory carried extra weight after his recent setbacks. “Moving from fourth to second in points, it’s awesome,” Herrera said. “I’m still the hunter or chaser. I got to chase my teammate. Brayden did me a little favor there in the semis and then Matt did me a big favor. I mean, that’s like the best birthday present ever going out early.”

 

The win also kept the team dynamic at Vance & Hines in the spotlight. Herrera now trails Gadson by just 29 points with three races left, and he said the inner-team competition has sharpened everyone. “We want to be one and two. No matter whoever’s won, as long as it’s one of us, it don’t matter. But we definitely go after each other,” Herrera said. “All three of us are on the same motorcycle basically, so it just comes down to us, and luckily I ended up on the good side.”

 

That competition has extended to Davis, who is still learning the nuances of staging against the sport’s top riders. Herrera said the final round reflected that tension. “He wants to play games, I can play games too,” Herrera said. “He hasn’t seen everything yet. Me and Richard being from the grudge side of things, we’ve seen and done a lot more things than he has. So he bit himself in the butt.”

 

While some assumed the staging duel was staged theater between teammates, Herrera insisted it was genuine. “That was definitely a little personal,” he said. “He’s young and he wants to obviously beat all of us, me and Richard including. Wants to come out here and make a name for himself, which he is. But it makes me and Richard go to that next level that we really don’t do too often out here.”

 

The broader takeaway for Herrera was the reminder that nothing is guaranteed in the Countdown. He pointed to the recent losses by both himself and Matt Smith as proof of the class’s growing parity. “Parity right now is very close. I think the class is the best it’s ever been as far as parity,” Herrera said. “It just goes to show that anything can happen. There’s no freebies out here. Everyone’s got very fast motorcycles, equipment. Anyone can win at any given time.”

 

Track conditions also played a role in Sunday’s outcome. Herrera said the hot surface slowed the bikes throughout eliminations and left little margin for error. “Honestly, the sun itself was just hot. The track was hot. The motors are not going to make good power breathing hot air,” he said. “Honestly, I was really shocked my bike made it to the finish line there in the final because that was not happy. It just felt like it was shaking. It was doing weird stuff, so I wasn’t shocked when I seen Brayden outrun me. Luck was on my side there in the final.”

 

With three events remaining, Herrera’s championship quest is very much alive. Gadson still leads the standings, but Herrera said the team’s internal battles may ultimately decide the outcome. “I feel like there’s more competition under our tent than there is outside of our tent,” Herrera said. “It makes it a lot of fun. So we’ll see what happens.”