Make it a hat trick all the way around for Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Gaige Herrera.

Herrera, who joined the vaunted Vance & Hines team in the offseason, won his third consecutive national event from the No. 1 qualifying position to start the 2023 season.

Herrera’s latest victory came Sunday when he clocked a 6.717-second lap at 201.25 mph to defeat Chip Ellis’ 6.791-second effort at 200.26 mph in the finals of the Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance in Chicago.

Herrera, piloting the Mission Foods Vance & Hines Suzuki, has now won races in Gainesville, Fla., Charlotte, N.C., and Chicago.

Herrera defeated Ron Tornow, Marc Ingwersen, Vance & Hines teammate Eddie Krawiec, and Ellis on Sunday.

“It started off good,” Herrera said. “My bike has basically been a bracket bike. I made a little bobble second round, but all in all, the bike was on point all weekend. All the pressure is on me, and getting to race Eddie third round, that was a tough one. I grew up looking up to Chip (Ellis), so that was a really special one for me.”

Herrera lives in DeMotte, Ind., just over an hour from Chicago, making the victory more special.

“It means a lot (to win here in Chicago),” Herrera said. “I had a lot of friends and family out here, and to have their support and be out here with me that’s special. Those are the ones you do not forget. To see all of them out here supporting me, and we don’t know if we are going to race here again, unfortunately, so to be able to come here and get the win with all of them here is a very special one.”

Herrera has had a meteoric rise in the PSM ranks, but he is no stranger to success. He is a fourth-generation racer who has succeeded in XDA’s Pro Street and Outlaw racing classes, with race wins earned over the past several years. Fast bikes also are nothing new for Herrera as he has had numerous runs in the 6.30’s over 200 mph.

“I have not had many victories, but I’ve set records on my No-Bar Pro bike; I’m kind of the oddball because I run nitrous instead of turbos,” he said. “There are like three nitrous bikes total, and I have held a lot of different records as far as that. I have one win and I have been doing that for about seven years. To come out and be dominating, I have been living the dream. I really am. I have a really good team behind me, and this goes out to all of them. They put in a lot of hard work. All the people at Vance & Hines and to have Mission backing us. I’m living a dream.”

Being with legendary teammates Andrew Hines and Krawiec – multiple-time world champions – has been quite the experience for Herrera.

“I’m learning a lot,” Herrera said. “It is not just about getting down the track. There’s a lot that goes on in the pits that I didn’t realize being on the outside. I’m learning a lot of techniques I never would have thought of. To be able to work with them – Andrew is a six-time (world) champ, and Eddie is a four-time champ, and they both are for a reason. 

“To be able to work with them, it is a lot to take in, and I’m just enjoying the ride. Being able to be around them and work with the whole crew, Terry Vance and Byron Hines, I grew up watching all of them, and it is unbelievable that I’m part of the team.”

All Herrera has done so far is a win – which heightens expectations at every race.

“Absolutely (I feel the pressure),” Herrera said. “I have an awesome hot rod, so all the pressure is on me. I definitely feel a lot of pressure, and I put a lot of pressure on myself because I’m a very competitive person. There’s a lot of pressure because, at any moment, you can have a mechanical failure. I can go out there and red light and miss a shift. There’s a lot of pressure on my shoulders because I know the bike has been fast, so it is going to take me to probably cause a round loss or something breaks, so there’s a lot of pressure.”

Herrera’s leading the points standings with a 382 total way in front of second place Krawiec at 213 points. Those numbers are hard for Herrera to digest.

“I’m not one to assume things are going to happen,” Herrera said. “I go round by round. I definitely didn’t see this coming. I know I have a good bike. I take it round by round because you never know what is going to happen. It is kind of like gambling; you either win or lose. So, I definitely don’t look ahead.”

Herrera acknowledged he got a good vibe from Vance & Hines from his first test session with the team.

“The first time I tested with them was in Vegas, and we just got along from the get-go,” Herrera said. “Then we went to Gainesville to test for the first time as a full team and working with all the guys, and I got along with them really well, and I think that helped a lot. We all kind of have the same personality. We are laid back to a point, and that made me feel part of the team from the get-go.”