Gaige Herrera was as nervous as he'd ever been. 

The virtually unknown motorcycle rider was at Vance & Hines for a job interview to fill the open rider spot on the team. After getting a tour of the facility, he was summoned to the office of Terry Vance, team owner and an iconic two-wheel drag racer. 

Herrera walked into the office and sat down. Vance wasted little time in asking the unproven NHRA rider, "Tell me why I am signing you over a three-time champion?"

The Gaige Herrera who strolled into the media center at In-N-Out Dragstrip on Saturday evening might have answered the question much differently than the one who nervously walked into the office back in January. 

Knowing back then what he knows now, a more assertive Herrera might have responded, "It's like this, Terry: I will deliver the most incredible season the Pro Stock Motorcycle season has ever witnessed. I will win 10 races in my first season and tie Matt Hines for the most wins in a single season in the class. I plan to set a record for most No. 1 qualifiers in the class with 14 and set an elapsed-time record of 6.627 seconds. I will make the seven quickest runs in the class. And this will be before the last race of the season. Yeah, I will win that one too.'"

Riding a drag racing motorcycle, he has all the swagger in the world. Public speaking, well that's a whole another thing. 

"Of course, that's what I would have said," Herrera offered. "No, I mean, that was probably the most nerve-wracking part of joining the team was sitting down talking with Terry. Terry's an awesome dude, but he's intimidating. And when he asked me that, I'm like, 'I don't even know what to say.'

"I told him how much I love drag racing. This is what I live for, and I'm really glad he let Andrew and the team sign me on. It's been a dream working with him and Terry and listening to Byron's stories. I mean, it's crazy to sit down and talk with those guys. I mean, just the knowledge they got and the history. It's insane."

When all is said and done, none of them will have a story like Herrera had in his first full season of racing NHRA. 

Herrera opened the season with 13 straight round wins and three event victories before falling into a so-called slump with a runner-up and quarterfinal finish. He won three more races and three straight national-event titles before falling off the pace with a semifinal and quarterfinal finish. 

After leading the point standings for the entire regular season, the second-round loss at the Countdown opener at Maple Grove Raceway knocked him off the top for the only time in the season. 

Herrera never lost a round from that point on, amassing a 52-4 win-loss record for the season with Sunday's win at the NHRA In-N-Out Finals in Pomona, California.

"This is something I'll never forget," Herrera said. "My first full season doing this and getting the championship. There's a lot that's been accomplished this year, but this definitely is going to top it. This is something I'll always cherish and remember."

The interesting aspect of his early and frequent winning is that when Herrera traveled to Gainesville, Florida, for the team's initial test sessions, his name was not even lettered on the hauler. 

Herrera admits he was taken aback by his ability to win early and often. 

"It's hard to start off strong and keep it going throughout the whole season, and we were able to do that,"  Herrera said. "You never take it for granted. The bike's been flawless all year. I had a few mechanical failures. I made a few mistakes. But for my first full season, I really did not expect this. I came into this season expecting a tough fight. I did not expect to dominate like we did and get the championship. It's unbelievable what has been done. I mean, we've set a lot of records. This goes on and on. It's crazy."

Herrera did have an inkling that he would be aboard a super-fast bike after witnessing the success enjoyed by his predecessor on the bike, Angelle Sampey.  

"I definitely thought about it," Herrera admitted. "Angelle's had multiple No. 1 qualifiers. It was a very fast bike -- it has been since they built it. I did not expect to be able to ride that bike. They were actually talking about building a new bike, but I wanted to ride that bike because of the potential it had. So, it worked out very well."

As a racer, Herrera had no apparent weakness. Well, there was one ... 

"I would say the biggest challenge of all is just racing in front of the crowd," Herrera said. "It's hard. For me, I look around a lot when I'm on the motorcycle. And even the first time, I test-rode for Ed and Andrew. They had a GoPro on them, and I was 1,000 feet, looking at a bird or a flag going by type of thing. They were making fun of me for that. So, I definitely had to wear a tin shield after that.

"The biggest thing as a rider is just blocking everything out. There's a lot that goes on here at each race, as far as the crowd, the media, all that stuff. But I would say that's been the toughest part for me. I mean, riding the motorcycle ... I have so much fun riding them, and it feels like ... It's so natural to me, honestly."