To say Gaige Herrera has been dominant the last two years in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle is a vast understatement. Herrera has been nearly unstoppable aboard the RevZilla/Mission/Vance & Hines Suzuki.

Herrera has won 17 of the last 23 contested NHRA PSM events – and that’s not the most impressive thing he has done.

Herrera has won six races in a row since the beginning of the 2024 season (an NHRA record) and extended his NHRA records for consecutive elimination-round wins (43) and consecutive race wins (11).

With numbers like that it is no surprise he qualified No. 1 at the Northwest Nationals with a 6.734-second elapsed time at a track record speed of 201.22 mph at Pacific Raceways.

“First off, I'm just glad to be back in Seattle,” said Herrera, who won here last year. “It's a cool track. It gives you an old-school, backyard-track feel. It's not like the big ones we go to, so it's cool. And not only that, to do it here at night, it's always fun racing at night. I feel like we don't do that much. So, to be able to do that and get good conditions where I can run big speed like that, it's awesome for the fans and it's fun for us as riders and all that. But all in all, it's fun.”

Herrera’s Friday night run under the lights for the first time in Pacific Raceways during Q2, held on during Saturday two qualifying sessions.

This is Herrera’s 18th career PSM No. 1 qualifying spot and fourth this season to go along with the ones he captured in Gainesville, Fla., Charlotte, N.C., and Richmond, Va.

“I feel like me and the bike won at this point, and so we came into here very confident on what we're going to run,” Herrera said. “If we didn't bog Q2, we probably would've run, like, a 68. We bogged on the starting line and hurt our 60 foot a little bit. We didn't accommodate for the track tightening up that quick. The sun went down, the track dropped quite a bit on the temperature, and it hurt us.

"But, yeah, here forward, on the West Coast, it's actually a little hot. I didn't expect it to be this hot up here in Seattle. It never really is. But, yeah, I feel like Andrew's got a really good handle on my bike. I feel like I'm one with the bike and it's going to be fun. ... ”

“I feel like coming back to Seattle, a lot of people are... Last year, they were very excited bikes are here to begin with, but now this year, there's more and more people that are like, ‘Oh, I missed the bikes last year. I'm so glad I'm here this year,'" Herrera said. “And not, like you said, Gaige Herrera fans. Being on my second full season, it's crazy to see how many people actually follow me. Yeah, I've had a lot of big success, but sometimes with success you get a lot of haters.

“But it seems like I have a lot more fans than I do haters, and it's awesome to interact with them. That's what this is all about. It's for the fans. It's not only for the race. It's for the fans, to put on a show, and I'm enjoying every second of it. Doing all the media stuff with the fans and signing stuff, it's what it's all about.”

Herrera has been so amazing this season he has already qualified for the six-race Countdown to the Championship.

“It gives us the opportunity to try things,” Herrera said about the position he is in right now. “We do venture off a little bit on trying things, but my bike's been so fast and consistent. It's hard to venture out of that line. So, we got this weekend and then we've got Sonoma before the Countdown ... Or no, and then Indy, sorry, before the Countdown starts. I'm sure we're going to try a little different thing. My bike's fast as it is, so it's like you don't want to mess something up that's working well. So, we'll see what happens. I think it's going to be good between Seattle and Sonoma. Hopefully the bike counts a little better in Sonoma. I know a lot of people on the West Coast that have pro bikes are planning to run Sonoma, so it's going to be good.”

The amazing run of success is something Herrera is trying to just keep in perspective and keep his feet on the ground.

“No, I really haven't thought about it. It's one of those things, it'd be here today, gone tomorrow,” Herrera said about the round-win and race-win streak he is enjoying. “That's the way I look at it. It's just like earlier, I forget who asked me if I have some kind of superstition. I don't. I just go out there and ride the bike, do what I love to do. And drag racing, I feel like it's more of a gamble than anything out there. You could be at the top; you could be at the bottom. You think you got a handle on it, and next thing you know, you're out in left field. So, it's just one of those things that I'm just enjoying this ride, and we'll see how long we can take it.”

Being at the top of the PSM mountain, Herrera knows his competitors are going to do everything possible to knock him off his throne.

“Yeah, it makes it a lot more fun. Matt Smith has a very fast motorcycle. I feel like my bike and his bike are ... I feel like they're very close in E.T.,” Herrera said. “He's just with the V-Twin torque and everything, he fights when the track gets a little hot, greasy down low. So, he either rattles the tire, spins the tire, and it hurts him in the E.T. Where with the inline fours, I think ... well, not only the inline four, but I think we have a little bit better handle on different track conditions and being able to 60 foot low .102, .104 every lap.

“There's nothing better than good competition for the riders, the fans. Everyone says that we're hurting the class, but I really don't think we're hurting the class. I think we're making everyone go back home and do their homework to try to figure it out, what they're missing. The class has excelled in such a big way fast that everyone else has to stop, regroup and figure out what they're missing. And I have a feeling the class is going to be big again, and as it should be. It's an exciting class to watch, to race in, so we'll see.”