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VIDEO NOTEBOOK  WED GALLERY  THURS. GALLERY  FRI. GALLERY  SAT. GALLERY  SUN GALLERY

 

 

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - HERERRA SNAGS THE TOP SPOT, ITS DEJA VU FOR MATT SMITH 

1 – GAIGE HERRERA ROCKETS TO NO. 1 QUALIFIER WITH HIS Q5 RUN – If Gaige Herrera has proved anything in the last one-plus seasons NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class, it’s that he’s always in the mix to be the No. 1 qualifier.

When he joined Vance & Hines in 2023, Herrera captured the world title, 11 victories and 14 No. 1 qualifiers; the last two, single-season records in the category.

He now has 19 No. 1 qualifiers in the past 24 NHRA PSM national events. His latest came in Q5 Sunday afternoon at the Toyota U.S. Nationals with his 6.809-second elapsed time at 197.71 mph.

“It was good to get No. 1 qualifier because this is our home track,” Herrera said. “Byron (Hines), Terry (Vance) all of them and their families are here. This is the Super Bowl of NHRA and big for us. Running that 6.80, I have to give it to Mother Nature on that one. It was good (Sunday morning) to pick up like we did. I got down to the end (and NHRA announcer) Alan Reinhart asked me, ‘Do you think it will stick?’ I was like, ‘Matt (Smith) is still coming. The weather is good, and he went 199 (mph) (Saturday) when it was humid. I thought he’s going to go 200 (mph) for sure and lay down a number.’

"I’m shocked it stuck, but it puts us in a good position for racing on Monday. I feel like as a whole team, me, Richard (Gadson), Kelly (Clontz), Geno Scali are all going to do very good.”

Herrera will face No. 16 qualifier Wesley Wells in first round. Matt Smith qualified No. 2 and will take on Ron Tornow.

2 – MATT SMITH DISCUSSES WINNING, LOSING #2FAST2TASTY NHRA CHALLENGE SEASON TITLE – For a short time Saturday afternoon, NHRA world champion Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Smith was the 2024 #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season kingpin.

Until he wasn’t.

Smith was part of the parade of #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge parade of champions and acknowledged the crowd.

Upon further review, however, Gaige Herrera was determined to be the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge champion. Herrera and Smith each collected 12 points each during the 13 #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge races that concluded in Indy.

Herrera was the award the season crown because he had three Challenge wins to Smith’s two.

Not surprisingly, Smith was frustrated with NHRA’s final decision on the matter for many reasons.

While Smith was at the #2Fast2Tasty Autograph session Saturday morning at Lucas Oil Raceway, he was sent the following text from Mike Rice, NHRA’s Senior Director of Competition.

It read: “Herrera leading and not in the challenge at Indy. If Matt Smith wins first round, he holds the tiebreaker and would be champ.”

Smith proceeded to defeat Jianna Evaristo, his teammate at Matt Smith Racing, in the first round. He then lost to John Hall, who also is his teammate in the finals of the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, on a redlight start.

The loss to Hall didn’t bother Smith – until it did, when his #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season crown was rescinded.

“At the autograph signing, this is what I was given from NHRA, saying all I had to do was win the first round and I won the deal,” Smith said to CompetitionPlus.com about the text. “So, in essence, (when I got to the point) that I won the first round. I had John Hall, my teammate (in the second round), and I was, like, I'd been .030 and .030 on the tree. I'm like, ‘Alright, I've already won the whole challenge thing, so if I lose to John, it's no big deal. It's in our camp. But I need to try to see if I can better my reaction time,’ so I changed my whole clutch thing to make it react quicker and use the pass (for that) because I knew the air was worse and I knew I wasn't going to improve. And that's what I did. And they crown me champion.”

On live streaming on NHRA.TV, Smith was awarded the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season title and interviewed at the top end of the track. He then participated in the Challenge parade of champions in front of the fans.

“They did all the stuff, and then they came and took it away. And I said, ‘If I'd have known that I wouldn't have changed my bike like that,’” Smith said. “So, basically, all I asked him to do was, ‘It's y'all's mistake. It's not Gaige's. It's not mine.

"’All I ask you to do is ... We're tied in points. Q5 (Sunday), run me and Gaige heads-up for the trophy. There's no points. There's no money involved. It's just a trophy. Run us heads up.’ And they said, ‘No.’ That's all I asked him to do. They just said they're just not going to do that. I don't know why. That's the question that needs to be answered.”

NHRA provided the following statement to CompetitionPlus.com about the issue.

“There was a miscommunication between the NHRA staff and the Pro Stock Motorcycle teams on the tiebreakers for the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge season title. Our officials spoke with both parties post-race and Gaige was correctly awarded the overall Challenge title based on the tiebreaker.”

Herrera had this to say about what transpired for him to become the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge titleist.

“I wasn’t in the last #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, so I basically said it was done,” Herrera said. “I figured for sure Matt was going to win it. I know there was some confusion there with points and all that. I really didn’t even know how it all worked out. (Saturday morning) before it all started, I played some scenarios and the only way I could win it is if Matt doesn’t win because I had three wins and Matt had two. That was the tiebreaker.

“It is awesome to win that back-to-back, and Mission is one of my personal sponsors and that was cool to be down there celebrating (with my sponsor). It felt very good.”   

3 – BOSTICK TALKS ABOUT MAKING HISTORY BY DEPLOYING PARACHUTE – Veteran rider Chris Bostick said he was going to make history in qualifying at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis by deploying a parachute during a run.

Bostick did exactly that in Q3 Saturday afternoon, deploying the chutes after crossing the quarter-mile finish line in 6.983 seconds at 192.60 mph.

“I really wasn't even scheduled to pull it out. It was just like whenever I felt like doing it,” Bostick said. “It was my first run in the right lane. In Q1 and Q2, I was in the left lane and the left lane is actually a pretty flat, straight lane. The right lane will try to suck you to the center. I knew that and so I pointed a little bit to the right and I'm still headed to the center and still headed to the center. I didn't have a really good run that run. We were trying some different things with the bike, but I'm getting close to the centerline, and I noticed Steve (Johnson) was already ahead of me, and I thought this is a great time to test my theory on will (the parachute) straighten the bike up.

“I pushed the button and instantly the bike straightened right back up. Didn't touch the brakes at all until I was in the end of the shutdown, very end of the shutdown – just enough to make the turn. It came out, it worked perfectly, and I was very excited. All is good. Made history, going into the record books, first time anybody ever pulled a parachute on a Pro Stock Motorcycle at a national event.”

The memorable moment was a long time coming for Bostick.

“Three years (it took to get approval to use the parachute),” he said. “Yeah, that was very gratifying.”

NHRA approved Bostick’s use of a parachute Friday morning.

Bostick, who has been competing in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class off and on since 1999, didn’t harbor any concerns about deploying his parachute.

“No, not at all because I've pulled it so many times before already in testing,” he said. “In competition in front of the cameras for the first time so it was cool. So, Nelson Stewart, Tony Stewart's father, as I'm pulling back in, he was standing there. He's a gentleman – I mean a really good guy – and he was there to congratulate me and so we were doing a FOX interview … and I go, ‘Look at this, it's Tony Stewart's dad, the first one to come and congratulate me on being the first to deploy a parachute.’ So, it was kind of cool.”

Bostick qualified No. 9 with a 6.929-second elapsed time at 193.52 mph.

 

 

 

4 – KELLY CLONTZ FRUSTRATED WITH STATE OF PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE – The Pro Stock Motorcycle class has had its share of drama this season, and part-time racer Kelly Clontz isn’t happy about the state of the class.

“It's very frustrating for small teams. We have Vance & Hines's support, but it's me and my husband out here and we do all the hauling, the mechanics, just everything for our team,” Clontz said. “They help with the tuning and they built our engines. But for us to have all these different rule changes, we don't have time to go out and test, like the one team that wants to complain about everything. So, we just come here, we came out here with a 660-pound motorcycle and we're going to give it our best shot like we do every time we come out.”

Clontz, who made her PSM debut in 2017, pilots a Gen 3 Suzuki Hayabusa. After five qualifying sessions, Clontz qualified 10th with a 7.021-second run at 192.03 mph.

“There's a lot of things that dampen it (her enthusiasm), and that's one of them, because when you hear complaining, and you know that it is complaining to benefit a certain person, and when I've seen it with my own eyes, I can say facts,” Clontz said. “I've seen it with my own eyes, and it's going to be complaining not based off facts, it's how someone can win a championship, whether they're putting the work in or they're having a good 60 foot or whatever. It's about consistency, and if you're not consistent, you're not on top.”

Consistency is what Clontz wants to begin in eliminations Monday.

“I'm going to focus on consistency because clearly you can see the numbers that with the fuel change and with the weight, all the weight added, it makes a big difference,” Clontz said. “That's the problem. And to come into this race with an additional 15 pounds, it only helped one team. And to come into this race, or whenever they made the fuel change, it only helped one team because every other team used the other fuel. So that's facts from what I've seen.”

When Pro Stock Motorcycle riders competed at the NHRA’s 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, N.C., on April 26-28, they had to adapt to a rule change.
 
Following the season-opening the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., in March the NHRA tech department switched from Sunoco Cyclone 17 to Sunoco SR18 fuel. SR18 and Cyclone were allowed through the Gators, but now all PSM riders must only use Sunoco SR18.

5 – HECTOR ARANA JR. IGNORES PSM DRAMA – Hector Arana Jr. won NHRA’s Rookie of Year award and the U.S. Nationals. He’s now won 18 national events and has an impressive 268 round wins.

Arana Jr. and his father/tuner Hector Arana Sr., the 2009 PSM world champion, have seen their share of drama in the class over the years with rule changes and intraclass bickering. Hector Jr. is doing his best to ignore the noise.

“I think that's kind of silly drama that probably isn't the best for the class, but if somebody asks us something in writing, it's because they know it's not correct, and then they try to play games and hold them accountable,” Arana Jr. said. “Somebody misspoke and then that person asked for it in writing because they knew it wasn't correct.”

In Q5 Sunday, Arana clocked his fastest elapsed time of the weekend at 6.864 seconds at 196.64 mph, moving his GETTRX Buell to No. 7 on the qualifying ladder. He scheduled to take on No. 10 qualifier Kelly Clontz in Monday’s first round.

6 – FLYIN’ RYAN OEHLER KEEPS BUSY SCHEDULE – Veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle owner/rider Flyin’ Ryan Oehler has formed a great relationship with his primary sponsor El Bandido Tequila. Not only does he have a great relationship with the people at El Bandido Tequila, he also works for the company – a move he said made business sense.

“We figured when we got out here, we made such a big presence, and all the other racers were trying to solicit to get a sponsorship. I said, ‘The easiest way to protect our sponsorship, let's go ahead and take a position with the company where if you want a sponsorship, you got to go through me,” he said.

Despite his struggles in recent years, Oehler has never lost his passion for the sport.

“I snuck into a van when I was 12 years old and came to the first US Nationals. I've wanted to do this,” Oehler said. “My kindergarten pictures are me with racing leathers. Pretty lucky to be able to say that I'm here doing it and that I'm living my dream. Even sometimes when that dream becomes a nightmare, you're doing something that many people really wish they could be doing, and we're out here living it.”

 

 

7 – QUALIFIERS FOR COUNTDOWN TO CHAMPIONSHIP – With the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis set to conclude Monday, the field of riders for the six-race Countdown to the Championship has been set. The list consists of Gaige Herrera, Matt Smith, John Hall, Richard Gadson, Chase Van Sant, Angie Smith, Jianna Evaristo, Hector Arana Jr, Steve Johnson and Chris Bostick.

8 – DID YOU KNOW? – Antron Brown is a three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion (2012, 2015-16). But did you know he was a standout Pro Stock Motorcycle before he moved up to Top Fuel? He won 16 PSM Wallys in his career, including the U.S. Nationals in 2000 and 2004. In Top Fuel, Brown captured the ‘Big Go’ in 2011, 2022 and 2023.

9 – YOU’RE SAYING WE HAVE A CHANCE – To have a chance to win the coveted U.S. Nationals, competitors first must enter the event.

Marc Ingwersen, Ron Tornow and Wesley Wells all took care of that, and even though they had the three slowest times in the field, at least their presence ensured them a spot in Monday’s 16-bike field.

10 – NO ONE IS ON OUTSIDE LOOKING IN – Unlike some of the Pro classes at U.S. Nationals, the Pro Stock Motorcycle class only had 16 riders in the field and they will all be racing Monday.

Five former U.S. Nationals champions are in the field: Matt Smith, John Hall, Hector Arana Jr., Steve Johnson, and Ryan Oehler.

 

 

 

 

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - ALL IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD FOR JOHN HALL

1 – JOHN HALL HAS MEMORABLE DAY AT INDY – It was a day of celebration for John Hall on Saturday at the U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway.

The veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle racer not only won the race within the race – the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge – he also became the provisional No. 1 qualifier with his 6.830-second elapsed time at 198.76 mph during Q2.

Hall claimed the title in the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge when Matt Smith had a redlight start. Hall pilots a Buell for Matt Smith Racing.

“It is a great day,” Hall said. “I didn’t know what to expect coming in here. We didn’t  run in (Q1, Friday), and that’s always concerning going into the Mission Foods (Challenge). If we were running the Mission (Challenge) it is no big deal. I don’t know what my light is going to be. I don’t know if the bike is going to go straight down the track. You have a lot of stuff on your mind. You always have the jitters of your first qualifying run, not being on the bike for three weeks.

“I had an .011 light in the first round (beating Hector Arana Jr.), and I was happy with that … and second round I have to thank Matt Smith for going red because I was .085 on the tree. I owe Matt one. I was way off on the tree.”

Hall admitted Mother Nature likely benefitted him to post the provisional No. 1 ET.

“In this weather I’m not surprised” that ET held up, Hall said, adding that Sunday “I think we are going to go out there with the same routine. Matt told me we were probably both going to go 85 in (Q3), and I went 84 and he went 86. It was a little faster than I thought we were going to because of the weather change, but I was low of the round. I’m excited.”

 If Hall keeps the No. 1 qualifying spot through Sunday’s final two qualifying sessions it would be the first of his career.

It is worth noting he has had success at the U.S. Nationals, winning the PSM title in 2013 in Indy when he defeated Matt Smith.

2 – UPON FURTHER REVIEW, HERRERA IS #2FAST2TASTY NHRA CHALLENGE SEASON WINNER – Fans in attendance at the U.S. Nationals on Saturday afternoon thought Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Matt Smith won the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season title.

Smith was part of the parade of #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge parade of champions and acknowledged the crowd.

Upon further review, however, Gaige Herrera – not Smith – was the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season champion. Herrera and Smith each collected 12 points each during the 13 #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge races throughout the season concluding in Indy.

Herrera was the determined the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season winner based on the fact he had three wins in the Challenge to Smith’s two.

3 – GAIGE HERRERA TALKS SEASON, EXPECTATIONS FOR INDY AND COUNTDOWN – Gaige Herrera made a meteoric rise in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks last season, his first with the powerhouse Vance & Hines team.

The numbers told the story: Herrera captured 11 victories and 14 No. 1 qualifiers – both single-season records in the category.

The Herrera highlight reel continued into 2024. He ran his consecutive national-event win streak to 11 and won 46 elimination rounds. The streaks were snapped when he lost to Chase Van Sant in the final round of the Northwest Nationals on July 21 in Seattle.

“It'd be nice to start another streak, but what was accomplished already is incredible. I never expected anything like that, and I'm just enjoying the ride, and having fun, and soaking it all in,” Herrera said.

“I definitely sit down and think about it. … You can't do it by yourself. And I'm very thankful to be a part of Vance & Hines and to have the opportunity to get all the streaks and all of the wins. It's incredible. I go down in my basement and see all the trophies and stuff, it's like I can't believe what I did in a short year. But I feel like I got a long journey ahead of me as far as a future here and career, and I'm having a lot of fun with it, and we'll see what happens.”

Despite all of Herrera’s success, he didn’t win the Big Go – the U.S. Nationals – last year, and that’s something he wants to change this weekend.

“I'd love to check Indy off. This is basically our hometown. The shop's a couple blocks from here, Vance & Hines,” Herrera said. “It'd be nice to win here, but it's always a difficult one. I don't know why, but when I go to my home tracks, I always struggle for some reason.

“Hopefully we turn that around this weekend. We're off to a good start as far as qualifying. We got four more rounds of qualifying before race day on Monday.”

Through three of the five rounds of qualifying, Herrera is third on the ladder with a 6.850-second elapsed time at 196.64 mph.

“The one thing about Andrew (Hines), he always is pushing as hard as he can to go as fast as he can,” he said. “I feel like parity (in the class) is actually very good right now. Matt (Smith) updated his whole program, which made him basically update his technology – the ECU, all that. So, he moved his program to the times as far as ECU management and all that, and that's what made him pick up. We really haven't slowed down or sped up. The whole class itself is catching us, which is good.

“Andrew, Byron (Hines), all of them, they're always working in the shop nonstop, trying to find the next little step forward to try to keep the edge. That's part of racing. It's part of drag racing and heads-up racing. You always want to try to have the edge over your competition.”

Herrera entered the U.S. Nationals with a 271-point lead over Matt Smith in the season standings. Herrera’s lead will shrink to 20 points over the second-place rider after the points are reset heading into the six-race Countdown to the Championship, which begins at the Pep Boys Nationals on Sept. 12-15 in Reading, Pa.

“These Countdowns will be very interesting. Us, Matt, a lot of people are running very strong and very close,” Herrera said. “Qualifying right now, I think the top four or five are within four hundredths right now. That's how it should be. I'm excited for that and it's going to be a lot of fun.

“I enjoy the competition more than anything. I'd rather it be very tight racing instead of ... Like last year, sometimes I had five hundredths on the field, and I'd rather it be a couple thou. That way it comes down to the starting line, the overall package, whoever puts together the best run that round,” Herrera said. “I'm a very competitive person and I don't like running away with stuff, so I'd rather it be very tight.

“For the most part for me, I feel like I block a lot of stuff out. When I got the record for the most consecutive wins and all that, that stuff's in the back of my head. I try to focus on here and now and what's the task at hand. I feel like I'm very good at that. And I think it helps me on race day to just keep a clean mindset and go out there and do what I need to do.”

 

 

 

 

4 – MICHAEL RAY ENJOYING HIS ROLE WITH MATT SMITH RACING – World championship teams always seemingly have one thing in common; that is, great crew members.

Matt Smith Racing in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class is no different. Smith, the six-time PSM world champion, makes the calls for the team, but he does have Michael Ray to help out on his crew.

Ray competed in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class – part-time and full-time – from 2011-16. He was full time in the class from 2012-14. He has three career national-event wins – Dallas (2012) and Englishtown, N.J., and Chicago both in 2013 – and finished a career-best second in the points standings in 2013 to Smith. 

Ray has been working with MSR in some capacity since 2019.

“I work on Angie (Smith’s) bike full-time here at the track,” Ray said. “And then I work full-time in the shop in (King, N.C.). With Jianna (Evaristo’s) program going to the V-Twin full-time this year, that's … really, that's all I know. So when Matt said, ‘Hey, let's try this,’ I said, ‘Yeah, let's do it.’ So, I've been with him full-time for about a year now. It's cool. I like it. It has been fun.”

Through three qualifying sessions in Indy, Angie Smith is fifth with a 6.859-second elapsed time at 197.94  mph.

Ray said switching from driver to crew member opened his eyes up about the class.

“Man, it's been good working with Matt full-time. It really gave me a new appreciation for understanding that those guys go down to their CNC machine and put an idea literally into a computer and hit enter,” Ray said. “Matt is like a modern-day MacGyver. He's got a gum wrapper, two paper clips, and he builds a 205 mph motorcycle out of it. It’s really neat and we have a lot of respect for those guys. All the crew guys have been with them for a long time. We've all known the drivers for a long time so, to kind of be getting back on top where we've been forever, it's pretty gratifying.”

Ray knows he wants to do whatever he can to get MSR a world championship by season’s end.

“I think we've preached it all year. They (Vance & Hines) can win all they want during the regular season, but starting Labor Day is when they really count, and Matt's really good at racing when it counts,” Ray said. “I think his resume and his background, being able to do it on Sunday when it really counts is what sets him just two or three notches ahead of the rest of the field. They have a really good program. They're not dumb, but he's a six-time champ for a reason.”

5 – CHASE VAN SANT RELISHES FIRST WALLY, READY TO FINISH STRONG – Chase Van Sant is the answer to a great trivia question: Who broke Gaige Herrera’s NHRA consecutive national event win streak and elimination-round win streak?

Van Sant did that when he snared his first career NHRA PSM Wally, defeating Herrera in the finals of the Northwest Nationals on July 21 in Seattle.

“I don't know about life changing. It's definitely one of those goals that I've had for my entire life,” Va Sant said about winning his first career Wally. “It was more so just a cool moment for me, because … there's been so much hard work, and so many things that have happened from the time that we started even trying to race Pro Stock Motorcycle until that moment. It was definitely a cool realization moment. But this sport definitely has some short-term memory, and we're trying hard to get another one.

“It made it a little bit more of a big deal because it was finally something different. That's what I kept hearing from people, was that it was exciting to watch this because it was someone new. But for me, I think more than anything, I was just happy it was a race. No one broke or went red or anything like that. And we had a good drag race, and I think to me, that's really what I wanted for my first one, was just a straight-up good drag race.”

Van Sant is ready to keep his momentum rolling at the U.S. Nationals in Indy. He’s eighth on the qualifying ladder with a 6.912-second elapsed time at 195.90 mph.

“I'm excited. I think that win did a lot more than just boost my confidence. It showed that we can do it,” Van Sant said. “He can be beat, and we can win. And for me, it's just I think a good feeling showing up to the racetrack knowing that we're ready to go and able to do that. I think the rest of the year we're hitting our stride at the right time. They've really been working hard to find some power, and we're looking pretty good, sitting all right now, so I'm excited.”

 6 – RICHARD GADSON FINDING HIS GROOVE WITH VANCE & HINES – Richard Gadson was given an opportunity of a lifetime when he was offered a ride with Vance & Hines for the 2024 season.

Gadson, aboard his RevZilla/Mission/Vance & Hines Suzuki, arrived in Indy fourth in the points standings. He has a runner-up finish in Richmond, Va., and a 12-8 elimination-round record.

 “Pretty crazy. A lot of pressure for sure. You come in and you're the second rider next to somebody like Gaige (Herrera), and it is pretty crazy to really soak in,” Gadson said. “But all of that's subsided now and kind of finding my groove and getting acclimated with the team – and now just having fun to be honest with you.”

Gadson is a veteran in the street motorcycle world and a championship competitor.

“I ride anything that's fast and always been pretty much all of my championships that I've ever won prior to NHRA have always been on Suzukis,” he said. “Gaige and I come from pretty much the same stuff. We raced the same class before now, and I think almost every championship I've ever won, I've been on the Hayabusa. I won a couple of Pro Mod championships and Super Stock, but I have the record for the fastest nitrous bike in the world with no wheelie bars. I went 6.40 with a three at 221 mph. That record has been standing since 2019.”

“I've known him since he was still in California and he was just getting started, really. The Pro Street class is dominated by turbos. When I say dominated, every single entry is a turbo except for me and him. He and I are the only two nitrous guys, so that kind of was the bridge between us. That started a dialogue, started us talking, and I never imagined we'd be teammates on the RevZilla Vance & Hines team, but that's where we are.”

Now, Gadson is ready to finish the regular season strong in Indy and roll into the six-race Countdown to the Championship, which begins Sept. 12-15 in Reading, Pa.

“Right now, what it means for me is pretty much defending home court. This is our hometown race. I'm now a resident here in Indy and it's been a rough go the last couple races,” Gadson said. “Obviously the class has got a lot of competition, a lot of rivalries right now between us and the MSR team. So right now, what it means is not letting those guys come in and kick our face in at our hometown track. Aside from that, I have to try to ignore the rest of what Indy is, just so that way you can focus on what your job is. You got to treat it like another race.”

 

 

7 – STEVE JOHNSON RACING AWARDS BAT-MAN SCHOLARSHIPS U.S. NATIONALS – NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Racer and team owner Steve Johnson awarded two of his 2024 BAT-man (Be A Technician) Scholarships at the NHRA Toyota U.S. Nationals. The winning students are both Toyota T-Ten students at Ivy Tech Community College. There is a male and a female winner, Jacoby Cameron and Yuridia Mendoza. Their instructor is Tony Harter.

Each will receive approximately $5,700 in Snap-on tools to jumpstart their careers as automotive, diesel or collision technicians. The award will come in the form of a Snap-on mechanic’s cart filled with tools valued at more than $4,200, plus a $1,500 Peak Performance Bonus that will allow the winner to select specialty tools.

Johnson, a two-time U.S. Nationals winner (2005, ’08), was thrilled to award these scholarships.

Students studying to become technicians are invited to apply for the scholarship at

www.SteveJohnsonRacing.com. Finalists will be contacted and asked to submit a short video about their career path.

Over the past 2 years, BAT-man Scholarships have been awarded at technical colleges and high schools in Alabama, Wyoming, Texas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Oklahoma.

“Presenting our BAT-man Scholarships at the U.S. Nationals allows me to forge together the two things in life that I’m most passionate about – racing Pro Stock Motorcycle and inspiring students,” Johnson said.

“My goal is to help not just the winners, but to open the eyes of all the students to the career possibilities in front of them, whether that be with the NHRA or with manufacturer training programs like Toyota’s T-TEN.”

The BAT-man Scholarship is a national program made possible by the support of partners like Peak Automotive, Snap-on Tools, the ASE Education Foundation, and Wings & Warriors.

8 – HECTOR ARANA SR. STILL ENJOYS BEING PART OF PSM SCENE – Hector Arana Sr. doesn’t have anything left to accomplish in the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks.

He has competed in 326 NHRA national events and owns seven wins, 16 runner-up finishes, and one world championship.

These days, he still loves being on the NHRA circuit as the crew chief for his son Hector Arana Jr. and a Gettrx Buell.

“Oh, of course I'm still doing this. It's something that I still love. Still have the passion for it,” Arana Sr. said. “Of course I love Indy. I mean, this is our home track. I also won Indy in 2009 (and Hector Jr. won Indy in 2011). So we have two wins at Indy. It would be even better if we get another one. But this is home track. It's awesome to be here because here's where most of our friends, co-workers, and they will all come over here and get to see what I do after work.”

Through three rounds of qualifying Arana Jr. is sixth on the ladder with his 6.878-second elapsed time at 196.62 mph.

“Every time we go out, we try to swing for the fence. That's how we run it,” Arana Sr. said.

Arana Sr. acknowledged he just loves being part of the sport.

“This is, it's amazing we all get together. We are family. This is like a circuit family because from here we pack. Yeah, we have a week off this time, but we travel all the same route pretty much going to the next track,” Arana Sr. said. “From there we all leave. This is family and everyone I know at one point we don't care for each other, but we still do care in a way. And we watch for each other. We will help each other out.”

Then, Arana Sr. took a minute to think about what another Indy would mean.

“We still got it,” he said.

9 – EDDIE KRAWIEC TALKS ABOUT VANCE & HINES, PSM CLASS – Eddie Krawiec is one of the greatest riders in the history of Pro Stock Motorcycle racing in NHRA. Krawiec has won four world championships (2008, 2011-12 and 2017) and collected 49 Wallys.

Following the 2023 season when Krawiec finished second in the season points driving a Vance & Hines Suzuki, he transitioned to a tuner role for Richard Gadson, the team’s new rider.

“For me it would be getting Richard his first win, and that's a cool deal,” Krawiec said. “Winning Indy as a first win would be pretty cool. Mainly it's about preparation for the Countdown, getting ready. This is the race that could sometimes make or break you because it's points and a half. So doing rounds, keeping a gap, keeping consistency, really where you leave out of here is the important thing.

“I think if you're in the top five going into the Countdown, you have a hundred percent legitimate shot. I've won a championship from the No. 7 spot, Robert Hight's won it from the No. 10 spot. You do have an uphill battle when you get to that point, but I think the goal is to come out here, run as best as you can, do as best as you can, and gain knowledge and data rolling into the Countdown.”

The six-race Countdown to the Championship begins following Indy in Reading, Pa., on Sept. 12-15.

“I got off at the right time with Gaige (Herrera) coming in – that's the way I look at it,” Krawiec said. “But for me, I have not even had the want to get back on the motorcycle as of right now. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. I've told everybody I wouldn't officially say I've retired or just right now stepping back. Business is a priority, racing is a priority – all of it. It's a balance between all. But I think the biggest thing right now is we recognize, and I think it needs to be recognized by a lot of teams, we need to bring in the youth. We need to bring in new people. We need to bring in different talent. We need to bring in new, I don't know how to say it, I guess I would say ‘personalities.’

“We need that as a sport. When you look at some of the other sports – NASCAR, Formula 1, IndyCar also – you constantly have a cycle of new people, new drivers, new individuals. Yes, it's cool to be out here for 40 years. It doesn't mean you have to be out here driving for 40 years. So I look at this as it's the opportunity of paying it forward to the next person. You need to look outside the series and not inside the series for people.”

10 – EVERYBODY’S IN FIELD – There are two rounds of qualifying Sunday at the U.S. Nationals. As it stands now, all 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle racers on the property are in the field.

John Hall is the provisional No. 1 (6.830 seconds), and Wesley Walls (7.479 seconds) is No. 16.

 

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - ANGIE SMITH SETS THE PACE ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE BIG GO

1 – ANGIE SMITH TURNS HEADS WITH PROVISIONAL NO. 1 QUALIFYING SPOT – Angie Smith didn’t know what to expect during Friday’s Q1 qualifying session in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

For good reason. The veteran competitor was competing on a brand-new Buell she had not even made a full pass on before arriving at the U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway Park.

None of that mattered.

Smith clocked a 6.883-second elapsed time at 197.10 mph to take the provisional No. 1 spot. Smith edged her husband, Matt Smith, who was No. 2 on his Buell with a 6.895-second elapsed time at 197.74 mph.

This would be Angie’s first No. 1 qualifier of the season if it stands.

“I got rid of my other bike, that is what happened,” said Angie. “I got a brand-new bike. Matt decided on the way home (from Sonoma, Calif.) that there were some frames sitting there, and 'I’m going to put a bike together.' He literally did all the wiring and all the plumbing, and every single part on that motorcycle is brand new except for me. We went and made three test laps at Rockingham (N.C.) Dragway, and I didn’t even make a quarter-mile run. I made three eighth-mile runs, and Matt said that was enough and 'Let’s go to Indy and you will be fine.'

“Coming to Indy without a full run on a brand-new motorcycle is kind of nerve-wracking. But I guess it all worked out.”

2 – CHRIS BOSTICK SET TO MAKE PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE HISTORY – Chris Bostick has been competing off and on in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class since 1999.

The last few years he has been on a mission in the name of safety for the class and according to Bostick, NHRA is finally taking action.

“The announcement this morning was after three years of me campaigning to get a parachute allowed for use in competition at an NHRA event, they approved it officially this morning,” Bostick said. “So, this weekend, when the senior vice president of our resort sponsor (The Surf Signature RV Resort By Zeman) is here, we'll debut it and deploy it for the very first time ever in NHRA history on a pro stock motorcycle. It is a big deal.”

Bostick took a minute to talk about how he got to this point to make history,

“I started working on it a little over three years ago because the first one was produced for my bike in June of 2021,” he said. “Just over three years ago, we actually had one that we tested. Richard Gadson and I, with my bike in '21, we were testing in Orlando (Fla.) at Orlando Speed World, and I deployed it successfully twice there. And then NHRA just ... they weren't ready to approve it.”

The sanctioning body’s stance changed this week, Bostick said.

On Aug. 21, "we were here testing here at Indy, and with the help of Tim Kulungian with White Alligator Racing -- he has a little more influence. I mean, he's been around so much longer than I have, racing. I'm way older than he is, but he's been around long enough to where they respect his opinion. And we tested it in front of NHRA Tech last Wednesday, two separate test runs with just my bike. And they said ‘yes’ today, this morning. I mean literally this morning.”

Top Fuel Motorcycles have utilized parachutes in NHRA competition, but according to Bostick parachutes have never been used in competition for Pro Stock Motorcycles.

“Pro Stock Motorcycle has never had one on it that's specifically made for a bike. There's been a couple of knuckleheads that have tried a parachute that were way too strong,” Bostick said. “But this parachute is designed not to have any negative G-force. So, whenever it comes out, it's more of the same as if you had your clutch in, went through the finish line, and then, ‘Oh, my gosh, I had no brakes,’ and you let the clutch back out, the engine ... The amount of deceleration that the engine would bring the bike down is equal to what the parachute is. So, it's not like, ‘Oh, it snaps and it's going to hold you.’ And the other thing that is designed is for the crosswind. It's so small and with the vents that are in it, as you travel, speeds that are greater than any amount of crosswind, the crosswind has zero effect on the parachute.

“It'll only have an effect on it once the vehicle speed of the motorcycle is less than the crosswind. So, I mean, we're never racing in 30-mph crosswinds. And so, until the bike's going 30 mph, it has no effect on it -- no more effect than a normal crosswind on a motorcycle would be because the motorcycle is actually creating the higher wind pulling it than the side wind could push it.”

Bostick, who arrived at the U.S. Nationals 10th in the season points standings, had a quick response to why he devoted some much time and energy to this parachute project.

“So, I will be 65 September 17. ... And whenever I decided to get back into this, it was at this race five years ago. And the only hesitation that I had coming back was I know that I'm smart enough, as old as I am now, that if I am not comfortable, I can shut the throttle off. It's just starting to get out of shape, shut the throttle off, abort the run. I don't care if it's final round, abort the run. It's just silly.

“However, something that is beyond my control -- brake failure, a caliper explodes like it's happened on bikes, an engine blowing up catastrophically that would oil down the back tire -- any of those things that I have no control over concern me of not being able to stop before I went off the end of the track, especially short checks like Maple Grove that's coming up the next race or Pomona, California, where it's short and rough. The parachutes are not because we don't have enough brakes. We can lock up our front or back brake at any given moment, but our front tire is so narrow, it's like hitting the brake on your street bike in gravel. It will wash out so quickly on it and then you have no stopping, and you find yourself on the ground like Kelly (Clontz) did. And like I have before. I've come off motorcycles twice and that's why I have a concern.”

Bostick acknowledged Pro Stock Motorcycles with parachutes is something he thought he would never see.

“I kind of gave up on it, but then whenever we left Sonoma, California, and I got the news that they were adding an additional 15 pounds ... I wasn't comfortable stopping my bike at 625 pounds going slower than I am last year than I am this year,” Bostick said. “So now then I'm not 625 and I'm not going 193 or 194, I'm going 197 or 198 or higher as the race season continues, and I'm 660 pounds instead of 625. So put another 35-pound sack of sand on your lap and then try to stop it when I wasn't comfortable stopping it before. That’s when I started campaigning hard and got Tim behind me from the time we left Sonoma until it was finally approved this morning.”

Bostick enjoys racing with the world championship team of White Alligator Racing.

“It's so much more fun for myself and my wife (Teri) being with that team, even though there's a huge added expense of hiring a full professional team to manage your program,” Bostick said. “So, they took possession of my bike in December of last year, and it's not been back in my shop since. They completely stripped it to the bare frame, put their wiring harness, their engines, their computer, their exhaust, their absolute everything on the bike. Tim Kulungian does all of the calls as far as tuning. Then I have Rick Elmore and Chris Parker who are full-time guys that just work on my motorcycle. As Tim describes it, it's a pie with only three pieces. Tim is in control of the tuning and the setup of the bike. Rick and Chris Parker are completely in control of anything that happens.

“Literally from the time I pull into the pits and get off the bike right there, one of those two gentlemen take the bike from me, roll it into the White Alligator pit, and then I don't touch the bike. I'm not allowed to touch the bike again until I get back on it to go to the starting line for the next round. I'm able to interact with the fans. I'm able to enjoy some downtime instead of rushing back to the pit because we had a problem. And then still in my leathers, taking my clutch out and working on the bike and doing it ... And then my wife and I are stressed, and this was just no fun. So, this has made it fun for me again.”

One thing is for sure, Bostick is happy to have Signature RV Resort By Zeman as his primary sponsor.

“I was actually staying at one of their parks in Florida, not the Surf, but at the Southern Sands in Florida this past February, and became friends with the general manager and the company was looking for a way of marketing their resorts primarily in the offseason as the Snowbirds, if you ever, traveled back and the owner or whoever it was that was leading the conference call with all of the general managers said they'd love to have some type of a national exposure, but that would be way too expensive.

"He's telling me this story and I'm like, 'Have I got a deal for you, buddy!'  We weren't able to put it completely together for Gainesville because that was only in a couple of weeks. But the time that we had between Gainesville and then the next race, which was Charlotte, we showed up at Charlotte and had everything ready to go, all monogrammed up and logoed up with the Surf as our title sponsor.”

Bostick made a solid 7.001-second run at 192.82 mph Friday, putting him in the No. 7 spot on the qualifying ladder.

3 – MATT SMITH EYES MORE SUCCESS AT U.S. NATIONALS – Matt Smith is one of the greatest riders in the history of NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class.

He has six world championships on his resume – 2007, 2013, 2018, 2020-22 – and won the Big Go in 2006, 2022 and 2023. Scotty Pollacheck of Matt Smith Racing also won in Indy in 2020.

Smith arrived in Indy second in the points – behind reigning world champion Gaige Herrera out of the Vance & Hines stable – and is fresh off a win in Sonoma, Calif., July 28. It was Smith's first national-event win since Indy a year ago.

“=I like where we're at. I still don't think that the V&H (Vance & Hines) team showed their full hand out West, I mean Seattle and Sonoma, but we'll see what happens,” Smith said. NHRA "put weight on us and – put 15 pounds on us after Sonoma. ... We did some testing, slowed us up a little bit, but we'll see how we play into the competition with everybody else this weekend.”

Adding weight to motorcycles is something Smith knows is part of competing in NHRA.

“Sometimes I think it's unfair, but regardless, we got to go on. We're playing in their sandbox,” Smith said. “And I don't care what they do to everybody as long as each brand runs within three to four hundredths, I think it's good parity and that's what it's all about. Nobody needs to have too big an advantage. That's why we have this class and that's why it's a parity class. It is all-out class, but it is a parity class, so we got to keep everything under wraps.”

With Indy this weekend and the six-race Countdown to the Championship to follow – starting Sept. 12-15 in Reading, Pa. – would love nothing more than to make Pro Stock Motorcycle history by becoming the first seven-time world champ in the class.

Smith is currently tied with six world titles with Andrew Hines (2004-2006, 2014-15 and 2019) and the late Dave Schultz (1987-88, 1991 and 1993, 1994 and 1996).

“That's what we're after (a world championship). We're after getting seven and be the greatest of all time in that category,” Smith said, adding, "f we can get that, that's great. If not, we'll go for it next year. But we're working hard to pursue what we want to do as a team.”

Smith said he has plenty of optimism about Indy this weekend.

“We brought a brand-new bike for (wife) Angie to ride, built from the ground up,” Matt said. “We did a little testing. Everything looks good on it, so we'll see how it works. It's identical to Jianna (Evaristo's) bike. This is our third brand-new bike we built this year. We have been hard at work, and hopefully she can step her game up and be running where we're at.”

Angie is sixth in the season points on the strength of semifinal performances in Gainesville, Fla., and Chicago. Evaristo, the daughter of Top Fuel owner/driver Mike Salinas, is seventh in the points and has one runner-up finish this season in Bristol, Tenn.

John Hall is also part of the MSR team and he’s third in the points. All four of the MSR riders are aboard Buells.

“We are done with the Suzuki program. Actually, I've sold both of my chassis and sold two motors with it. I still got one more (Suzuki) motor, but I don't have any more bikes. So, like I told NHRA, I said, ‘I don't have to have two makes if you keep parity right in the class.’ It saves me a lot of money from having to jump back and forth.”

Matt Smith also acknowledged how special is to him to a perennial championship contender without huge financial backing.

“I take a lot of pride in what we do. We have no CNC machines in our shop. We had just manual labor in our shop and there's only three of us total -- me, Angie, and Michael (Ray) in the shop,” he said. “I think for us to run a four-bike team, we do pretty well. They have 40-some employees over there (at Vance & Hines) and all kind of CNC machines and we keep up pretty good.

“One day maybe we will get that million, million and a half-dollar sponsor they've had for 18 years with Harley. Not disrespecting Denso, but Denso doesn't give us that kind of money to do all that. If they did, I don't know what we could do with our program," he said. "But all in all, Lisa at Denso, they give us what they can and we're so grateful, Lord, it's been a great relationship. They are a great sponsor. Love the company, love them."

And Matt would be thrilled to celebrate another Indy victory Monday.

"Indy is the biggest race of every year. We've won it the last two years, so we're going for a hat trick. I have won it as my very first race (in 2005) and got it taken away and then came back the next year and won it," he said. "We won with Scotty in the COVID year in 2020. So, all in all, this has been a great place for us, and hopefully we'll continue that. All in all, it has been a great place for us and hopefully we will continue that (this weekend).”

 

 

4 – RON TORNOW EXCITED TO RETURN TO INDY – After competing in five of the first races this season, Ron Tornow sat out the West Coast swing of Seattle and Sonoma, Calif. He’s back at the Big Go, and glad to be here.

“We took a break when everybody went out west because we're self-funded, so we can't afford to go out to the western ones because we live in Pittsburgh (Pa.),” Tornow said. “So, we're back now to finish. We're going to do four more events this year. We did five earlier on the East Coast.

“We're here in Indy, then we'll go to Reading (Pa.) in two weeks, then we'll go to Charlotte (N.C.),” Tornow said. “We've decided this year we're going to skip St. Louis. We normally go to St. Louis to finish out the year, but everybody says how great Dallas is, so the plan is we're going to go to Dallas (Oct. 10-13) this year ... and that'll be our final one this year. I’m looking forward to getting back in the seat since it's been a while.”

Tornow last competed on the NHRA national circuit in Norwalk, Ohio, on June 28-30.

Tornow arrived in Indy aboard his Buell. He clocked a 7.141-second run at 188.33 mph, placing him No. 13 on the ladder.

“I do the tuning and so that's why we're slowly creeping up on things,” Tornow said. “Because I don't want to break it because that's the only motor we have and if we break it, we're done. So, I'd love to swing for the fences while we're here and really pull one down because Matt Smith does our motors, so he gives me the power. I just have to find it.”

“Once I find it, then I got to tune the clutch to get it to the ground. He's not going to tell me all those things. I wouldn't expect it, but the power's there. I just got to find it without breaking it. That's our challenge," he said. "But at the last three events this year, every event we've been getting better. Slowly but surely, we've been picking up on our performance. We've been trying different things with the clutch, so we've been experimenting, and it's actually been working out. We are all pretty excited so we're hoping to continue that trend here this weekend. And having five qualifiers will be great for us because we need the data, so hopefully the weather holds out and hopefully we'll see some really good results.”

This is Tornow’s 41st career PSM national event and he’s had four round wins in his career. He is hopeful Indy will be a springboard for the remainder of his race schedule.

“Looking forward to being there (in Reading), because normally we have really good conditions. And so, hoping we can get a lot figured out here this weekend so that we can apply, then when we get there next week because the one big thing, I want to do is hit 200 mph," he said. "I haven't done that yet. I have got to 197 mph. That's our goal (200 mph). My mom (Rita) and everybody knows here as Mama RAT, she wants to see it, so that's all I want to do.”

Unlike years past when race weekends end, Tornow doesn’t have to return to a job.

“I'm retired. I retired at the end of last year. I was in it. I had a consulting business, database consulting. But now I spend all my time getting ready to come to these things, which is great,” Ron said. “I don't know how I did it before because I have to do everything by myself to get ready because I keep everything at my house in Pittsburgh.

“I got to get the motor home all turned around and cleaned up. I got to get all the groceries. I got to work on the bike, I got to get the trailer ready. I got to get everything hooked up when it's ready to go. It's a lot of work so I'm glad now that I don't have a day job. And that was always a problem, too, is running back on Monday morning because I had to be back to work. My brother (Tom) has a more flexible job. He works for Prudential. He's a financial advisor.”

5 – HECTOR ARANA JR. IS UPBEAT FOR ANOTHER RUN AT THE BIG GO ­– The emergence of Hector Arana Jr. in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class was immediate.

Arana Jr. won the 2011 NHRA Rookie of the Year honor and finished second in the PSM class points, thanks to capturing three wins, including the U.S. Nationals in Indy when he defeated Jerry Savoie in the finals.

Arana is back this weekend to try and claim Indy glory aboard his GETTRX Buell. He qualified No. 8 with a 7.032-second elapsed time at 197.22 mph.

“I mean, the season hasn't gone exactly where we wanted it to go, but I think we got things turned around in Sonoma (Calif.), and we got a good baseline,” Arana Jr. said. “We're going to just build off that and we got a good setup on the bike. ... We went home during the little break we had and went through the whole motor, freshened it all up, so we're ready to go for the U.S. Nationals.”

Arana Jr. qualified No. 5 at the last event for the PSM class in Sonoma. He advanced to the semifinals before losing to John Hall, and is eighth in the standings.

“Yeah, it does (seem like a lifetime ago) that I won Indy. But we've won here, and I think we've been to the final either two or three other times. We went to the finals here last year, so we've had good success here. This is one of our home tracks. We look forward to another long weekend.”

Arana Jr. was runner-up in Indy in 2016 to Andrew Hines, in 2017 to Eddie Krawiec, and last year to Matt Smith.

Arana Jr., who started racing full time again in 2023, has had a lot of late-season success in the last two seasons. In 2022, he won the fall races in Dallas and Las Vegas, and last year he was runner-up in Charlotte, N.C.

Part of Arana Jr.’s love for the sport is getting to do it with his family.

“It's a family sport and if I was doing this by myself, I don't think I would enjoy it as much,” Arana Jr. “It's definitely great. My wife and my kids, everybody's here with me while we're racing, so it's definitely great.”

Since being part of the Pro Stock Motorcycle class since he was a youngster following his dad, Arana Jr. knows what it takes to be successful.

“It's the same thing. It's hard work and dedication. We're doing the most that we can with what we have,” Arana Jr. said. “So right now it's a little tough for us. It's just my dad and the shop, and then it's me and him when we're at the track. I mean, we have a bunch of good people that give us a hand and help us out and make all this possible. It's definitely a fight. Hopefully, maybe things turn around next year and maybe we can find even more funding or something like that where we can hire some people at the shop and really get after it.”

At the 2018 race in Gainesville, Fla., Arana became the first Pro Stock Motorcycle rider to break the 200-mph barrier. He clocked a 6.937-second elapsed time at 200.23 mph during a qualifying session March 16. 

The Arana shop is in Corydon, Ind., two hours south of Indianapolis. Hector Jr. lives in Long Island, N.Y. His day job is as an Operations Manager at L3Harris Technologies.

“I don't know if it (racing) is a stress reliever or a stress adder, but it's a great time. I enjoy it,” Arana Jr. said,

 6 – RYAN OEHLER TRYING TO FIND HIS FOOTING BACK IN PSM – "Flying" Ryan Oehler has had his share of success in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class since making his debut in the class in 2017.

He has two Wallys that he has earned in his career by winning in Indianapolis in 2020 and then Las Vegas in 2021. He was seventh in the points in 2020 on the heels of him finishing ninth in the 2019 points. Oehler finished 10th in the points in 2021 and 2022 and was 12th last year. He arrived at the 2024 U.S. Nationals this weekend in Indy 16th in the points while competing in just of four of the eight races so far on the PSM schedule.

“Well, we're here representing for El Bandido Tequilla. We've been working hard to get our program back on track,” Oehler said. “It's going to take a little bit longer still. We've been working on new cylinder heads in our off time and doing some testing. We're definitely trying to find the edge, and we're still going to have to keep looking for a little while. But we're out here, we're not giving up. It's just the only way you can advance your program and move forward is sometimes if you take a step back, and that's what we're trying to do.”

Oehler is piloting a Gen 2 Buell at Lucas Oil Raceway Park. He clocked a 7.097-second time at 188.28 mph Friday, good for the No. 10 spot.

“I've been running that combination for several years,” Oehler said. “Is it just a matter of tweaking and figuring out all the pieces to the puzzle. It's all about development. It's all about making more horsepower per cubic inch than you made yesterday. That's the bottom line. Yes, a tuner can tune the bike to go a better 60 foot and make it to the eighth-mile pretty quick, but if you don't have the horsepower and the beans to roll it out the back, you're not going to keep up with these guys in the class. Everybody's going 200 mph now on the board, even in bad-air days. That means their horsepower has dramatically come up. And we're sure trying, and we've got all the tools in place in our shop to make it happen. Time's the only thing that it's hard to come up with.”

There’s no question time is something Oehler had more of to improve the plight of his racing program.

“When you're already working two guys at 12 hours a day, seven days a week, people ask you, 'What can we buy a sponsor? What can we buy to make you faster?' Time. And the only way you can buy time is with the subcontractors and hiring subcontractors that are qualified for the task at hand. Then being totally aware that that may not work out. You might have to move on to another one.”

Oehler’s hectic schedule has also included additional time with his side project, Tampa Bay Race Rentals, a program that allows people to experience the thrill of drag racing for the first time. The rental program includes two Ford Mustangs, and he offers advice to newcomers to the racing world.

“El Bandido and Tampa Bay Race Rentals have teamed up. We're utilizing the cars for our marketing promotional events. We're taking them to liquor stores, we're taking them to restaurants and bars. And then the members of those establishments, we take them out on the racetrack, and we give them a chance to see what it's like to go drag racing. And then they absolutely fall in love with the brand,” Oehler said.

And Oehler also works at his family-owned AirTec business in Bloomington, Ill.

“I only do the air-conditioning stuff so I can be out here and race,” he said. “Fortunate enough to have a family business that's helped support us and get us out here racing for years and throw a couple of Wallys on the shelf. El Bandido's been behind me in a very big way for the last three years now, and we're out here, every one of these bars and concession areas has multiple El Bandido drinks on tap. We got a midway display set up. We've been doing activations at all the local bars and restaurants around the area, so really making a strong foothold here in Indianapolis for El Bandido. I took a role with the company, so now I work for El Bandido on top of all this. Me and Scotty are representing the Motorsports marketing division of the company. Scotty Hamilton. He has been on my team now for several years.”

 

 

7 – VANCE & HINES HAS PLENTY OF INDY SUCCESS – There’s no question Gaige Herrera’s has been the story of the Pro Stock Motorcycle class since the start of the 2023 season.

That’s what happens when you win 17 races and qualify No. 1 18 times – with still seven races to go this season counting the U.S. Nationals.

Herrera, the reigning world champion, is trying to win his U.S. Nationals title this weekend. If he wins again, it would not be that big of a surprise considering the track record of Vance & Hines at the Big Go.

Eddie Krawiec has three Indy wins (2014, 2017, and 2021) as does Terry Vance (1979, 1985-86); Andrew Hines (2012 and 2016) and Matt Hines (1998-99).

Herrera has an incredible 27-2 elimination-round record this season. His Vance & Hines teammate Richard Gadson has a 12-8 elimination-round record.

Herrera and Gadson have been joined by a third teammate, veteran Geno Scali, the 2003 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champion. Scali plans to compete in the final seven events of the season aboard a Vance & Hines-prepared Suzuki.

Herrera qualified third Friday with a 6.929-second elapsed time. Gadson was No. 5 at 6.964-second time and Scali was No. 12 at 7.134 seconds.

8 – OUTSIDE LOOKING IN NOT AN ISSUE – After Friday’s first round of qualifying at the U.S. Nationals all the Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors were in the field.

That’s because there were only 15 competitors who made runs Friday in what could be a 16-bike field. Ron Tornow, Wesley Wells and Kelly Clontz rounded out the No. 13 through No. 15 spots on the qualifying ladder.

There are four more qualifying sessions before race day Monday to have riders jockeying for position.

9 – CHASE VAN SANT KEEPS MOMENTUM GOING – After turning heads by winning his first career Wally in Seattle, Chase Van Sant is trying to keep his momentum going.

Van Sant arrived in Indy fifth in the points. He qualified No. 6 on Friday with a 6.970-second elapsed time at 193.54 mph.

Van Sant, who is in his second season with White Alligator Racing, has compiled a 12-7 elimination-round record this season, including also making it to the final round in Chicago.

10 – LATE GREAT DAVE SCHULZ STILL IN INDY’S RECORD BOOKS – Dave Schulz, who passed away in 2001, is considered one of the greatest riders in NHRA history.

He earned six world championships, nd he left his mark at the U.S. Nationals, winning six times in 1987-88, 1990, 1992-1994 -- a record for Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Matt Smith leads all active riders in U.S. Nationals wins with three in 2006, 2022-23.