Few drag racers have made such an immediate impact on their class than NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Richard Gadson.
The Philadelphia native, who now calls Brownsburg, Indiana, home, literally burst upon the NHRA scene in 2024 and one year later, he edged Gaige Herrera to win the 2025 PSM championship. Along the way, Gadson earned victories at Bristol, Sonoma, Charlotte (fall) and Dallas, and was runner-up at Charlotte (spring), Norwalk and Seattle.
The 40-year-old has already picked up where he left off at the end of last season, winning the 2026 season-opening race at Gainesville, and followed that up with runner-up finishes at Charlotte and Valdosta.
The rider of the RevZilla/Mission/Vance & Hines Suzuki, along with former PSM champ Eddie Krawiec as his crew chief, has enjoyed the fruits of success that have come with being crowned a class champion.
But there’s another side to Gadson that is as important to him as cutting a perfect light at the starting line and ending up ahead at the finish line: giving back to those who have helped him over the years.
Gadson’s father passed away when he was a young child. His mother knew she’d need help raising her son, particularly a strong male influence, so shortly after her husband passed, she enrolled Richard in the “Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS)” organization.
“My father passed when I was six years old, so my mom signed me up for it,” Gadson told CompetitionPlus.com Friday morning at Route 66 Raceway in suburban Chicago, preparing for the weekend’s Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals. “She was a single mom and sometimes a woman can’t raise a man, so (the Big Brother) kind of helped fill in for that role.”
Being part of BBBS helped shape Gadson into the man he is today. And once he essentially graduated into adulthood, he wanted to give back by transitioning into being a Big Brother himself, helping keep others on the straight and narrow and being a positive influence on them.
“(BBBS is) a really cool organization,” Gadson said. “I love what they stand for. I love what they do.
“Me and my big brother are still friends to this day. It’s a mentorship program. Anybody can sign up for it. I encourage anybody to sign up. It actually says on their website, you can change the odds of one of these kids’ lives and how they see the world and what they want to be, what they want to do and just change their chances.”
Gadson’s “big brother” throughout his teens and into young adulthood is named Jason Peck. Both men are still great friends and are excellent examples of the lasting impact BBBS can have on both youths as well as their mentors.
“You’ve got a lot of kids who maybe don’t have the best opportunity in the program and you can make a difference,” Gadson said. “I knew Jason before he had his first kid. When he bought his first house, I knew him. That was my first taste of somebody buying a home and I got to see that happen. He took me with him for all of these things. So it was a really positively impactful program for me in my life.
“They sometimes say (a “Big Brother” is) like a little league coach. That’s a thankless kind of job, but being a big brother, big sister, there’s lots of things that comes into that.”
The impact a Big Brother has on a youngster in life is a story that is not well-known or publicized. Gadson uses his platform as a high-profile drag racer to illustrate what BBBS has done for him and thousands of other kids.
“No, they don’t take it for granted, and it is a thankless job,” Gadson said. “It’s not the most praised thing in the world, but it is from the kids to the big (brother). They appreciate it. It’s a really cool thing, man.”
That’s why Gadson is a man who not only talks the talk, he also walks the walk. He’s in the process of starting a foundation to complement his involvement with BBBS.
“It’s something that I don’t just want to talk about, I intend to be a big (Big Brother) as well,” Gadson said. “I’ve been working on myself off the racetrack and I’m really just kind of getting my foundation together to where I could be a positive impact for these kids. But for right now, what I’m doing right now (as a Big Brother) is my way of giving back.”
When his father passed away, Gadson experienced much of the same feelings as other kids who’ve lost a parent to death. There’s a feeling of loneliness, alienation and feeling a need for someone to help be a guiding force and light.
That’s why being a positive influence as a Big Brother is so important to Gadson.
“When you’re a little kid in the big city, you can feel very small in the grand scheme of things and your wants, needs, issues, dreams, or whatever might be just kind of like in your mind and nobody shares that sentiment with you because everybody’s just trying to survive,” Gadson said emphatically.
“Everybody around you, your family, everybody’s just trying to figure out a way to survive and take care of you. So that’s my perspective now as an adult.”
Peck proved to be the perfect mentor and guide for Gadson to build a good life.
“Jason was somebody who was like, ‘Hey, I know you could go around the corner of the park and shoot basketball and play whatever case may be, but why don’t we go to a national park? Why don’t we go to an air show? Why don’t we go to a Sixers game, Eagles game, all these different things and just show me different things that I would have never been able to do.
“He showed me a bunch of things that my mom probably wouldn’t have had on the list of things to take me to do. Jason did that. He expanded my horizons, if you will.”
Gadson has mentored a number of children both at home as well as on the road at various races, showing kids what drag racing is all about. But at the same time, Gadson imparts upon his young charges how to be successful, how to work hard to achieve their goals and, like Gadson, then give back to help the next generation that follows them.
Gadson estimates that between his local involvement with BBBS and hosting kids at various NHRA races, he’s mentored more than 40 kids.
“I’ve met 40 kids so far and of those kids, some of them follow me on Instagram, some of them message me,” Gadson said. “Some of their parents have messaged me. It’s like, ‘My kid won’t stop talking about you and what they saw.’
“And then some kids have, from coming here and hanging out with another kid, those kids became best friends. One kid actually from here in the Chicago chapter was really interested in cars and motorcycles. This was his first time ever to a drag race and he hung out all day. He came back, he sat on the motorcycle. He really had probably the time of his life. So those experiences have really made it worth it.”
“He was interested in cars and bikes. He was an older kid. He might have been 13 or 14, but you can tell when you’re talking to one that it matters and he was just totally amazed by the vehicles, the bikes, the cars. He reminded me of myself when I was a kid, he even knew a little bit about cars and bikes and he just had never been to a race. He sat home and watched on YouTube or on TV. So that one, he really stuck with me.”
Being a good influence and mentor is what it’s all about, but there are also some funny instances that bring a smile to Gadson’s face.
“I met a kid in Charlotte this year, she was just a little girl,” he said with a smile on his face. “She might have been eight years old and she said to me, ‘Hey, you’re going to win, and when you win, can you split the money with me? I’m broke.’ I thought she was the cutest thing, that she shot her shot like that. I thought it was adorable. So those are the ones that stick out to me.
“About ten years ago, long before NHRA was even on the radar, even a possibility, I promised myself, if I ever did get that far, this is what I’m going to do. And it meant to me to be able to do it.”
