Herrera Wins Gainesville NHRA Opener
W
ith a roster of former and
current riders that includes
at least a half-dozen NHRA
World Champions, the Vance &
Hines team certainly knows how
to spot talent.
That was never more evident
than the season-opening Amalie
Gatornationals in Gainesville,
Florida, March 10-12, where the
team's latest addition, Gaige
Herrera, dominated the annual
season opener. Herrera, in just
his seventh start in the Pro
Stock Motorcycle class, quali-
fied number one in the quick
field and made the fastest run of
each elimination round to score
a clean sweep of the event.
In the final round, Herrera
wheeled the Vance & Hines Mis-
sion Foods Suzuki to a 6.706 to
easily outdistance Denso Buell's
Angie Smith, who made a com-
petitive run with a 6.845, but was
well behind at the finish line.
"This whole weekend has just
been amazing; I'm still trying
to believe it's all real," Herrera
said. "From the time [crew chief]
Andrew Hines called me last No-
vember and offered me the job,
I've just been living the dream.
The thing I wanted most was to
be able to reward them for hav-
ing faith in me.
"This is an awesome team to
work with," Herrera added. "They
helped me out a lot as far as rid-
ing the bike and knowing what
to do, and it's showing. Right
now, I'm at a loss for words. I
still can't believe I'm holding this
Wally [trophy]."
Herrera performed well in
all four elimination rounds but
admitted that his quarterfinal
WIND
IN THE
P40
Gaige Herrera dominated the
annual Gainesville NHRA Pro Stock
Motorcycle season opener. Herrera
qualified number one in the field and
scored a clean sweep of the event.
PHOTOS: MATT POLITO
