WIND
IN THE
P54
a 6.857 at just 170 mph but was
able to carry enough momentum
to win the quad, although it was
much closer than he expected it
to be.
"I had the kill switch come
out when I put the bike in high
gear and I thought I was done
for," Herrera said. "My head hit
the windscreen and I pulled in
the clutch and just hoped for
the best. Fortunately, I had a
good reaction time and that was
enough to get it done. At that
point, I was just hoping for the
best."
Runner-up Smith, who gener
-
ally does well at four-wide races,
and events at zMax Dragway,
struggled in qualifying at the
start of the event, but made
a nice rebound at his home
event. Smith advanced through
the first quad by wheeling his
Denso Suzuki past Jerry Savoie,
rookie Chase Van Sant and Marc
Ingwersen in the opening round.
Smith then finished second to
Herrera in the semifinal round
although he advanced by beat
-
ing Savoie and Clontz.
Herrera has made just 15 runs
in NHRA competition since join-
ing the Vance & Hines team last
winter, and all of them have been
quick, but he acknowledges that
he's not exactly mistake-free and
still has a lot to learn in his first
full season in the class.
"On the first run we made this
weekend on Friday, I was lined
up straight, but when I threw the
[clutch] lever, the bike didn't go
straight. I wrung out low gear too
long and that caused a transmis
-
sion issue. That was totally on
me. Coming from no [wheelie]
bar background, there was going
to be a few adjustments that
I had to make. Andrew [Hines,
crew chief] has been good about
coaching me and fixing a few
bad habits."
The Pro Stock Motorcycle
class enjoyed a five-week break
between the first two rounds of
the season, but they'll be busy
from this point forward includ
-
ing the next event at Route 66
Raceway in Joliet, May 19-21. It
will mark the first event in Joliet
since the 2019 season.
Kevin McKenna
Herrera hasn't lost yet this season.
