Herrera's Perfect Start Continues
I
t's often been said that cham-
pionships are won in the winter
months and that might well be
the case for the Vance & Hines
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle
team when they made the deci-
sion to add rising star Gaige Her-
rera to their team last November.
Herrera made his NHRA debut
last season and competed in six
events. His early results may not
have been overly impressive, but
his riding ability and attitude was,
and that was enough to catch the
eye of team owners Terry Vance
and Byron Hines. Fast forward six
months and Herrera is the hottest
racer in drag racing, having won
his first three starts, including the
Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66
Nationals in Joliet, Illinois, May
19-21.
Once again, Herrera ran the
table by qualifying in the num
-
ber-one spot, and he remained
unbeaten on the season when
he defeated veteran Chip Ellis
in the final round. Herrera's 6.71
elapsed time easily covered the
6.79 of Ellis, with both riders top-
ping 200-mph.
"All day, my bike has been a
bracket bike," Herrera said. "It
was on point all weekend, and it
means a lot to win here [at Route
66 Raceway] with friends and
family out here with me. That's
one thing you don't forget. I have
a really good team behind me,
and this goes out to all of them."
Herrera wasn't seriously
challenged in any round as he
handily defeated Ron Tornow,
Marc Ingwersen and his team
-
mate, Eddie Krawiec, on his way
to career victory number three.
Krawiec was able to put up a
decent fight with a 6.77 on his
Mission Foods Suzuki, but Her-
rera responded with a 6.70.
"Getting to race Eddie in the
third round was definitely a
tough one, and then in the final
with Chip; I grew up looking up
to Chip Ellis," Herrera said. "That
was definitely a really special
one to me. I've said all year, I'm
living the dream. I really am."
On Saturday, Herrera got a
chance to compete in the Mis
-
WIND
IN THE
P32
Gaige Herrera on the Vance & Hines Suzuki hasn't lost a race this year. PHOTOS: MATT POLITO
