sion Foods 2Fast2Tasty Chal-
lenge, a special event that brings
back the four semifinal finishers
from the previous event for a
rematch with additional points
and money on the line. Not sur-
prisingly, Herrera also won that
event, defeating rookie Chase
Van Sant in the final round with
a 6.672, the quickest run of the
weekend.
"This race means a lot, obvi-
ously," Herrera said. "Mission is
a big sponsor for us, and for Mis-
sion to put this on and to be part
of it is just a big deal alone but
to be able to get the win means
a lot to the whole team.
"We knew the conditions were
there [to qualify number one].
I was more worried about the
wind. We were all concerned
about the wind because it was
coming and going across the
bleachers. I didn't think I was
going to go faster than my Q1
and Q2 passes because I was all
over the bike. It was going left,
it was going right, so for it to be
able to run 6.67 I was definitely
surprised. But Andrew [Hines,
crew chief] has got this thing on
rails and it's the baddest bike out
here. It's showing. They're flex
-
ing their horsepower, for sure."
For those keeping score, Her-
rera is now a perfect 13-0 this
season, including the Mission
specialty event, and he shows
no signs of slowing down any-
time soon. There are six events
remaining before the start of the
Countdown to the Champion-
ship playoffs and Herrera has
already built a very comfortable
169-point lead over second-
ranked Krawiec while reigning
champ Matt Smith is 175 points
out of the lead.
Ellis has raced sporadically
over the past few seasons, but
he couldn't pass up a chance to
claim his first win since 2016
when Smith offered him a ride
on his Buell V-twin in Joliet.
Showing no signs of rust, El
-
lis went to the final with wins
against Chris Bostick, Chase Van
Sant and Hector Arana Jr.
The next event for the NHRA
Pro Stock Motorcycle class will
be the Thunder Valley Nationals
in Bristol, Tennessee, June 9-11.
Kevin McKenna
FINAL
1. Gaige Herrera (Suz)
2. Chip Ellis (Bue)
VOLUME ISSUE MAY , P33
Herrera's latest victory
came at the Route 66 NHRA
Nationals in Chicago.
