what promises to be a seesaw
battle with Smith that likely won't
conclude until the final weeks of
the season.
"It's very hard to believe and
almost too hard to keep track
of what we've done in two short
seasons," Herrera said. "A lot
has happened. When it comes
to Matt, we do a lot of back-and-
forth [trash] talking. That's what
racers live for. He's our toughest
competitor, and I love racing
against him. He always brings
out the best in me.
Smith may have lost the final,
but he has plenty of reasons
to feel optimistic, not the least
of which is his track record of
204.26 mph in qualifying. On
a weekend when heavy winds
wreaked havoc in the class,
Smith appeared to have few
problems as he advanced from
the number-two qualifying spot
to the final, beating Wes Wells,
Jianna Evaristo and Chris Bos
-
tick along the way.
While Smith and
Herrera have
made most of the headlines this
season, the Chicago event repre
-
sented a "get healthy" weekend
for
a couple of other tour regu-
lars. Chris Bostick won his first
elimination
round in over a year
and then reached the semi-finals
on his Suzuki, prepared by the
WAR team. The same could be
said for Steve Johnson, who was
only 11th quickest in qualifying,
but managed to win two rounds
on race day by defeating Ryan
Oehler and Herrera's Vance &
Hines teammate, Richard Gad
-
son.
The Pro
Stock Motorcycle
class will return on June 6-8 at
the Super Grip NHRA Thunder
Valley Nationals at historic Bris
-
tol Dragway in Bristol, Tennes-
see.
Kevin McKenna
FINAL
1. Gaige Herrera (Suz) 6.777 /
198.90 mph
2. Matt Smith (Bue) 6.805 /
199.02 mph
VOLUME 62 ISSUE 20 MAY 20, 2025 P37
Herrera went up against
rival Matt Smith in the
finals, winning a close one.
