Gadson Gets Long-Awaited First NHRA Win
F
or the better part of the last
two years, Richard Gadson
has been a star in the making
for the Vance & Hines team. This
weekend at the NHRA Thunder
Valley Nationals in Bristol, Ten-
nessee, Gadson fulfilled a lot of
the promise he's shown by win-
ning his first Pro Stock Motor-
cycle event.
Gadson didn't just win, he beat
the hottest rider in the class,
teammate Gaige Herrera. And
Gadson didn't just beat Herrera,
he won the final round by way of
a starting line holeshot, leaving
the starting line first and running
a 6.884-second elapsed time to
edge Herrera's quicker 6.882 in a
battle of matching RevZilla/Vance
& Hines Suzuki Hayabusa entries.
"This is really special, I really
don't know what to say right
now," said Gadson, who was
visibly moved by the win. "I can't
thank the Vance & Hines team
enough for having faith in me. It
hasn't been easy, and I know I've
made a few mistakes along the
way, but we finally got it done.
This is something I've dreamed
about all my life."
The first thing is, I'm exhaust
-
ed. This has been, hands down,
the most exhausting thing I've
ever done. I always knew I could
do it, but it's been a long time
coming. I really needed to win
this for me. I'm just not used to
some of the mistakes I've made.
I had to dig deep and remind
myself of what I'm capable of.
"In some ways I feel like Mr.
Almost," Gadson said. "I almost
won three other races. I almost
won the Rookie of the Year, but
not today. I just needed to make
sure I did everything right on my
end. Today, the motorcycle is
not an excuse. We have three of
them, and they're all good."
Gadson, who has appeared
in four final rounds in his 21
previous starts, rode perhaps the
WIND
IN THE
P32
Richard Gadson
celebrates his first
NHRA Pro Stock
Motorcycle win.
