wasn't far behind with a 6.807 at
196.04.
"John Hall is a good friend of
mine, but he beat me in the final
in Norwalk a few weeks ago,
and that is one race that kind
of slipped through the cracks. I
thought I had it, so to bring this
one home is really big. I said
they [Matt Smith Racing] won
the battle, but we won the war."
Sonoma Raceway is one of
the most popular tracks on the
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Rac
-
ing tour, but it's also one of the
most challenging due to its ever-
changing wind and weather pat
-
terns. Gadson and the Vance &
Hines team admittedly struggled
to find the right combination on
race day, but by the time they
reached the final round, their
Suzuki Hayabusa was dialed in.
"We were behind going into
the final, but our boys put their
minds together in the trailer, and
we made a tune-up decision
that we thought might get the
job done," Gadson said. "When I
got the bike into third gear, I was
pretty sure John wasn't going to
catch me."
Hall, who ended a 13-year
winless drought last month
in Norwalk, Ohio, reached the
final round for the second time
in three races, defeating Chris
Bostick, points leader Gaige
Herrera and Smith, who won the
GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle
All-Star Callout on Saturday for
the second straight year.
In the championship battle,
Herrera currently has a 70-point
lead over teammate Gadson.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag
Racing Series returns to action
August 14-17 with the 43rd an
-
nual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals
at Brainerd International Race-
way in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Kevin McKenna
Final
1. Richard Gadson (Suz)
6.756 - 199.97 mph
2. John Hall (Bue)
6.807 - 196.04 mph
WIND
IN THE
P58
Gadson and the Vance
& Hines team celebrate
Gadson's second career win.
