Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1539926
Herrera: Back In The Battle A fter dominating the regular season in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle class, RevZil- la/Vance & Hines Suzuki's Gaige Herrera had a rough two races to start the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Herrera lost early in Reading, Pennsylva - nia, and Concord, North Carolina, and when he arrived at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis for round three, Sep - tember 26-28, he found himself in fourth place, trailing team- mate Richard Gadson by 71 points. Facing perhaps the most ad - versity he's known in his career, Herrera responded in a major way when he beat Vance & Hines teammate Brayden Davis in the final round. Davis, a surefire candidate for the Rookie of the Year award, red-lighted by just a thousandth of a second and Her - rera rode to a 6.791 at 199.61 to earn his sixth victory this season and the 27th in his career. More importantly, Herrera moved to the second spot and is now just 29 points behind Gadson. "This means a lot. Moving from fourth to second in points, that's awesome, but I'm still the hunter or a chaser. I have to chase my teammate," Herrera said. "Brayden did me a little favor there in the final." Herrera suffered a shocking round-one loss a week earlier in Charlotte, ending a 40-race streak where he'd won at least one round of competition. Eager to make amends and celebrate his birthday, Herrera domi - nated the weekend by qualifying number one and knocking off the Matt Smith Racing entries of Jianna Evaristo and Angie Smith to reach the final round. Team leader Matt Smith, also a title contender, fell early, further scrambling the points battle with three races left in the 2025 season. "Matt [Smith] did me a big favor. That's like the best birth - day present ever, him going out early. That makes it interesting," Herrera said. Davis is not in contention for the championship, but he's a favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award, and he seems des - tined to get his first win at any moment. In St. Louis, he rode his PowerTrain Suzuki to the final round for the second time this season, with wins against Chris Bostick, Chase Van Sant and Richard Gadson. Davis was quicker than Herrera in the final and almost certainly would have won if not for the red-light start. "When you race Gaige, you've got to be on your game because he's just good," Davis said. "I knew I had to push it a little if I was go - ing to beat him, and I guess I just pushed it a little too hard." After a week off, the series will head to the Texas Motorplex near Dallas on October 8-12. Kevin McKenna Final 1. Gaige Herrera (Suz) 0.048 (6.791) 199.61 mph 2. Brayden Davis (Suz) -0.001 (6.779) 200.53 mph WIND IN THE P68 Gaige Herrera put himself back into championship contention with a big win in St. Louis.