Gadson Inches
Closer to First
NHRA Title
S
ix months ago, the thought
of Richard Gadson unseating
his Vance & Hines teammate
and two-time World champ
Gaige Herrera as the NHRA Pro
Stock Motorcycle Champion
seemed absurd.
Today, not so much.
On what could only be de
-
scribed as a perfect weekend,
Gadson extended his points
lead with a final-round win over
rookie Brayden Davis in the final
round of the Texas NHRA Fall
Nationals near Dallas. Gadson
ran 6.796 at 200.37 mph in the
final to claim his fourth win of
the season. Gadson also extend
-
ed his points lead over Herrera
with just two rounds remaining
in the season.
"You watch this happen for
other people, and you want it for
yourself, but I try to live in the
moment," Gadson said. "I try to
remember, this is the stuff you
watched Gaige [Herrera] do, stuff
you watched Andrew [Hines] and
Eddie [Krawiec] do, and you're
doing it right now. I just try to be
present mentally in that moment
and just say, 'You're living that
dream.'
"I woke up this morning, and
I looked at the ladder and said,
'It's going to be a long day,' be
-
cause I know everybody's tough
right now. I'm just trying to keep
my foot on the gas and hold on
for dear life. I'm extremely moti
-
vated right now. I feel like I have
something to prove."
Gadson gained the upper
hand in the Texas heat by quali-
fying in the number-one spot be-
fore scoring wins against Lance
Bonham, Clayton Howey and
seven-time champ Matt Smith
to reach the final round. Gad-
son did not win a race in 2024,
his first season with the Vance
& Hines team, but he's quickly
made up for lost time with four
wins in six final rounds. He's also
got a record of 32-9 in elimina-
tion rounds.
Davis, aboard his PowerTrain
Suzuki, had to settle for his third
runner-up finish of the season,
but he's well on his way to be-
coming a legitimate Rookie of
the Year contender, even though
he missed nearly half the events
this season.
Davis advanced to his third
final round in his debut season
thanks to victories against Ryan
Oehler, John Hall and Herrera.
Davis won that round when Her
-
rera red-lighted. That opened the
door for Gadson to extend his
points lead, and he did just that.
Gadson now leads Herrera
by just 72 points with two races
remaining, although the final
event of the season in Pomona,
California, features points-and-
a-half. Matt Smith remains in
the running with 105 points to
make up, while Davis has moved
to fourth, although he's facing a
186-point deficit, and he'd need
a miracle to win the title.
Kevin McKenna
FINAL
1. Richard Gadson (Suz) 0.011,
6.796-200.37
2. Brayden Davis (Suz) 0.031,
6.817-200.34
WIND
IN THE
P60
Richard Gadson
was the last man
standing at the
Texas NHRA Fall
Nationals.
