WIND
IN THE
P44
sometimes to the point where
the lines are blurry in our com-
petitiveness because he's a
friend," Gadson said. "I've got
a lot of respect for the guy, but
I'm playing mind games the
whole time. He's playing games
the whole time, and you know I
said, 'It's his race to lose,' hop-
ing that he would lose the race
somehow. In order to win the
race, you've got to be green four
times. Gaige went for the E.T.,
and he got away with it three
rounds, but we decided we're
just going to race our lane, so it's
a lot of strategizing, and it paid
off."
Herrera reached the finals
for the fourth time this season
and the 36th time in his career
thanks to round wins against
Lance Bonham, Clayton Howey
and Joey Gladstone.
While Gadson and Her-
rera met in the final, it could be
argued that Angie Smith had
the best bike in the field, as she
qualified her Denso Buell on the
pole with a strong 6.674-second
run, the best of her career. Ryan
Oehler also continued his recent
string of strong performances
with a 6.681 for the number four
spot in qualifying.
Gadson and Herrera are lead-
ing the points battle, with 2286
and 2222 points, respectively,
while six-time World champ Matt
Smith is 81 points back from the
top in third, and Michigan win-
ner John Hall is fourth on 2201
points.
The NHRA Mission Foods
Drag Racing Series returns to
action October 2-4 with the 15th
annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA
Midwest Nationals at World
Wide Technology Raceway in St.
Louis.
Kevin McKenna
FINAL
1. Richard Gadson (Suz) (0.0434)
6.7898-199.65 mph
2. Gaige Herrera (Suz) (-0.0189)
6.8112-176.82 mph
Gadson now has a 64-point lead with four rounds to go.
