RevZilla/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Richard Gadson won his first race in 2025 and carried that momentum throughout the season, where he finished with four wins and the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship. A long off-season has apparently done nothing to affect that momentum, as Gadson kicked off 2026 with another win at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
By Kevin McKenna
Carrying the number one plate for the first time, Gadson rode his Suzuki to a 6.753 at just over 200 mph to claim the win over John Hall, who wasn’t far behind on his Matt Smith Racing Buell V-twin. Gadson aided his cause with a sharp 0.018 reaction time, getting off the starting line well ahead of Hall.
“I’d say this is a pretty resounding statement to open the season,” Gadson said. “You know, I like to say it was a long winter. The way last season ended [not racing in Pomona], I had my own kind of issues with that. I got the trophy and the check, but it wasn’t exactly what I envisioned. Anyway, we won’t go down that road, but I kind of still felt like I had something to prove.
“Matt Hines [team member] told me before we left the shop, he said, ‘Don’t race like you’re the World Champion. Race the same way that got you the championship. Don’t let up.’ So, that was what I did, and it worked out for me this weekend. I think I made eight passes within a couple of hundredths of a second, and I think every [reaction time] was between 0.009 and 0.021. We were on repeat. That’s just the kind of weekend it was.”
Gadson’s biggest accomplishment may well have been to avoid the upsets that befell many of the other pre-race favorites. For example, Denso Buell’s Angie Smith was the low qualifier with a great 6.748, but her shot at a win came to an end in round two when she lost on a holeshot to Steve Johnson.
Smith’s husband, Matt, also went out a bit earlier than expected when his Denso Buell slowed against Clayton Howey, who is in just his second year in the class but has already made tremendous forward progress.
Two-time World Champion Gaige Herrera figured to have a clear shot at the final, but he lost a close encounter against Hall. Both racers were nearly perfect off the starting line, and Hall won with a 6.748 to Herrera’s 6.758 elapsed time.
Gadson, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Sunday, also narrowly avoided a catastrophe when he nearly hit one of the timing blocks in the center of the track, a move that would result in an instant disqualification. The foam timing block moved, but video replay determined that it was wind-aided and that Gadson did not make contact with it. All of this occurred after opponent Clayton Howey had red-lighted at the start.
“I knew that Clayton red-lighted, but I did not know that I would have been disqualified if I had hit the block and he’d be [reinstated],” Gadson said. “I guess I should know the rules better. I didn’t want to hit the block because even though it’s foam, it’s going to hurt at 170-180 mph, and the first thing to hit it would have been my foot.
“At this track, there is a lot of crown in the center, and the right lane pulls you towards the wall, and I was over there a couple of times this weekend. After you pass the bleachers, the wind also behaves differently, so you don’t have much room for error.”
Gadson had plenty of competition for last year’s title, but he’s also convinced that this year will be even more difficult, and there will be more winners. Last year, Gadson, Herrera, Hall and Matt Smith were the only four to win at least one event.
“Nobody is going to dominate this year; it’s just too close,” Gadson said. “The whole field is too tight, but you are going to need to make flawless runs in order to be successful, so that’s my focus for the rest of the season.”
The Pro Stock Motorcycle class will return to action on April 24-26 at the Four Wide Nationals from zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina.CN
2026 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Round 1 Results
ROUND ONE — Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.830, 196.99 def. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.799, 199.52; Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.826, 198.23 def. Ryan Oehler, Buell, 6.832, 197.28; Angie Smith, Buell, 6.747, 200.47 def. Kimberly Morrell, Suzuki, 18.402, 40.79; Clayton Howey, Suzuki, 6.786, 200.00 def. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.854, 198.90; John Hall, 6.796, 199.11 def. Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.800, 198.85; Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.755, 201.46 def. Marc Ingwersen, Buell, 8.746, 102.14; Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.769, 200.83 def. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.836, 198.44; Matt Smith, Buell, 6.739, 201.67 def. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.873, 195.28;
QUARTERFINALS — Gadson, 6.757, 200.59 def. Van Sant, 6.808, 198.82; Johnson, 6.863, 196.36 def. A. Smith, 6.796, 198.52; Hall, 6.748, 200.68 def. Herrera, 6.758, 200.65; Howey, 6.822, 197.33 def. M. Smith, 6.836, 199.11;
SEMIFINALS — Gadson, 7.118, 150.06 def. Howey, Foul – Red Light; Hall, 6.836, 199.46 def. Johnson, 6.862, 194.27;
FINAL
- John Hall (0.047) 6.799-198.38
- Richard Gadson (0.018) 6.753-200.05
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