It’s taken a few races, but RevZilla/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Richard Gadson finally feels he’s regained the form that made him the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Champion in 2025.
At the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, June 26-27, Gadson swept the weekend, winning Saturday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and following it with an event win on Sunday.
By Kevin McKenna
In both final rounds, Gadson beat his Vance & Hines teammate, Gaige Herrera, who left early for a red-light start in both races. Sunday’s win gave Gadson his second title of the season and extended his lead in the championship standings.
“Obviously, I didn’t lie yesterday when I said it’s pretty much, ‘Are you willing to red-light in this situation?’ He [Herrera] is a tough competitor, and he’ll rebound, and it’ll probably be hell for us all for the next couple of races,” Gadson said. “I’m happy, and I don’t know if you believe in energies, but I feel like this place [Norwalk Raceway] owed me one. I got the ice cream scoop [trophy] that I always hoped for: a double up with the Mission #2Fast2Tasty win and the overall win. It doesn’t get much sweeter than this.”
Gadson was stout in Sunday’s final round, going 6.849 seconds at 197.36 mph en route to his sixth career victory and first at Summit Motorsports Park. Gadson and Herrera have now met in back-to-back final rounds, with Herrera winning in Bristol, Tennessee, and Gadson returning the favor this weekend.
“You know I’m not going to cut him [Herrera] any slack because he’s not going to do that for me. I guarantee that,” Gadson said. “We’re teammates, and he’s about the best teammate you could ask for, but we still both want to win, and we push each other to be better. We also talk a lot of crap, probably more than the public even knows.
“As for this track, I don’t think I’ve given Norwalk its due just how good it’s been to me,” Gadson said. “This is the first overall win, but I’ve had a lot of success here now: two #2Fast2Tasty wins and a final round last year. I love Norwalk.”
Herrera reached his second straight final and third of the season by taking down Jianna Evaristo and Angie Smith. Gadson’s points lead now stands at 83 over Herrera.
The other impressive performance of the weekend came from Joey Gladstone, who is in his second event as a replacement rider for six-time World champ Matt Smith, who continues to recover from recent surgery. Gladstone hadn’t ridden a Pro Stock Motorcycle in two years when he was pressed into service two weeks ago in Bristol. This time, he looked much more comfortable, earning wins over Bud Yoder and defending event champ John Hall to reach a respectable semifinal finish. Gladstone had a shot to beat Gadson, but red-lighted by just two-thousandths of a second, ending his weekend.
The Pro Stock Motorcycle class now gets a bit of a break, as they will not race again until the U.S. Nationals, September 4-7. However, the top eight riders will go to Sonoma Raceway for the special (non-points) All-Star Callout event on July 17-19.
2026 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Round 7 Results
ROUND ONE — Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.890, 195.45 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.927, 176.07; Angie Smith, Buell, 6.853, 198.32 def. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.065, 188.46; John Hall, 6.878, 198.00 def. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.950, 194.63; Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 7.007, 192.49 def. Ryan Oehler, 6.970, 191.97; Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.859, 197.31 def. Marc Ingwersen, 6.969, 191.57; Joey Gladstone, Buell, 6.888, 195.05 def. Bud Yoder II, Buell, Broke – No Show; Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.811, 198.15 def. Odolph Daniels, Suzuki, Broke; Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.795, 198.82 was unopposed;
QUARTERFINALS — Gladstone, 6.893, 194.10 def. Hall, 6.934, 195.59; Smith, 6.865, 197.48 def. Davis, Foul – Red Light; Gadson, 6.836, 197.54 def. Van Sant, 7.030, 191.21; Herrera, 6.816, 198.35 def. Evaristo, 6.906, 196.42;
SEMIFINALS — Gadson, 6.857, 196.82 def. Gladstone, Foul – Red Light; Herrera, 6.843, 197.68 def. Smith, 6.875, 197.10;
FINAL — Richard Gadson (Suz) 6.860-195.79 (-0.004), Gaige Herrera (Suz) 6.849-197.36 (0.040)
