NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Gaige Herrera’s Pro Stock Motorcycle victory at the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals has put him within striking distance of a second straight NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series world championship, a journey that started at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway two years ago.

Herrera’s riding style aboard class veteran Gary Stoffer’s rental bike in six races in 2022 had caught the eye of Andrew Hines as he was looking for new riders to replace Eddie Krawiec and Angelle Sampey, who were moving on to other challenges. Hines invited him to audition for the Vance & Hines team.

When Herrera first hopped on a Vance & Hines bike the Monday after the 2022 Las Vegas event for his audition with the team, no one, not even Herrera himself, could have anticipated the rapid rise that awaited him in the NHRA world. 

His first test runs were eye-opening and nerve-wracking.

"I just told myself, ‘Don’t screw this up,’ and I was definitely nervous,” he admitted. “I rolled up into the water box and forgot to put the bike into gear, and Andrew looked at me like, ‘Are you going to put it in gear?’ Before that first pass, I didn’t realize how much power it had. I'd ridden other bikes, no-bar bikes that have 600-700 horsepower, but you know, one of these, the first 300 feet, there's nothing like it.”

But despite the bike’s intense power, Herrera’s style was undeniably smooth. Herrera’s unique riding technique — immediately shifting his body weight forward in a way that others couldn’t quite replicate— became a signature move. It has been referred to as "the lunge," a motion that Herrera says makes him feel in sync with the bike, as though he moved with it instead of being pulled by it. It’s a subtle yet critical motion that many have tried to emulate and became a defining characteristic of Herrera’s riding style.

“I have a video of the very first pass I made on the bike,” he said, “and you can hear Ed and Andrew clapping and Andrew saying, ‘See, I told you so.’ When we looked at the data, and at the G-meter stuff, Andrew's like, ‘I've never seen anything like that.’

“How you move your body weight on the motorcycle changes the dynamics of how the bike reacts. I’ve always done it to help me mentally, be with the bike. I feel like if I'm moving before the bike moves, then I'm just going with instead of the bike pulling me, and then you're behind the bike.”

Herrera also remembers his first meeting with team owner Terry Vance.

“I had never personally met Terry, and he says, ‘Step in my office; I gotta figure out why I'm hiring you. Andrew talks highly of you, but I don't know anything about you.’ That was probably the most intimidating part. He asked me about how I was in high school, if I played sports and what I was into as far as classes, if I went to college and what I did for a living, whether or not I had a girlfriend or a kid; you know, just trying to get to know me. So, riding the bike the first time and talking to Terry were the most stressful part of it all."

Even once he got the job, Herrera known by just few, he initially felt out of place in the Professional drag racing circuit, especially by being thrust into the limelight and quickly making waves with his unique riding style and remarkable wins.

“I’m not gonna lie; at first, it was a little intimidating,” he said. “Just with the media and all the cameras and talking. I don't talk much normally, so that was a big adjustment for me. It was a lot to take in at first, what I should or could say, but now I feel like I'm myself all the time. I’m not scared of what to say or what not to say. I'm just being me now, and it helps me enjoy it a lot more."

Today, Herrera is no longer the newcomer in awe of his surroundings. He’s a respected competitor, a member of the NHRA family, and someone who transformed his passion into a legacy.

“I dreamed of just being able to hold one Wally before; now I got 21. It's insane. I go home, and I see all the Wallys and have all of these race wins. It’s just kind of crazy how much has happened in two years and racing the professionals I grew up watching. This is all something I never would have dreamed of, and now I'm living the dream and getting to experience it with all of them.”