HE DREAM season that unfolded for Gaige Herrera was a tremendous surprise to everyone , but no one was more surprised than Herrera himself . After racing six Pro Stock Motorcycle events at the end of 2022 , Herrera caught the attention of one of the most successful teams in the history of the sport , and he was tapped to ride the Mission Foods Suzuki for Vance & Hines in the 2023 season .

The events that transpired over the course of the year were the stuff dreams are made of ; the team dominated immediately and unabashedly with Herrera on the bike and Andrew Hines on the tune , and with 10 wins in 14 events claimed heading into the NHRA Finals , they had only to break the beams in the first round of qualifying to lock down the championship .

For Herrera , his passion for two-wheeling it through life started at the age of three , when he began putting around on his first dirt bike . His adventures in Motocross were intense from the age of seven through 15 , but after breaking his leg twice , he decided to put all his focus in another arena : racing on the dragstrip . Herrera competed in the Jr . Drag Racing League for three years ( from 13 to 16 ) and then transitioned to bracket racing motorcycles locally . He also raced on four wheels in a Super Comp car , Super Gas , and A / Gas in his grandfather Phil ’ s Camaro .

“ My great-grandfather , John Herrera , started the whole drag racing thing to get his four sons off the street ,” explains Herrera . “ They had Austins and Opels back in the day , Gassers . My grandfather , he got a ‘ 68 Camaro to get my dad off the street and try to keep him off motorcycles , so it ’ s kind of funny how it all worked out . But my grandparents , Jacque and Phil , have always been involved , and they are very supportive . They moved to Indy to travel with me , and they really push me to keep doing better and better .”

Racing was for sure in his blood , just like his dad , Augustine , who was on a dirt bike at the age of two and was racing go-karts eight years later . Augustine made his mark in the motorcycle world with an NMRA / Prostar championship in Super Street and was the 2009 Summit ET Race of Champions winner in Pomona , as well as the Division 7 champion . He was the Summit ET National Champion that year in Super Pro Motorcycle . His son comes by it naturally , and Herrera ’ s true love was always motorcycles .

“ I ’ ve been hooked since I was a little kid . My dad , my grandfather , and my great-grandfather all drag raced ,” he says . “ My dad was the first one to go to motorcycles , and I was very eager to get from Jr .’ s to motorcycles . I was very involved with my dad , as far as building them and tuning them . I was just intrigued . My dad talked about doing a Jr . and it was like one of those things , ‘ Here ’ s a motorcycle , or do you want me to go buy a Jr .?’ I picked the motorcycle , and I would pick the motorcycle a hundred times .”

Originally from La Mirada , California , Herrera now

resides in DeMotte , Indiana . Herrera followed his father who was working on an NHRA Pro Mod car , and once there , the younger Herrera built a motorcycle and started heads-up racing in the XDA ’ s Pro Street and Outlaw racing classes . He still holds the national record for the fastest nitrous Suzuki Hayabusa at 6.45 at 210 mph .

“ That ’ s a pretty good accomplishment for us and for our business ,” says Herrera with a nod to the family business , Herrera Racing , which specializes in dyno tuning , maintenance , and high-performance builds . “ I ’ ve won Pro Street , but the record is the biggest thing to me . I ’ m the only nitrous bike in a pool of turbo bikes – I ’ m the oddball , but I like the hard route .”

Herrera , who also won NHRA ’ s E . T . Bracket Finals in Bakersfield in 2012 , entered the world of Pro Stock Motorcycle by way of a friendship with Gary and Karen Stoffer . Gary suggested that they run the U . S . Nationals , just for fun .

“ It went from running one race to the last six of the year ,” recalls Herrera . “ It was an awesome time . We started out with a small motor , got a new big motor – a competitive two-valve – and that ’ s what led me to here . I had a lot of people backing me , which was awesome . It ’ s very overwhelming , the amount of people who had confidence in me to do this and got me to this point . I can ’ t thank Gary and Karen and all those guys enough .”

The twist of fate came when Hines saw Herrera ride and decided to give him a call .

“ I didn ’ t expect it ,” says Herrera . “ I had tested for them [ after ] Las Vegas on Monday last year , they had come to me wanting to try a few things with a lighter rider on Ed ’ s [ Eddie Krawiec ] bike , and I just looked at it as an opportunity to ride one of the top-tier bikes . I didn ’ t think anything would come of it , but about a week after Pomona , I was driving through a blizzard and Andrew called me and offered me the ride . I was speechless . He was like , ‘ Are you still there ?’ I just didn ’ t know what to say , and I ’ ve been living the dream ever since .”

Herrera hit the ground running at Gainesville with his first No . 1 qualifier and his first win . His unique riding style , perfected in the world of grudge racing , merged with the skill of six-time world champion rider-turned-tuner Hines to create a Pro Stock Motorcycle supernova , and as part of the iconic team formed by motorcycle legends Terry Vance and Byron Hines , Herrera blazed through the season alongside teammate Krawiec , who might have been champ had it not been for his friendly rival .

In addition to raking in the bulk of national event trophies available in 2023 season , Herrera was the first Pro Stock Motorcycle rider to sweep the notoriously challenging Western Swing ( Denver , Sonoma , Seattle ) and he also claimed all but one low qualifier award and the coveted title in the Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout . He set multiple track records and reset the national record to write his name in the record books time and time again . The future is bright , but Herrera ’ s tinted shield is pointed straight down-track .

“ I ’ m not one to really look ahead ,” he admits . “ I go into each race and look at the present time . But you never know what can come in the future . You can ’ t take stuff for granted because it can end any moment . I would love to keep doing this in the future , and I hope I do . I feel like I have a good future ahead of me , but we ’ ll just see what happens .” – KELLY WADE DI

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