Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
Gainesville Raceway
March 6-8, 2026

Richard Gadson Wins 2026 Gatornationals

Reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle world champ Richard Gadson had a resounding start to his championship defense season, getting his first Gatornationals victory after taking down John Hall in the championship round with a 6.753 at 200.05 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.

That the win came on his birthday made it that much sweeter, as Gadson claimed his fifth career victory, displaying the kind of consistency that led to his breakout season a year ago. He was presented with his championship jacket and ring during pre-race introductions and it seemed to spur him along, taking down Geno Scali, Chase Van Sant and Clayton Howey.

In the finals, Gadson led wire-to-wire thanks to an .018 reaction time, getting his first diamond Wally of the season.

“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. 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.”

Hall reached the finals for the eighth time in his career thanks to Brayden Davis, Gaige Herrera and Steve Johnson.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action March 20-22 with the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs at Firebird Motorsports Park in Phoenix.

ROUND 1

W – Steve Johnson / 0.02 / 6.83 / 196.99
L – Jianna Evaristo / 0.082 / 6.799 / 199.52

Steve Johnson is 28 – 20 in Rd. 1 when qualified #8. Jianna Evaristo is 5 – 5 against Johnson I Rd. 1. Evaristo is 7 – 6 against Johnson in prior events. Johnson gets the holeshot and makes it stick. Evaristo starts making up ground quickly but ran out of race track. Steve Johnson’s incremental margins: 60ft(0.064), 330 ft(0.059), 660ft(0.046), 1,000ft(0.040). MOV: 0.0314 seconds (approximately 9 feet).

W – Chase Van Sant / 0.028 / 6.826 / 198.23
L – Ryan Oehler / 0.057 / 6.832 / 197.28

Chase Van Sant went to the semi-finals here last year. Ryan Oehler lost in Rd. 1 here last year. Van Sant is 3 – 0 against Oehler in prior events. Van Sant gets the holeshot and stars pulling away. Oehler starts making up ground but was drifting to the right all the way through the run. He crosses over after the finish line and gets about five feet from Van Sant in the shutdown area. Chase Van Sant’s incremental margins: 60ft(0.049), 330 ft(0.039), 660ft(0.031), 1,000ft(0.032). MOV: 0.0357 seconds (approximately 10 feet).

W – Angie Smith / 0.16 / 6.747 / 200.47
L – Kimberly Morrell / 0.198 / 18.402 / 40.79

Coming into this event Angie Smith had made 93 runs over 200 mph. Since 1990 the #16 PSM qualifier has won 5 times in Rd. 1 at this event. Morrell is the 223rd to qualify for PSM, 16th woman. Smith gets the advantage off of the line and goes down the groove with her quickest pass of the weekend to take the win. Morrell had problems and was out of power early. Angie Smith will have lane choice over Johnson in the next round.

W – Clayton Howey / 0.036 / 6.786 / 200
L – Kelly Clontz / 0.067 / 6.854 / 198.9

This is the best starting spot for Clayton Howey. Kelly Clontz is making her 83rd start. This is the first time Clontz and Howey have faced each other in eliminations. Howey gets the holeshot and goes down the groove with his quickest and fastest career pass to take the win. Clayton Howey’s incremental times: 60ft-1.052 sec., 330ft-2.841, 660ft-4.352/162.00 mph, 1,000ft-5.665.

W – John Hall / 0.005 / 6.796 / 199.11
L – Brayden Davis / 0.03 / 6.8 / 198.85

John Hall is 51 – 49 in Rd. 1. Brayden Davis was 17 – 9 in 2025. Davis and Hall have each won 1 times against the other in prior events. Hall gets a great light and pulls away from Davis to take the win. John Hall’s incremental margins: 60ft(0.032), 330 ft(0.035), 660ft(0.031), 1,000ft(0.027). MOV: 0.0299 seconds (approximately 9 feet).

W – Gaige Herrera / 0.047 / 6.755 / 201.46
L – Marc Ingwersen / 0.093 / 8.746 / 102.14

Herrera gets out of the gate first and goes down the groove with his quickest pass of the weekend. Ingwersen’s bike misses a shift and he has to back off of the throttle. Gaige Herrera’s incremental times: 60ft-1.064 sec., 330ft-2.840, 660ft-4.339/163.51 mph, 1,000ft-5.642.

W – Richard Gadson / 0.028 / 6.769 / 200.83
L – Geno Scali / 0.165 / 6.836 / 198.44

Richard Gadson was 14 – 0 in Rd. 1 last year. The #15 PSM qualifier has won 4 times in 38 years at this event. Gadson is 1 – 0 against Scali in prior events. Gadson gets the holeshot and pulls away from Scali for the win. Gadson will have lane choice over Van Sant in the next round.

W – Matt Smith / 0.047 / 6.739 / 201.67
L – Chris Bostick / 0.018 / 6.873 / 195.28

In the last 5 years Matt Smith is 66 – 8 in Rd. 1. Chris Bostick is 0 – 8 against Smith in Rd. 1. and Smith is 11 – 0 against Bostick in prior events. Bostick gets a great light, stays in front of Smith past the sixty foot mark, then Smith is able to reel him in and go around for the win. Matt Smith’s incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.006), 330 ft(0.004), 660ft(0.040), 1,000ft(0.074). MOV: 0.1051 seconds (approximately 30 feet). Smith goes down the groove with the quickest pass of the weekend and will have lane choice over Howey in the next round.

ROUND 2

W – Richard Gadson / 0.021 / 6.757 / 200.59
L – Chase Van Sant / 0.006 / 6.808 / 198.82

Gadson is 6 – 5 against Van Sant in prior events. Van Sant gets the advantage off of the line but he can’t hold off Gadson. Gadson goes around him before they reach the 330 foot mark and pulls away for the win. Richard Gadson’s incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.005), 330 ft(0.004), 660ft(0.016), 1,000ft(0.027). MOV: 0.0364 seconds (approximately 11 feet).

W – Steve Johnson / 0.053 / 6.863 / 196.36
L – Angie Smith / 0.14 / 6.796 / 198.52

Smith is 18 – 12 against Johnson in prior events. Johnson gets the holeshot but Smith starts reeling him in quickly. She makes up ground but runs out of race track. Johnson hangs on for the holeshot win. Steve Johnson’s incremental margins: 60ft(0.084), 330 ft(0.052), 660ft(0.041), 1,000ft(0.031). MOV: 0.0203 seconds (approximately 6 feet).

W – John Hall / 0.002 / 6.748 / 200.68
L – Gaige Herrera / 0.004 / 6.758 / 200.65

Herrera is 9 – 4 against Hall in prior events. This was a good side-by-side. Not much difference between the two off of the line, Herrera gets the early lead. Hall reels him in just before they reach the 660 foot mark, then he goes around and takes the stripe for the win. John Hall’s incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.009), 330 ft(-0.004), 660ft(0.006), 1,000ft(0.011). MOV: 0.0126 seconds (approximately 4 feet). Hall will have lane choice over Johnson in the next round.

W – Clayton Howey / 0.017 / 6.822 / 197.33
L – Matt Smith / 0.056 / 6.836 / 199.11

Smith is 1 – 0 against Howey in prior events. Howey gets the advantage off of the line, extends his lead to the 330 foot mark, then Smith starts making up ground. howey hangs on and takes the stripe for the win. Clayton Howey’s incremental margins: 60ft(0.064), 330 ft(0.067), 660ft(0.066), 1,000ft(0.062). MOV: 0.0534 seconds (approximately 16 feet). Gadson will have lane choice over Howey in the next round.

SEMI-FINAL

W – Richard Gadson / 0.009 / 7.118 / 150.06
L – Clayton Howey / -0.06 / 6.81 / 198.96

Gadson is 1 – 0 against Howey in prior events. Howey is a little too quick off of the line and goes red. Gadson drifted toi the left all the way through the run and got so close to the last timing block the wind blew the block over. Gadson is going to his tenth final round.

W – John Hall / 0.001 / 6.836 / 199.46
L – Steve Johnson / 0.022 / 6.862 / 194.27

Hall is almost perfect off of the line and he pulls away from Johnson to take the win. Johnson made up a little ground early but couldn’t reel in Hall. John Hall’s incremental margins: 60ft(0.014), 330 ft(0.008), 660ft(0.020), 1,000ft(0.031). MOV: 0.0474 seconds (approximately 14 feet). Hall is going to his eighth final round. he will have lane choice over Gadson in the final round.

FINAL

Win – Richard Gadson / 0.018 / 6.753 / 200.05
Runner-up – John Hall / 0.047 / 6.799 / 198.38

Gadson is 2 – 1 against Hall in prior events and each has won 1 times against the other in final rounds. Gadson gets out of the gate first and increases his lead all the way through the run. Richard Gadson’s incremental margins: 60ft(0.065), 330 ft(0.056), 660ft(0.060), 1,000ft(0.067). MOV: 0.0757 seconds (approximately 22 feet). Richard Gadson’s incremental times: 60ft-1.047 sec., 330ft-2.827, 660ft-4.329/162.84 mph, 1,000ft-5.635. John Hall’s incremental times: 60ft-1.083 sec., 330ft-2.854, 660ft-4.360/162.43 mph, 1,000ft-5.673. This is Gadson’s fifth national event win, his first here.

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SATURDAY QUALIFYING

Angie Smith Grabs the #1 Spot at the Gatornationals

Angie Smith powered her Denso Auto Parts Buell to the No. 1 qualifying position at the NHRA Gatornationals with a stout 6.740 at 199.58 mph, earning the third No. 1 qualifier of her career. Two strong runs on Saturday in front of a packed Gainesville crowd have Smith rolling into eliminations with serious momentum as she hunts her first Gatornationals win.

She’ll open raceday against Kim Morrell.

Reigning world champion Richard Gadson secured the No. 2 spot with a 6.746 at 200.00 mph, while Matt Smith rounds out the top three with a 6.749 at 200.71 mph.

1. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.740, 199.58 vs.
16. Kimberly Morrell, Suzuki, 7.857, 148.97

2. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.746, 200.00 vs.
15. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.882, 197.94

3. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.749, 200.71 vs.
14. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.880, 195.08

4. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.761, 199.91 vs.
13. Marc Ingwersen, Buell, 6.847, 196.70

5. John Hall, Beull, 6.791, 199.08 vs.
12. Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.838, 196.33

6. Clayton Howey, Suzuki, 6.800, 197.88 vs.
11. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.836, 197.97

7. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.803, 198.15 vs.
10. Ryan Oehler, Buell, 6.811, 197.77

8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.807, 197.65 vs.
9. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.808, 199.91

NHRA officials announced a sellout crowd on Saturday at Gainesville Raceway to open its 75th anniversary season at the 57th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

The race kicks off the celebratory 2026 season and fans packed the legendary fanbase packed the legendary facility in Gainesville.

The massive crowd enjoyed two rounds of qualifying and the Right Trailers NHRA Top Fuel All-

Star Callout to open the milestone campaign, which will celebrate 75 years of incredible NHRA action.

“It’s incredibly exciting to open NHRA’s 75th anniversary season with a sellout crowd at the first race of the season in Gainesville,” NHRA President Glen Cromwell said. “The Gatornationals has always been one of the most special events in our sport and a day like today to open such a memorable year is a tribute to the awesome NHRA fans.”

The opening weekend sellout to start NHRA’s 75th anniversary season comes on the heels of an action-packed 2025 that included six sellout crowds across the country.

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FRIDAY QUALIFYING

Angie Smith took over the provisional spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle to close out the day, going 6.740 at 199.58 on her Denso Auto Parts Buell, giving the veteran a strong showing to open the 2026 season. Should that hold, Smith would pick up her third career No. 1 qualifier, which would be a welcome sign after finishing fourth in points a year ago.

But that season didn’t include a victory or a top qualifier, something Smith would love to change this season and especially early in the year.

“This was a great day. Not the beginning of the day, but by the end of the day,” Smith said. “In Q1, we broke a transmission in half and you never like to do that when you start the season. Usually, parts breakage and things like that happen in the middle of the season, but for some reason, it just snapped the shaft in half and I didn’t get a good run.

“We just knew that we had to put our best foot forward and we did. When that 6.74 came up, I didn’t know if it was going to stick or not. There were some pretty heavy hitters behind me. You know, we worked really, really hard in this off-season, so hopefully our hard work pays off this year.”

Reigning world champion Richard Gadson is currently second with a 6.746 at 200.00 and Gaige Herrera is third after going 6.761 at 199.91.

01 Angie Smith / 6.740 / 199.58
02 Richard Gadson / 6.746 / 200
03 Gaige Herrera / 6.761 / 199.91
04 Matt Smith / 6.764 / 200.77
05 Clayton Howey / 6.800 / 197.88
06 Chase Van Sant / 6.803 / 198.15
07 John Hall / 6.804 / 199.97
08 Ryan Oehler / 6.811 / 197.77
09 Jianna Evaristo / 6.834 / 200.32
10 Brayden Davis / 6.838 / 196.33
11 Kelly Clontz / 6.843 / 197.68
12 Steve Johnson / 6.857 / 195.48
13 Geno Scali / 6.882 / 197.94
14 Marc Ingwersen / 6.922 / 195.73
15 Chris Bostick / 7.087 / 166.7

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About NHRA

NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 20 national events featuring the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well as the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™, NHRA Holley EFI Factory X, Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock at select national events. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With 110 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

About Mission Foods

MISSION®, owned by GRUMA, S.A.B. de C.V., is the world’s leading brand for tortillas and wraps. MISSION® is also globally renowned for flatbreads, dips, salsas and Mexican food products. With presence in over 112 countries, MISSION® products are suited to the lifestyles and the local tastes of each country. With innovation and customer needs in mind, MISSION® focuses on the highest quality, authentic flavors, and providing healthy options that families and friends can enjoy together. For more information, please visit https://www.missionfoods.com/