16th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals
zMAX Dragway
April 24-26, 2026

Pro Stock Motorcycle

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera was back to his winning ways this weekend at zMAX Dragway, capped off by a victory on Sunday with a run of 6.758 at 199.88 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki to outlast a quad that included teammate and reigning world champion Richard Gadson, Clayton Howey and Chase Van Sant.

It’s the first win of the year for Herrera and, remarkably, the 29th in his young career, a day after winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. After back-to-back world championships in dominant fashion, Herrera finished second to Gadson a year ago. He still enjoyed a strong season and Herrera was back in top form in Charlotte, showcasing a stellar .019 reaction time in the final quad.

Both Gadson and Howey left before Herrera, but he tracked them both down quickly, rolling to his third NHRA 4-Wide Nationals victory in Charlotte and fourth overall at the stellar facility.

“I knew we all were going to push the tree in the final and I think that’s the tightest I’ve seen a four-wide final in the bike category,” Herrera said. “It’s pretty cool to have all Suzukis in the final, too. I had a bracket bike all day long, same with Richard and Clayton, and it’s awesome to get the four-wide win here at zMAX and to get my first diamond in Wally. It’s pretty cool to win in NHRA’s 75th anniversary.

“Losing the second round in Gainesville lit a fire under me and I didn’t want that to happen to me again this weekend. I knew I had to be better as a rider at everything and feel like this weekend I proved it to myself.”

Gadson, who won the season-opening Gatornationals and remains the points leader, finished as the runner-up, while Howey took third.

ROUND ONE

WIN – Jianna Evaristo, 6.788, 199.37
WIN – Angie Smith, 6.909, 197.68 
Steve Johnson, Suzuki Hayabusa, 6.979, 192.58
Brayden Davis, 7.717, 127.29

WIN – Gaige Herrera,  6.775, 198.17
WIN – John Hall,  6.833, 197.80
Geno Scali, Suzuki TL1000, 6.967, 193.93
Marc Ingwersen, broke

WIN – Ryan Oehler, 6.802, 197.86
WIN – Richard Gadson, 6.858, 197.88
Kelly Clontz, TL, 6.850, 197.57
Wesley Wells, Suzuki GSXR, broke

WIN – Chase Van Sant, 6.810, 197.59
WIN – Clayton Howey, 6.828, 197.28
Matt Smith, 1190RX, 6.773, 200.53
Michael Ray, broke

SEMIFINALS

WIN – Clayton Howey, 6.815, 198.47
WIN – Chase Van Sant, 6.824, 197.88
Evaristo, 6.825, 196.13
Angie Smith, 6.906, 194.66

WIN – Gaige Herrera, 6.756, 200.08
WIN – Richard Gadson, 6.785, 199.55
John Hall, 6.821, 200.47
Oehler, 7.575, 132.99

FINAL

WIN – Gaige Herrera, 6.758, 199.88
Richard Gadson, 6.809, 198.17
Clayton Howey, 6.854, 196.87
Chase Van Sant, foul

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action May 1-3 with the NHRA Southern Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Adel, GA.

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#2Fast2Tasty Challenge

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, two-time world champion Gaige Herrera got the best of a quad that included Matt Smith, reigning world champion Richard Gadson and John Hall with a run of 6.759 at 199.20 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki. Herrera had a huge starting-line advantage with an .018 reaction time and held off Smith at the finish line to take the victory in the specialty race.

ROUND ONE

Win – Gaige Herrera / 6.769 / 200.26
Win – John Hall / 6.783 / 200.86
def.
Angie Smith / 6.859 / 198.26
Steve Johnson / 7.030 / 190.54

Win – Matt Smith / 6.770 / 201.70
Win – Richard Gadson / 6.790 / 200.00
def.
Chase Van Sant / 6.835 / 199.20
Clayton Howey / 6.822 / 199.79

FINAL

Win – Gaige Herrera / 6.759 / 199.20
def.
Matt Smith / 6.760 / 201.97
John Hall / 8.842 / 97.95
Richard Gadson / broke

“It’s a boost for the team and myself, just for working hard on, not only on the bike, but me physically,” Herrera said. “It was a tough quad between John Hall, Matt [Smith], Richard [Gadson]. I knew I had to be on the tree, but for me to run the .759 and then Matt to run the .76, that’s the kind of racing I love.

“It’s awesome Mission does this. I feel like, as a racer, after Friday, it’s basically two days of racing. It’s like, you wake up Saturday and Sunday with a different attitude, that you’re going out there to push your hardest and do your best, and this just makes it a lot more fun.”

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QUALIFYING SATURDAY

Smith, the defending event winner on his Denso Auto Parts Buell, enjoyed a milestone moment on Saturday, as his run of 6.739 at 203.09 from Friday officially gave the six-time world champion his 60th career No. 1 qualifier, handing him the most in Pro Stock Motorcycle history. To do it at his home track meant even more for Smith, who looks to win for the first time in 2026 on Sunday.

“It’s amazing to get this 60th number one qualifier. I’ve been doing it a while, but I don’t feel like I’ve been doing it for that long, if you know what I mean, but I’ve been very successful,” Smith said. “I’ve had a good career with at least running fast and to do this at my home track makes it even more special for it to be the 60th all-time leading number one qualifier.

“I struggled quite a bit in ‘06 and I ran a couple of races in ’05, but finally got the call from George Bryson, who saw I had the potential. The very first time I rode the V-twin, I was the number one qualifier at Indy, and that was my first number one qualifier ever. I’m just happy I got to do it, and I’m proud to be here.”

Ryan Oehler qualified second with a 6.752 at 201.28 and Herrera took third with a 6.756 at 200.50.

1. Matt Smith / 6.739 / 203.09
2. Ryan Oehler / 6.752 / 201.55
3. Gaige Herrera / 6.756 / 200.50
4. Brayden Davis / 6.759 / 202.00
5. Angie Smith / 6.781 / 201.46
6. John Hall / Beull / 6.783 / 201.46
7. Richard Gadson / 6.790 / 200.00
8. Clayton Howey / 6.793 / 199.97
9. Chase Van Sant / 6.804 / 200.11
10. Kelly Clontz / 6.822 / 200.17
11. Marc Ingwersen / 6.843 / 198.44
12. Steve Johnson / 6.843 / 195.99
13. Jianna Evaristo / 6.844 / 200.02
14. Geno Scali / 6.902 / 196.70
15. Wesley Wells / 7.144 / 187.29
16. Michael Ray / 8.892 / 98.85

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QUALIFYING FRIDAY

Racing close to home has always been a good thing for Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith and that continued on Friday at his home track, as the defending event winner went 6.739 at 203.09 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell. Should that hold, it would give Smith 60 career No. 1 qualifiers, eclipsing Angelle Sampey for the most in Pro Stock Motorcycle history.

Smith has always performed well at zMAX Dragway, winning four times, and he nearly set the speed record on Friday with his booming run. With the class racing for the first time since the season-opener in Gainesville, Smith was thrilled to start the weekend in such impressive fashion.

“I didn’t think it would stick. I drove to the center line, but all in all, it did stick, and we’re number one,” Smith said. “This is a great place to race and I love the four-wide. It’s a challenge and I’m getting old, and I like more challenges as I’m getting old.

“Tomorrow, we have the (Mission) #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, so we’re going to be competing for some extra points and I have a good quad. My goal is to go out there and win that quad and really set a time. I think if the bike had gone straight there, I would have gotten a little bit more 60-foot, and I think I could have gone .71 there. If people can go faster than that, they deserve to be number one.”

Ryan Oehler showed strong improvement on Friday, going all the way to second, while Gaige Herrera is third with a run of 6.756 at 200.50.

1. Matt Smith / 6.739 / 203.09
2. Ryan Oehler / 6.752 / 201.55
3. Gaige Herrera / 6.756 / 200.50
4. Brayden Davis / 6.759 / 200.35
5. Angie Smith / 6.781 / 201.46
6. John Hall / Beull / 6.785 / 201.46
7. Clayton Howey / 6.793 / 199.97
8. Chase Van Sant / 6.804 / 200.11
9. Richard Gadson / 6.805 / 195.79
10. Kelly Clontz / 6.822 / 200.17
11. Marc Ingwersen / 6.843 / 198.44
12. Steve Johnson / 6.843 / 195.99
13. Jianna Evaristo / 6.844 / 200.02
14. Geno Scali / 6.934 / 196.70
15. Wesley Wells / 7.144 / 187.29
16. Michael Ray / 10.350 / 81.45

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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.