Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals
Pacific Raceways
July 21-23, 2023
Pro Stock Motorcycle
The first-ever weekend in Seattle for Pro Stock Motorcycle simply meant another dominating weekend for points leader Gaige Herrera, as he wrapped up a flawless weekend at Pacific Raceways with a winning run of 6.764 at 198.99 on his Vance & Hines/Mission Foods to defeat teammate Eddie Krawiec. It gives the phenom his fifth win in seven races in the category this year, as well as a second perfect weekend after Herrera qualified No. 1 and also picked up the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge victory.
On Sunday, he reached the final round with round wins against Lance Bonham and Hector Arana Jr., going as quick as 6.729 at 197.36. After winning in Denver, Herrera now has the chance to sweep the Western Swing, a feat that has never been accomplished in Pro Stock Motorcycle and hasn’t happened for any competitor since 2009. Herrera is excited about that opportunity and was also thrilled to perform at an impressive level in his first appearance at Pacific Raceways.
“It means a lot to be the first winner and I’m glad we were able to put on a show for them,” Herrera said. “The track was smooth and one of the best tracks I’ve been on, and Andrew (Hines, crew chief) and the guys had our bike running great. That was probably one of my toughest finals, having to race the boss and one of the guys that has helped me so much. Overall, though, it was awesome racing him and it was just business as usual and I’m happy to be on top.
“I’ve had an awesome two races and I hope to do well in Sonoma. It obviously would be amazing to sweep (the Western Swing), so I’m definitely excited. Plus, we’ve got the (Pro Stock Motorcycle) All-Star Callout, so it’s going to be a busy, busy weekend. The whole field is tightening up and Sonoma is always a fast track, so it’s going to be very competitive.”
Krawiec, who was denied his 50th career victory, advanced to the final round for the 82nd time overall and first time in 2023 with wins against Ryan Oehler, rookie Chase Van Sant and defending world champion Matt Smith.
The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series closes out the famed three-race Western Swing with the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals on July 28-30 at Sonoma Raceway.
ROUND 1
W – Angie Smith / 0.064 / 6.842 / 199.58
L – Chris Bostick / -0.004 / 7.956 / 122.23
Weather conditions: air temperature 74 degrees, relative humidity 56 percent, barometer 29.98 inches, adjusted altitude 1,793 feet, track temperature 108 degrees. Angie Smith has made 42 200 mph runs. Chris Bostick is making his 43rd start. Smith and Bostick have each won 2 times against the other in prior events. Bostick goes red to give Smith the win. She is straight down the groove.
W – Chase Van Sant / 0.021 / 6.799 / 198.58
L – Jianna Evaristo / 0.025 / 6.822 / 197.31
Chase Van Sant is 4 – 2 in Rd. 1 this year. Jianna Evaristo is 2 – 4 in Rd. 1 this year. This is the first time Evaristo and Van Sant have faced each other in eliminations. Van Sant with a slight starting line advantage and never trailed for the win. Chase Van Sant’s MOV: 0.0270 seconds (approximately 8 feet). He makes his quickest pass of the weekend for the win. Evaristo with her quickest pass of the weekend in the losing effort.
W – Matt Smith / 0.026 / 6.782 / 199.11
L – Marc Ingwersen / 0.066 / 6.916 / 197.19
Matt Smith has made 100 200 mph runs (most in the PSM class). Marc Ingwersen is making his 33rd start. Smith is 4 – 1 against Ingwersen in prior events. Smith with the starting line advantage and never trailed for the win. He makes his quickest pass of the weekend for the win. He will have lane choice over Angie in the next round.
W – Kelly Clontz / 0.084 / 6.847 / 196.39
L – Steve Johnson / 0.091 / 7.075 / 155.24
This is the 35th different event where Steve Johnson has competed (the most in the PSM class). Kelly Clontz is making her 57th start. She is 1 – 7 against Johnson. Clontz with the starting line advantage and she makes her quickest pass of the weekend for the win. Johnson with problems…
W – Eddie Krawiec / 0.064 / 6.847 / 198.26
L – Ryan Oehler / 0.045 / 6.931 / 194.24
Eddie Krawiec wins 89% of his Rd. 1 races when he has lane choice. Ryan Oehler is 0 – 4 against Krawiec in Rd. 1 Krawiec is 5 – 0 against Oehler in prior events. Oehler with the starting line advantage and runs his quickest pass of the weekend, but it is not enough as Krawiec chases him down. Krawiec will give up lane choice to Van Sant in the next round.
W – Hector Arana Jr / 0.066 / 6.836 / 200.56
L – Karen Stoffer / 0.003 / 8.119 / 115.94
Hector Arana Jr. is 119 – 48 (71%) in Rd. 1. Karen Stoffer is 131 – 128 in Rd. 1. Arana Jr is 9 – 3 against Stoffer in prior events. Stoffer with a great light, but has problems and Arana Jr. has the lead early and never trails for the win. Arana Jr. runs top speed of the event for the win. He will have lane choice over Clontz in the next round.
W – Gaige Herrera / 0.086 / 6.729 / 197.36
L – Lance Bonham / -0.303 / 7.668 / 143.9
The No. 1 PSM qualifier has won 10 of the last 36 races (including 3 this year). Lance Bonham is #14 and in 495 races the #14 PSM qualifier has only won 1 race in the class history. (M. Phillips, Dallas, 2011) This is the first time Bonham and Herrera have faced each other in eliminations. Bonham leaves early to give Herrera the win. Herrera launched hard and kept it hooked up to make the quickest pass of the event for the win. He will have a bye in the next round.
ROUND 2
W – Hector Arana Jr / 0.07 / 6.949 / 198.88
L – Kelly Clontz / 0.137 / 6.985 / 193.35
Weather conditions: air temperature 78 degrees, relative humidity 51 percent, barometer 29.96 inches, adjusted altitude 2,049 feet, track temperature 125 degrees. Arana Jr is 5 – 1 against Clontz in prior events. Arana Jr. with the starting line advantage and the win.
W – Eddie Krawiec / 0.062 / 6.821 / 198.23
L – Chase Van Sant / 0.033 / 6.86 / 195.96
This is the first time Krawiec and Van Sant have faced each other in eliminations. Van Sant with the starting line advantage, but Krawiec chases him down for the win. Eddie Krawiec’s MOV: 0.0100 seconds (approximately 3 feet).
W – Matt Smith / 0.041 / 6.819 / 198
L – Angie Smith / 0.057 / 6.861 / 197.91
M. Smith is 18 – 4 against A. Smith in prior events. Matt with the starting line advantage and the win. Smith with the quickest pass of the round and he will have lane choice over Krawiec in the semifinal.
W – Gaige Herrera / 0.052 / 6.78 / 199.08
L – unopposed
Herrera with the quickest pass of the round on the bye run. He will have lane choice over Arana Jr. in the semifinal.
SEMI-FINAL
W – Eddie Krawiec / 0.065 / 6.865 / 197.54
L – Matt Smith / broke
W – Gaige Herrera / 0.032 / 6.825 / 197.16
L – Hector Arana Jr / 0.029 / 6.852 / 197.8
This is the first time Arana Jr and Herrera have faced each other in eliminations. Arana Jr. with a few ticks on the tree, but Herrera grabs the win in a close one. Gaige Herrera’s MOV: 0.0240 seconds (approximately 7 feet). He will have lane choice over Krawiec in the final.
FINAL ROUND
W – Gaige Herrera / 0.025 / 6.764 / 198.99
RU – Eddie Krawiec / 0.061 / 6.809 / 198.85
This is the 115th time that the #1 – 2 PSM qualifiers have met in a final round. The #1 qualifier has won 77 of the previous 114 meetings. This is the 12th time that Eddie Krawiec qualified #2 and has faced the #1 qualifier in the final round. He is 3 – 8 in the previous 11 finals. Herrera is 2 – 0 against Krawiec in prior events and this is the first time they have faced each other in a final round. Herrera with the starting line advantage and never trailed for the win. Gaige Herrera’s MOV: 0.0810 seconds (approximately 24 feet). He wins his fifth Wally.
Qualifying – Saturday
NHRA – In Pro Stock Motorcycle, the day belonged to Herrera, as the current points leader won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge and qualified No. 1 in the category’s first appearance at Pacific Raceways. He knocked off Angie Smith in the finals of the bonus race on Saturday, going 6.794 at 197.42 on his Vance & Hines/Mission Foods Suzuki.
ROUND ONE
W – Angie Smith, 6.787, 200.29
L – Hector Arana Jr, 6.808, 199.46
W – Gaige Herrera, 6.809, 178.33
L – Chase Van Sant, 6.843, 198.38
FINAL
W – Gaige Herrera, 6.794, 197.42
RU – Angie Smith, 6.806, 199.05
It’s the third victory in the challenge for Herrera, who knocked off Chase Van Sant earlier in the day. He was eager to put on a strong performance in his debut in Seattle and Herrera certainly did that, giving him a chance to double up for the second time this season.
“I feel like we’re kind of back in the groove we had before Bristol, so to be able to come out here and get a third Mission win, it’s awesome,” Herrera said. “And to be No. 1 qualifier, it’s just an awesome start to the weekend. All the credit goes to the whole team. They really know their stuff. They’ve been doing this for many years and that gives me all the confidence in the world as a rider. The big thing for me on Sunday is to be consistent on the bike, but I feel very confident we can have a good day.”
Herrera’s 6.767 at 198.09 from Friday gave the points leader his sixth No. 1 qualifier of 2023. His teammate, Eddie Krawiec, is second with a 6.776 at 198.82 and A. Smith took third, going 6.787 at 200.29. It was the first 200-mph pass at Seattle for the Pro Stock Motorcycle category.
Final Qualifying
1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.767, 198.09
2. Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.776, 198.82
3. Angie Smith, EBR, 6.787, 200.29
4. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.808, 199.46
5. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.808, 195.53
6. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.814, 197.19
7. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.824, 197.54
8. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 6.848, 197.42
9. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.850, 195.48
10. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.861, 194.10
11. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.908, 192.11
12. Chris Bostick, EBR, 6.957, 192.80
13. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.968, 194.44
14. Lance Bonham, Buell, 7.595, 151.04
Qualifying – Friday
Pro Stock Motorcycle standout Gaige Herrera continued to impress as he powered to a 6.767-second pass at 198.09 mph to seed himself in the provisional No. 1 qualifier position at the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals near Seattle.
In the first appearance for Pro Stock Motorcycle at Pacific Raceways, points leader Herrera made a great first impression, going to the top spot with a run of 6.767 at 198.09 Vance & Hines/Mission Foods Suzuki. Coming off his impressive victory in Denver, Herrera kept rolling in his debut in Seattle as he looks to pick up his sixth No. 1 qualifier of the year. By making the first appearance in Seattle, there’s a chance for the first official sweep of the Western Swing and Herrera can be the one to do it after winning in Denver.
“For us to come out with the win (in Denver), we were definitely in awe,” said Herrera, who scored his fourth win of the season there. ‘I’m glad to be back as the provisional No. 1 and hopefully we’re going to hold on to them tomorrow.
“The run did not feel good at all. When I left a line it went left, and then I had to correct it. It felt like in third gear it kind of went left again, so I corrected again. It gives me confidence that we can go even quicker tomorrow.”
Herrera’s teammate, Eddie Krawiec, is second with a 6.776 at 198.82. He is also seeking his 50th career win. Steve Johnson is third after going 6.809 at 195.45.
1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.767, 198.09
2. Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.776, 198.82
3. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.809, 195.45
4. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.812, 198.26
5. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.822, 196.73
6. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.824, 197.54
7. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 6.890, 196.30
8. Angie Smith, EBR, 6.942, 197.88
9. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.956, 191.19
10. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 7.063, 193.88
11. Chris Bostick, EBR, 7.101, 188.99
12. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 7.328, 189.02
13. Lance Bonham, Buell, 7.595, 151.04
14. Ryan Oehler, EBR, broke.
PRE EVENT ARTICLES
- Smith prepping for Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout in midst of busy stretch
- Stuck on 49 wins, Eddie Krawiec hopes first trip to Seattle nets him milestone victory
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