POMONA, Calif. — Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Richard Gadson enjoyed the fruits of his breakout 2025 season on Sunday, as he was awarded his first world championship on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.
It ended Gaige Herrera’s chance at a third world title, as Gadson held off his hard-charging teammate down the stretch. Herrera won in Las Vegas, but Gadson took a 21-point lead into Pomona, which earned him the championship.
Gadson was great all year, and especially when it counted, winning twice in the Countdown to the Championship and ending his 2025 season with four victories and six trips to the final round, as well as his first two career No. 1 qualifiers.
“The mentality was kill or be killed. That was it. We talked about me and (Herrera) meeting in the finals, but it didn’t have to go that way,” Gadson said. “We had two sides of the ladder that we had to get through and none of those people owed us any favors. I didn’t want anybody to take it from me or stop it and I was willing to lay it all on the line out there. So, you know, I came here to go to war with my friends, with my teammate. It was that mentality the whole weekend.”
After coming up just short on a handful of occasions, both during his rookie season in 2024 and early this year, Gadson broke through with his first career victory in Bristol, savoring the special moment that seemed to only spur him on for more. He added another win in Sonoma and entered the playoffs second in points.
While Herrera struggled early in the Countdown, Gadson was on point, winning the four-wide race in Charlotte and adding another victory in Dallas – after qualifying No. 1 – which proved to be the difference.
“Me and Eddie (Krawiec, crew chief) both had to dig deep and figure out what in what ways we can be better individually, and then how we mix that together and make us better on results,” Gadson said. “I think we really, really, really have come a long way this year.”
