Oct 15, 2026 · 48 min · 10 segments
Richard Gadson is working on wrapping up his second straight NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship in only his third season. It’s been a crazy – and challenging - ride since he arrived on the…
[upbeat music] Let's bring Richard into the conversation, and I was gonna start by spewing off some numbers and giving you your little intro, but then you said, "Hey, I'm at work today," and since it's during the week, I was like, well, I need to know, Richard, what are you doing during the week? Because a lot of folks would say, "Well, he's a racer.
What do you got going on during the week, though? It's not that simple, right? [laughs]
When I got this opportunity, uh, to ride their Pro Stock motorcycle, I asked them for a job as well.
I was like, "Listen, I, I kinda need to be able to merge the two lifestyles," 'cause there's no way I could meet the demands of the NHRA schedule and still fend for myself off the racetrack.
It's, it, uh, pertaining to exhaust systems, and we make a standalone ECU for single-cylinder dirt bikes, and I am one of the lead guys on spearheading that project.
People might think, oh, so he works for Vance & Hines, he works on the Pro Stock.
You know, I do work on the Pro Stock bikes, but they might think that it is, they're like this- this grand scheme of, like, always finding horsepower, et cetera, et cetera, going on all the time, and that is going on, but it's not me.
Um, I basically just maintain the bikes in between races, put 'em together, get 'em ready for the race, and, uh, take 'em apart for, uh, t- checking 'em out, and then, uh, loading them up to go to the next race.
When you get the chance to have a job like this, and I also believe from what I understand of your history that we're gonna dig into a little bit of, you're not unfamiliar with tuning bikes, working on bikes, kinda k- knowing your way around your equipment, and now you have this job on a day-to-day basis before racing it on the weekends.
I mean, how valuable is that, to just know your way around what you're racing?
I think that is kind of, uh, I'd say the cheat code to being a rider or to being a successful rider is understanding those things as well.
[upbeat music] Let's bring Richard into the conversation, and I was gonna start by spewing off some numbers and giving you your little intro, but then you said, "Hey, I'm at work today," and since it's during the week, I was like, well, I need to know, Richard, what are you doing during the week? Because a lot of folks would say, "Well, he's a racer.
What do you got going on during the week, though? It's not that simple, right? [laughs]
When I got this opportunity, uh, to ride their Pro Stock motorcycle, I asked them for a job as well.
I was like, "Listen, I, I kinda need to be able to merge the two lifestyles," 'cause there's no way I could meet the demands of the NHRA schedule and still fend for myself off the racetrack.
It's, it, uh, pertaining to exhaust systems, and we make a standalone ECU for single-cylinder dirt bikes, and I am one of the lead guys on spearheading that project.
People might think, oh, so he works for Vance & Hines, he works on the Pro Stock.
You know, I do work on the Pro Stock bikes, but they might think that it is, they're like this- this grand scheme of, like, always finding horsepower, et cetera, et cetera, going on all the time, and that is going on, but it's not me.
Um, I basically just maintain the bikes in between races, put 'em together, get 'em ready for the race, and, uh, take 'em apart for, uh, t- checking 'em out, and then, uh, loading them up to go to the next race.
When you get the chance to have a job like this, and I also believe from what I understand of your history that we're gonna dig into a little bit of, you're not unfamiliar with tuning bikes, working on bikes, kinda k- knowing your way around your equipment, and now you have this job on a day-to-day basis before racing it on the weekends.
I mean, how valuable is that, to just know your way around what you're racing?
I think that is kind of, uh, I'd say the cheat code to being a rider or to being a successful rider is understanding those things as well.
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