NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The intense competition within the Pro Stock Motorcycle category will have even more depth in 2027 as Joey Gladstone, a three-time national event winner, will ride a championship-worthy Matt Smith Racing (MSR) Buell for the entire schedule with primary support from RAD Torque Systems. J&A Service will also come on board as an associate sponsor.

Gladstone returned to the 200-mph two-wheeled class at select events this year for the first time since the Gainesville race in 2024. He first hopped aboard Matt Smith's own DENSO-backed Buell in Bristol to race for the six-time world champion as he recovered from gallbladder surgery. Then, when MSR rider Jianna Evaristo was sidelined with a knee injury and later announced she and her husband were expecting their first child, Gladstone again had the opportunity to put on his leathers. He is finishing this season on Evaristo's JHG Buell before settling in for a full-schedule pull in 2027, proudly flying the colors of RAD Torque Systems.

"Matt and Angie have had their stuff figured out for two decades now," said Gladstone, who originally licensed on an MSR Pro Stock Motorcycle in 2012. "Everybody would love to ride an MSR bike because they consistently fly out there. Matt and Angie are extremely competitive and championship-driven, and their stuff performs. It was an easy decision for me; you see how hard they work and that all of their bikes are consistently fast. I hopped on Jianna's bike and went my career best – you know that all their stuff, at any given time, is capable of going to the pole."

Gladstone's day job is as a crewman for the 11-time world champion-winning KB Titan Racing Pro Stock team, and the color scheme of the motorcycle he rides next year will match that of good friend and KB Titan's reigning Pro Stock world champion Dallas Glenn. The conversation to ride a Pro Stock Motorcycle and represent an increasingly strong brand in NHRA drag racing began on the starting line in Seattle this year when Dan Provost — the founder and president of RAD Torque Systems – expressed interest in the program.

"It was really kind of spur of the moment," shared Gladstone. "Dan was like, 'It was so cool seeing you on the Motorcycle riding for Matt. You did really well, and we were rooting for you,' and then he asked me if it opened up any opportunities for next year. I told him that I'd been talking to Matt and Angie, and there was an opportunity but I would need to come up with some funding. He was like, 'I'm in.' We looked back at Dal's car [Dallas Glenn], and I said it would be pretty cool if we had a Pro Stock bike that looked exactly like that car."

Provost consulted with his partner, Tammy Pigeault, and a short while later, he circled back with Gladstone.

"Dan said, 'I've got good news. I talked to Tammy, and we're in,' " Gladstone continued. "When we talked on the starting line, I thought it would be cool, but you don't really know if it's real or not. When he said it was a go, I was like, this is really happening. I was pretty-well speechless and very emotional, honestly. It's a really big deal for somebody to believe in you like that, and to be able to do it with Dal and with Dal's colors, it's going to be awesome."

Gladstone is looking forward to the opportunity to race with the MSR team, represent RAD Torque Systems, and fill out his scorecard. Three of the Wallys he earned came in 2022, a stellar season in which Gladstone raced alongside best friend Cory Reed under the Cory Reed Racing banner. Although it's been four years since Gladstone has seen the inside of the winner's circle, his time filling in for Smith and Evaristo this season brought him right back to form. In Bristol, he reached the quarterfinals, and later, in both Norwalk and Rockingham, he was a semifinalist. The rebuilding of his foundation should bode well for the near future as Gladstone melds with one of the most successful teams in Pro Stock Motorcycle history.

"It was definitely a blessing for me to be able to get on a bike for the second half of the season and really shake the cobwebs off," he said. "I'm a lot better than I was when I first raced Matt's bike, but I still have work to do, and it would have been a setback to start in Gainesville without these last few races.

"My expectations for next year are just to pick up where I leave off this season. The realistic goals are semifinals and finals, consistently, with the occasional race win. If you do that, you're in the running – shoot, even if you just make it to the semis every race, you're pretty much guaranteed a top three. Running the RAD Torque Systems colors and having to fill Dal's shoes but on a bike, I'm going to be putting some pressure on myself to perform. I'm very grateful, and I'm really excited."