Growing up in Philadelphia without a father and having an older brother who was in-and-out of jail, Richard Gadson admits it would have been easy for him to pursue a criminal life had it not been for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program that set him on the right path.
“I didn’t succumb to the streets of Philly (because of the program),” Gadson said. “My horizons were broadened. My mind was opened.”
Today, the 2025 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Motorcycle champion is giving back to the program that played such an instrumental role in his life. Gadson is once again providing behind-the-scenes access to professional drag racing for young people in the program, reinforcing the importance of mentorship and perseverance.
The third year of the program kicked off at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, with a group from the Central Carolina Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. The five other races this year where Gadson will have the program are Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Dallas and Las Vegas.
“At first, I wanted to talk to the kids. Now, I want to encourage people (to participate in the) mentorship program,” said Gadson, who was honored last year by the Big Brothers Big Sisters Philadelphia chapter with the Little Achievement Award. “You can change the odds of one of these kids, (give them) a chance of success. We’re trying to motivate these children.”
Other NHRA competitors who have joined Gadson in his initiative are NHRA Funny Car driver Daniel Wilkerson, Top Fuel competitor Jasmin Salinas and fellow Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Jianna Evaristo.
Gadson, a third-generation racer, points to the Big Brothers Big Sisters Philadelphia chapter as instrumental in his success—personal and professional.
“Dad died when I was 6,” explained Gadson, whose father was Emory “Skip” Otis Gadson and grandfather was Richard “Suicide” Emory Gadson.
“Mom did a great job, but she’s a woman and she can’t raise a man. My older brother, I love him to death, but back then he was a street brat. He was always in-and-out of jail, juvenile detention centers.”
Gadson, who now possesses the record for the fastest nitrous bike at 6.403, 221 mph, was on the same destructive path until he was 12 years old. That’s when he met his male mentor in Philadelphia’s Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter. It was the beginning of a friendship that exists today. Gadson was there when his mentor purchased his first house and when his first child was born. Gadson hadn’t been to the man’s house in 20 years, but he remembered how to get to it and when he recently pulled up with his family, his former Big Brother was mowing his yard.
“He got to meet my daughter for the first time,” Gadson said in recalling the reunion. “We sat and kind of reminisced a little bit. He came to the Maple Grove (Pennsylvania) race last year. That was his first time ever seeing me race.
“It’s not only something I was a part of as a kid. It’s something that has lasted even now through adulthood.”