Joey Gladstone has the looks. He has the personality. Heck, he has the name. Now Gladstone is ready to put the whole package together and start being competitive.

Joining San Marino racing on the San Marino Excavating Suzuki for the 2017 season, Gladstone checked one item off of his racing dream bucket list earlier this year. Now, he is ready to add his first career final and, eventually, that first Wally.

“This has been a dream of mine, probably since I was 12,” Gladstone said. “To finally be out here doing this, it is an awesome experience. It’s not cheap and it’s not easy, and this is a really difficult level of competition, but I am enjoying it and I feel like this is where I am supposed to be. It is humbling. Hopefully I can come up with some sponsors for next year and be able to do it and have more fun.”

Coming over the from the other side of the world in motorcycle racing, driving a 700 horsepower, turbocharged, Pro Street Suzuki, Gladstone admits that the competition in NHRA is much greater than he ever expected. So far in 2017, Gladstone has managed one semifinal and sits seventh in the championship standings. But the big surprise to the young competitor is just how serious his opponents take their racing.

“It is a different vibe out here. I come from an all-motorcycle racing community where everybody is really tight-knit and goes from trailer to trailer, hanging out until three in the morning,” Gladstone said. “Here, everybody kind of stays to themselves. If they do venture out they have that one person they go and talk to. Everything is very secretive, people holding rags over their motorcycles so nobody can see it.

“All it is is a naturally aspirated engine with a wheelie bar and a slick tire, there ain’t much to them. That was surprising to me, but whatever makes them feel good. We are going to do our own thing and it will come around.”

Gladstone qualified fourth on Saturday in Norwalk, with a 6.904 at 193.65 mph, keeping up his streak of qualifying in the top half of the field in every race so far this season.