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Hector Arana Jr. gunning for third consecutive Pro Stock Motorcycle final

SONOMA, CA – Lucas Oil Buell Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Jr. is scratching his head despite a top-five Hector Arana Jr - Sonomaqualifying effort at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals this weekend at Sonoma Raceway.

Arana is coming off two consecutive final-round appearances, including a victory in Chicago, but after a nearly flawless race in Denver last Sunday, his bike is not getting off the starting line like he’d like it in Sonoma.

“We’ve got the power,” Arana said. “The motor’s running strong. Right now, we’re just having some issues leaving the starting line and some inconsistencies. It’s really a bummer, especially when we leave a racetrack where we didn’t have to touch the bike once and it was super consistent.”

Arana still qualified No. 5 with a top pass of 6.867 seconds at 194.38 mph, and he has the fastest speed of the weekend in the class, 198.79 mph, but the 10-time race winner wants to be closer to the front of the elapsed-time chart.

“We’ve just got to go over everything and closely look at all the parts and diagnose what the issue is,” Arana said. “We’ll definitely have it figured out for tomorrow.”

Arana starts Sunday’s eliminations against Freddie Camarena, who qualified No. 12 with a pass of 6.963 seconds at 196.13 mph.

Arana also competed in the NHRA Pro Bike Battle on Saturday, winning in the first round before falling to Andrew Hines in a race within a race among the eight best drivers based on qualifying points over the last calendar year.

Arana, the No. 2 qualifier, beat Steve Johnson in the first round with a run of 6.879 seconds at 198.79 mph, but despite leaving first on Hines in the semifinals, Arana’s pass of 6.973 seconds at 194.69 mph couldn’t hold off Hines’ 6.941-second run at 191.40 mph.

“The Battle went well, “Arana said. “We won first round, which was the furthest I’ve been in the Battle. Andrew and I had a drag race off the line: He was an .034 and I was a .030. Unfortunately, we spun the tire off the starting line, so it was over from that point.”

But Arana has high hopes to go a little farther on Sunday.

“We’re going to go over the bike with a fine-tooth comb,” Arana said. “We’re going to figure this thing out, and we’ll be ready to swing tomorrow.”

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