Arana Jr. steals the top spot during Reading qualifying

READING, PA – Coming so close all season long, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Jr. was able to grab his second No. 1 qualifying spot of the year for the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.

“We’re going to go one round at a time just like back in my rookie year in 2011,” Arana said. “I used that mentality then and it paid off well. The plan is to do it again this season.”

The Lucas Oil Buell was solid throughout the initial three qualifying sessions, but it wasn’t until the final session that Arana really lit up the scoreboard. Setting low e.t. and top speed of the weekend, Arana ran a 6.796-second pass at 197.22 mph to lock the top spot.

“We were fighting to get the setup right all weekend and just couldn’t get it figured out,” Arana said. “We threw a Hail Mary setup at it for the last session thinking that we really had nothing to lose. It went right down the track and went all the way to the No. 1 spot. I was shocked.

“There were other bikes behind us that I knew could potentially go faster. I was holding my breath hoping it would stick, and thankfully I didn’t have to hold it for that long.”

Still in the hunt to win his first Pro Stock Motorcycle championship, qualifying bonus points could play a crucial factor in how Arana’s season ends. However, the young rider doesn’t want to get ahead of himself but instead focus on the race at hand.

“There is a shot of us competing for the championship but I’m not even looking at that,” Arana said. “I’m going to go one round at a time because I love what I’m doing and that’s what matters. I love running my Lucas Oil Buell and I’m going to do my best to stay riding it on every Sunday.”

Eliminations will start at approximately noon, Sunday, with both qualifying and elimination action broadcast on ESPN2 on tape-delay basis.