Arana pumped about the future after solid showing in Sonoma

SONOMA, CA – ProtectTheHarvest.com/MAVTV rider Adam Arana had just lost a close race in the second round of the NHRA Sonoma Nationals on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, but he still wore a wide smile.

Why? Because his Arana Racing team solved a yearlong problem that had plagued Arana, giving him new optimism for the rest of the season.

“I’m excited for the rest of the year, considering we fixed our main issue,” Arana said. “Fixing that issue will definitely help us out on Sundays.”

Arana had mysteriously gone through six crankshafts in his engines this season, but the team discovered why this weekend.

“The bike ran good,” Arana said. “We had a good 60-foot and it left real nice, clean and straight. That’s an improvement from Denver and some of the earlier qualifying sessions. We learned something during qualifying here: We found out why I was going through crankshafts, so when we get home, we’re going to correct that.”

As an added bonus, Arana scored a round-win in Sonoma, knocking off No. 4 qualifier Scotty Pollacheck in the first round. Pollacheck went red by .042-second while Arana sped to a pass of 6.928 seconds at 192.44 mph.

“It was nice getting a round-win,” Arana said. “Scott’s a great guy, and I really don’t like running people who I enjoy, but this is competition.”

Arana went even quicker in the second round, 6.906 seconds at 194.83 mph, but he couldn’t overcome John Hall, who made a pass of 6.867 at 195.85 mph to advance to the semifinals.

“I was comfortable and had a decent light,” Arana said. “I could’ve done a little bit better as a rider, but it wasn’t going to be enough to win. It stinks losing and I don’t like losing, but all I can do is focus on Indy and the future now and not worry about the past.”

The future is a month away, as Pro Stock Motorcycle riders won’t race again until the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, Aug. 27-Sept. 1, at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.

“I’m pretty excited to go to Indy,” Arana said. “I know I’m going to have a fast motor. We’re going to work hard, we’re going to dyno and look for power. I’m going to have a good, strong motor, and I hope we can go some rounds.”