Arana Sr. has personal satisfaction during NHRA Nationals qualifying

READING, PA – A busy weekend at home preparing for Maple Grove Raceway has paid off so far for Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Sr., who finds himself in contention to get his first win of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello season at the NHRA Nationals Sunday.

Consecutively picking up in every qualifying session, the Lucas Oil Buell rider’s quickest pass came in his final attempt, a 6.863 at 196.50 mph. Securing the No. 6 spot on the ladder, Arana will face No. 11 Scotty Pollacheck in the first round of eliminations Sunday.

“We’ve been working on getting the tune-ups right on all the bikes this weekend,” Arana said. “Issues last weekend made for a busy week at home to get ready for here. My bike is good but not where I want it. I picked up a bit in each run. I would like to be higher than where I qualified but you never know what can happen on race day.”

After a season mired in small issues, Arana Racing finished qualifying Saturday collectively with all three Buells within the top six positions. Used to being the team to contend with every weekend in previous years, Arana feels like they are finally back to their usual successful ways.

“I believe that we did well this weekend but there is still more left,” Arana said. “We are definitely headed in the right direction. As we make more runs we’re getting better and we’re picking up the speed. It’s a good thing. Overall I’m happy with the performance and the outcome.

“The hard work is paying off but I’m still No. 6, so it doesn’t feel great. That great feeling will be when I’m No. 1.”

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