CHARLOTTE, NC – Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Jr. had his eye set on back-to-back NHRA Four-Wide Nationals wins, but that dream was dashed after a quick round-two adjustment took him out of contention.

After winning in the first round of eliminations, the Lucas Oil Buell stumbled in the second round with a pass of 6.879 seconds at 195.14 mph to Hector Arana Sr., Eddie Krawiec, and Andrew Hines.

“We made an adjustment before round two that we thought was the right adjustment to make,” Arana said. “We actually softened up the clutch for that round, but then we go out there and it’s locked up more than we thought it would. Because of that we bog, which has never happened before.

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CHARLOTTE, NC – Larry Morgan and the Lucas Oil Ford Pro Stock team are glad the first two days of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals are in the books.

Despite a myriad of problems, Morgan qualified No. 16 for the unique Four-Wide race, giving the veteran a fighting chance in eliminations.

“I’d say, ‘What else could go wrong?’ but I’m worried about finding out,” Morgan said. “Hey, we’re in the show, and we’ll go out and try to kick their butts tomorrow.”

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CHARLOTTE, NC – After a rough start to the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season for Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Jr., stellar qualifying sessions in Charlotte have him as a top contender to take home the win at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.

As it was for the rest of the Lucas Oil Pro Stock Motorcycle team, Q2 was the fastest session for Arana. He launched himself to the No. 2 spot and never relinquished it with a pass of 6.825 seconds at 196.24 mph. He will face off in the first round of final eliminations Sunday against No. 7 Eddie Krawiec, No. 10 Angie Smith, and No. 15 Jim Underdahl.

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CHARLOTTE, NC – In only the second Pro Stock Motorcycle race of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Lucas Oil rider Hector Arana Sr. isn’t pleased with his results, but he knows anything can happen this Sunday at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte.

Arana didn’t have the qualifying sessions Friday and Saturday that he thought his Lucas Oil Buell was capable of running overall. His fast lap came early on in Q2 with a 6.954 at 193.99 mph that placed him No. 14. On Sunday Arana will face off against No. 3 Andrew Hines, No. 6 Matt Smith, and No. 11 Shawn Gann in the first round of eliminations.

“I really don’t know what to expect in the first round tomorrow,” Arana said. “Every time I think something is going to go the way I planned it doesn’t. It’s really frustrating to have this recurring issue.

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CHARLOTTE, NC – After a rough start to his 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, Lucas Oil/MAVTV Pro Stock driver Larry Morgan is more than ready to show his competition at this weekend’s NHRA Four-Wide Nationals what kind of power he really has under the hood.

The Lucas Oil/MAVTV Ford Mustang is prepped and ready to run four-wide in Charlotte, and the idea of lining up against three other competitors doesn’t faze Morgan in the slightest; in fact, it fuels his fire to win.

“I don’t care how many lanes the track is, I just like to race,” Morgan said. “I could be going against one competitor or up to 10 other cars, it doesn’t matter to me. Give me a chance to race, and I’m there until you kick me out. I’m not scared of a challenge and the Four-Wide Nationals is no different.”

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CHARLOTTE, NC – Before the second Pro Stock Motorcycle race of the season, this weekend’s NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Sr. will head to Rockingham, N.C., to test.

Arana had a problem with his data-collection system at the first Pro Stock Motorcycle race in Gainesville, Fla., and did not get any digital information to tune his bike.

“In Gainesville, we didn’t have any data because our RacePak wasn’t working,” Arana said. “We need to make up for that and see what we have so we can tune and try to be ready for Charlotte. We want to qualify in a better position that what we did in Gainesville.”

Arana qualified No. 9 in Gainesville and bowed out in the first round when his Buell developed a mechanical issue. The problem might have been prevented had the data system been working, forcing Arana to tune by the seat of his pants.

“You’re afraid to make a bigger move without the data,” Arana said. “You make small changes so you can be a little bit better, but you also know that you need more than what you’ve got. You don’t want to get in left field if you make that big change.”

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CHARLOTTE, NC – As the defending champion of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Jr. hopes to get back to his winning ways this weekend.

Arana stormed to the victory in 2013 when the Pro Stock Motorcycle class returned to the four-wide format for the first time in three years.

“I was really glad they brought it back last year because I love that track,” Arana said. “It’s a beautiful, prestigious track to go to, and when you go there, you really feel like you’re a part of something because of how immaculate the track is.

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LAS VEGAS, NV – Lucas Oil/MAVTV Pro Stock driver Larry Morgan was looking for an upset during eliminations Sunday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and he almost got it.

The Lucas Oil/MAVTV Ford Mustang put up a charge against No. 3 qualifier Erica Enders-Stevens in the first round of eliminations, but his 6.693 at 206.80 mph wasn’t quite enough compared to her 6.645 at 207.66 mph.

“Sunday was just a racing deal where I spun the tires real hard in low gear,” Morgan said. “That mistake got me into trouble that was almost impossible to overcome. Besides that, we had too much clutch in the right. We didn’t know where we were truly at after qualifying Saturday, but I figured I still had a good chance at pulling out the upset. It would have been a good first run. I could just feel it as I went down the track.

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LAS VEGAS, NV – Lucas Oil/MAVTV Pro Stock driver Larry Morgan’s weekend didn’t start like he had anticipated, but he feels like he is in the right city for anything to happen during the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The Lucas Oil/MAVTV Ford Mustang team went into Saturday’s qualifying sessions needing a fast pass, and Morgan pulled out his best run in Q3, a 6.696 at 206.73 mph. That run secured him in the 14th starting spot, up against No. 3 Erica Enders-Steven in Sunday’s eliminations.

“I am a little disappointed after qualifying this weekend because I feel like we could have run a 6.668 pass,” Morgan said. “That kind of run would have definitely had me starting farther up the ladder since the pack is separated by a couple of hundredths of a second. I was ready to make that fast of a run in Q4, but I just spun the tires real hard, making the 60-foot about three-hundredths off. You can’t make up that difference when you get up here in this altitude.

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LAS VEGAS, NV – Nothing is going to damper Lucas Oil/MAVTV Pro Stock driver Larry Morgan’s attitude when the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series heads to the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, March 28-30 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The Ford Mustang driver is betting it all on himself to take home the win this weekend, but before he can do that, Morgan knows qualifying well is his best hope at making his dream a reality.

“Obviously, I want to take home the Wally, but I feel that way every weekend,” Morgan said. “Realistically, though, I want to qualify well and give it the best shot I’ve got. I firmly believe that if we make good runs and everything goes our way, we can easily go a few rounds in Las Vegas. The whole team and I are really looking forward to seeing what we can do.”

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