Lucas Oil
Gainesville proves to be a good track for Lucas Oil rider Arana Jr.
GAINESVILLE, FL – Lucas Oil Buell Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Jr. started off his 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag 
Racing Series season with an impressive finish at the NHRA Gatornationals this weekend at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville.
The Lucas Oil rider carried the banner for the Arana family by charging his way to the semifinal round, taking down Jim Underdahl and Eddie Krawiec along the way. Momentum didn’t carry Arana far enough, though, when he fell by a bike-length to eventual winner Steve Johnson in the semi’s, 6.874 at 195.48 mph to 6.906 at 195.70 mph.
Gatornationals provides valuable information for Lucas Oil rider Arana Sr.
GAINESVILLE, FL – Lucas Oil Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Sr. may not have opened his 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season the way he had hoped, but he definitely can be proud of the effort put in by his entire team at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville.
The first round of the NHRA Gatornationals found the Lucas Oil rider matched up against Scotty Pollacheck, but an issue with Arana’s bike caused him to shut it down early. With a final run of 9.750 seconds at 86.95 mph, Arana lost to the eventual finalist.
“I felt good, comfortable, and confident when I pulled up to the line today,” Arana said. “When I dropped the clutch I heard it: The bike just died. Not only did it die, but it did not respond for what seemed like an eternity to me. When it finally took off I was like, ‘OK, I still have a chance to catch him.’ I shifted and went for the next gear change and it wouldn’t change. At that point I just had to shut it off; the run was over for me.”
Lucas Oil pro Morgan has confidence after solid Gatornationals
GAINESVILLE, Fl – Lucas Oil Ford Mustang driver Larry Morgan carries a record and a lot of confidence to the next Pro Stock race after a solid weekend at the NHRA Gatornationals this weekend at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville.
Morgan became the quickest Ford driver in Pro Stock history when he qualified No. 10 with a pass of 6.529 seconds at 211.69 mph. He also made two other good runs in qualifying, following up a solid test session in Bradenton, Fla., last week.
“Hey, we had a good weekend,” Morgan said. “We set the record for a Ford, and I’m proud to have that one. We’ll get back to work and be ready for Vegas.”
Lucas Oil veteran Arana Sr. goes old-school for Gatornationals
GAINESVILLE, FL – Lucas Oil Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Sr. just laughs when he’s told his official start to the 
season was Saturday at the NHRA Gatornationals this weekend at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville.
That’s because Friday was basically a lost day, as transmission problems aborted one run and kept the veteran from even attempting a pass in Q2. But Saturday was much better, and Arana qualified No. 9 with a pass of 6.868 seconds at 195.22 mph.
“It’s been really stressful, but I finally made a good run,” Arana said. “We still haven’t turned everything around because we have two runs with no data on the clutch, on the rest of the engine.”
Great qualifying effort has Arana Jr. ready for eliminations in Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, FL – With qualifying completed, Lucas Oil Buell Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Jr. is poised to start his 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season with a victory Sunday during the NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville.
Qualifying was all about adaptation for Arana, who knew his first couple of sessions wouldn’t be his best but that he would be competitive by the end.
“We haven’t run since Pomona last year, so Q1 was like, ‘Here goes nothing,’ ” Arana said. “It was our last setup from Pomona. We ran it and it wasn’t even close, but at least we had somewhere to go.”
Lucas Oil’s Morgan becomes quickest Ford Pro Stock driver
GAINESVILLE, FL – Lucas Oil Ford Mustang driver Larry Morgan may be near the twilight of his career, but the veteran Pro Stock 
campaigner still has plenty of gas left in his tank.
With his No. 10 qualifying spot for the NHRA Gatornationals this weekend at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville, Morgan also became the quickest driver in a Ford with his pass of 6.529 seconds at 211.69 mph.
“I’m pretty proud of that,” Morgan said. “We started with a clean sheet of paper with Ford. We were in the engineering part of it with them. It is gratifying that we went out there and ran good with it.”
Forrest Lucas enshrined in International Drag Racing Hall of Fame
GAINESVILLE, FL – Lucas Oil co-founder Forrest Lucas joined a long list of drag racing greats with his induction into the 
International Drag Racing Hall of Fame on Thursday night at the Paramount Plaza Hotel & Conference Center.
Lucas was part of the 2014 class of Hall of Fame members that also included John Abbott, Al Bergler, Frank Hawley, Tom Hoover, and Warren Johnson. A banquet was held in their honor Thursday night.
“Forrest, you’re a very special person, you’re a man of your word, and in my opinion, you’re a visionary because you see things that no one else does,” said NHRA President Tom Compton, who presented Lucas for enshrinement. “You make it happen, and you are so truly deserving of this honor tonight because of all that you, your family, and your company have done for this great sport.”
Work continues for Lucas Oil’s Morgan in Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, FL – The work never ends for Lucas Oil Pro Stock driver Larry Morgan and his race team.
Since the most recent race on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule, Morgan and his small team have been busy preparing for the NHRA Gatornationals this weekend at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville. That includes testing in Bradenton, Fla., with several other Pro Stock teams.
“We’ve been thrashing,” Morgan said. “We got a lot of engine stuff done, and I tried a lot of carburetor stuff in Bradenton, things we haven’t had a chance to do this year.”
Lucas Oil rider Arana Sr. has simple goals for 2014 season
GAINESVILLE, FL – Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Sr. will begin his 25th season of Pro Stock Motorcycle racing this weekend at the NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville, but instead of celebrating, the 55-year-old veteran is looking for simple gifts during the 2014 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
“We worked hard to get ready,” Arana said. “We regrouped and learned some things from last year. Hopefully, we can stay consistent this year.”
Arana, the 2009 Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, finished fifth in the points standings in 2013 with four No. 1 qualifiers and two final-round appearances and extended his streak to five years in a row of finishing in the top five.
Beyond hoping to continue that streak, Arana wants to return to victory lane in 2014, as well as see his sons Hector Jr. and Adam pile up some victories this season.
Arana Jr. looking for repeat win this weekend in Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, FL – After winning last year’s season opener, Lucas Oil Buell Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Jr. is ready 
to get on the road and start his 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season at the 45th annual NHRA Gatornationals, March 13-16 at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville.
Expectations are high for Arana, who is ready to hop back on his Lucas Oil Buell and get this season started on the right foot.
“I set some pretty high standards for myself last season in Gainesville,” Arana said. “I look to do the same again this year. It’s a new season and I want to start it off like I did in 2013 with a win in Gainesville.
“Our goal as a team is for one of us to win the race. Ultimately to have at least two of us end up in the final would be ideal and with all three of us reaching the semifinals. We’re going to try our best to qualify really well and hopefully end up first, second, and third.”
