CONCORD, NC – The eighth annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals have started pretty well for Lucas Oil-sponsored Pro Stock Motorcycle riders Hector Arana Sr. and Hector Arana Jr. The father/son duo earned the sixth and seventh positions, respectively, on the elimination ladder and are already looking forward to better results when race day arrives.

“I guess hard work does pay off,” Arana Sr. said. “I even think we have a little more left in these bikes. We haven’t figured out exactly what this new combination likes so we are going to keep on beating on it, keep on going and as long as we can keep picking up the pace as we go along we will be fine.

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CONCORD, NC – Although fans won’t be able to see it under his Shoei helmet, seventh-year Pro Stock Motorcycle professional Hector Arana Jr. will be smiling ear to ear when he fires up his Lucas Oil Racing TV Buell for the first time at this weekend’s eighth annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.

“I can’t wait to race again,” Arana said, referencing the six-week break since the class’ season opener in Florida. “It seems like we had another Christmas break after Gainesville. As a driver, you want to get into a rhythm with everything you do when you make runs. Having long gaps between races doesn’t help you get comfortable. Fortunately, we’re pretty much on a normal schedule now so I’m a happy guy.”

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CONCORD, NC – With six weeks off between the season-opening Gatornationals and this weekend’s eighth annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, most Pro Stock Motorcycle teams had a chance to not only get some work done, but enjoy a few days off. That wasn’t the case for Lucas Oil veteran Hector Arana Sr., who barely had time to leave his Corydon, Ind., shop for his youngest son Adam’s wedding.

“The first race gave us a direction we needed to go with the bikes and the engines so we got back home and went to work,” Arana said. “It felt like we’d have lots of time to not only work in the shop, but maybe even go testing.

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CHANDLER, AZ – Texan Bryan Sanders thrilled the crowd at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park with a scorching pass of 3.552 seconds at 259.47 mph Saturday to highlight the qualifying action at the season-opening Valley of the Sun Spring Nationals, the first of 10 races in the 2017 Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series.

After failing to make the call in the opening session of Top Fuel Hydro, Sanders silenced any doubters with his big pass in Tommy Thompson’s General Tire-sponsored “Nitrochondriac,” which was more than half a second quicker than his nearest rival.

Top Fuel Hydro leader Bryan Sanders was the star of the show Saturday
“I’m very happy,” Sanders said. “We missed the first round with a little electrical issue. You know, we’ve been out of the boat for four months and even though we ended last season really well you come back out here and you really don’t know what to expect. But we got up there (in Q2) and she laid down a really good pass.”

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GAINESVILLE, FL – It looks like all the hard work Hector Arana Sr. and his son Hector Arana Jr. put in during the off season is paying off with the dynamite duo making a major statement at the season opening event at Gainesville Raceway. Family patriarch Hector Sr. qualified fifth overall with a 6.813-second pass at 197.02 mph, followed closely by Hector Jr., who earned the seventh spot with a 6.828 at 195.42 mph.

The much-anticipated first 200-mph pass almost came to pass with Eddie Krawiec matching Hector Jr’s two-year-old mark of 199.88 mph in Saturday’s early session, but that was as close as anyone got to the milestone. The fastest Hector Sr. reached in qualfying was 198.26 mph, while Hector Jr. topped out at 198.08 mph.

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GAINESVILLE, FL – Everyone in drag racing will be watching the Pro Stock Motorcycle class this weekend in anticipation of the first 200-mph quarter-mile pass in class history. Without question, one of the favorites to earn this little slice of straight-line history is Lucas Oil TV rider Hector Arana Jr.

“I’d love to be the one to do it,” Arana Jr. said. “But there are lots of riders dreaming about the same thing. I think it’s going to be done this year, maybe even this weekend, but so much has to fall into place for a number like that. The conditions have to be perfect, so we’ll see what happens when we start qualifying and go from there.”

Two years ago, at the spring race in Charlotte, Arana Jr. came oh-so-close to the magical mark with a scorching 199.88-mph blast that set an NHRA national record. He backed up that run to make it official with a 199.26-mph run the same weekend.

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GAINESVILLE, FL – Like the rest of his peers in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, 58-year-old Hector Arana Sr. is praying for perfect conditions this weekend at Gainesville Raceway so he can have a shot at running the first 200-mph pass in class history. But Arana Sr.’s motivations may be a little different than many of his fellow riders.

“Having that 200-mph entry with my name next to it in the record books would be neat because it’s there forever, but more than anything, I want to bring glory to Forrest and Charlotte Lucas and Lucas Oil Products,” Arana Sr. said. “And I’m not being a typical racer talking about their sponsor; I mean this from my heart. I owe everything I have to the Lucas family.”

Arana has been racing Pro Stock Motorcycles for 28 years, 25 of which have been with Lucas Oil branding on the side of his bike. His time with Lucas Oil represents the longest continuous current sponsorship in any form
of motorsports.

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POMONA, CA – Lucas Oil Racing TV racer Hector Arana Jr. closed out the 2016 season with a semifinal appearance in the Auto Club NHRA Finals on Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

And Arana Jr. will be a new man when the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season begins next March, as he’ll marry Nicole Nobile on Dec. 10.

“We finished out on a good note,” Arana Jr. said. “I got the bike working well in the third qualifying session Saturday, and we ran well today. I learned a lot this year as far as tuning the bike, and I’m excited to start my career as a new married man. I think she will be cracking the whip, so I’ll go even better.”

Arana Jr. qualified No. 3 and dispatched No. 14 qualifier Freddie Camarena in the first round Sunday. Arana Jr.’s pass of 6.899 seconds at 194.86 mph was more than enough to beat Camarena’s 6.977-second run at 192.69 mph.

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POMONA, CA – Things weren’t looking up for Lucas Oil Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Hector Arana Sr. Instead of his Lucas Oil Buell lurching forward on the starting line in the first round of the Auto Club NHRA Finals on Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, it went up. That brought a red light and ended his day – and his season – way too early.

“I don’t feel bad, and I’m not mad at myself,” Arana Sr. said. “It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen now and then. Everything, the rpm, the traction, the tire temperature, it was perfect. The bike usually rolls forward. We have more rpm or more clutch and it lets the bike roll forward and then you break the beam. But this time when I dropped the clutch, I felt it hit the (wheelie) bar, it came up instantly, and I knew it.

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