Consistency during qualifying in St. Louis could result in first win for Arana

ST. LOUIS – Always looking for improvements during his sophomore season on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Adam Arana is hoping for round-wins at Gateway Motorsports Park during the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals.

With his best pass coming during the second qualifying session of the weekend, the ProtectTheHarvest.com/MAVTV Buell rider laid down a solid 6.905-second pass at 194.94 mph. Tying his best-qualifying position of the season, Arana snagged the No. 9 spot on the ladder.

“It’s been an average weekend for us, not a stellar one like I would have liked,” Arana said. “I qualified just outside the top half again, which is discouraging, but we did have solid passes all weekend.

“Usually we’re fighting a single issue throughout the weekend, but that’s not the case this time. Don’t get me wrong, not having an issue to fix is a nice feeling but it’s also frustrating. It makes it difficult to try to make any changes for improvement when you don’t know what you’re chasing.”

Continuing what seems like an all-season affair, Arana will face off against No. 8 Matt Smith in the first round of eliminations. In their sixth matchup of the 2014 season, Arana trails Smith two round-wins to three. Sunday will prove the youngest Arana’s chance to tie up the score with the defending series champion.

“We’ll see how it goes, but I’m not worried,” said Arana. “I know that he has a bike close to ours in performance this weekend. I have a feeling it will come down to reaction time in our matchup. I just need to cut a good light and have him beat from the start.”

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