Lucas Oil Buell riders Hector Arana Jr., Hector Arana Sr. confident of Pomona success

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 14) — Lucas Oil Buell Pro Stock Motorcycle riders Hector Arana Jr. and Hector Arana Sr. are optimistic about their chances during the Auto Club NHRA Finals on Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

Arana Jr. is excited about the race because he has found some speed in his Lucas Oil Buell, qualifying No. 4. Arana Sr. is pumped because he has made steady improvement through the weekend and knows there is more.

Arana Jr. has struggled to find speed in the second half of the season, qualifying outside the top six at the last six races, despite scoring a victory in St. Louis, but thanks to a pass of 6.833 seconds at a race-best 197.57 mph, he’s back near the top.

“I’ve got to give it all to my dad and the rest of the crew, Andrew Schultz and Louie Lubliner,” Arana Jr. said. “They totally rebuilt these motors and freshened them up for the last race. Apparently, that was the ticket because we’re right back toward the top. We’ve got a good shot to get one last win for the year.”

Arana Jr. has two victories on the season and is fourth in the points standings heading into the final race. In his four previous seasons, he has finished fourth or better in the final standings. He’s also the defending champion of the Pomona race.

“It does give me a little bit of confidence,” Arana Jr. said. “But I’m just going to focus on doing my thing. I’m going to go one round at a time, try to make this bike run the best every pass, and go from there.”

Arana Jr. starts his race-title defense against Angie Smith, who qualified No. 13 with a lap of 6.919 seconds at 192.14 mph.

“Because everything was off on the motor, we’re having to sneak back up on the tune-up,” Arana Jr. said. “I feel like we have a pretty good idea for tomorrow.”

Arana Sr. is pointing to Sunday and beyond after improving on all four qualifying runs in Pomona. His four qualifying passes were, in order, 6.952, 6.926, 6.924, and 6.910 (at 194.44 mph). The last run nailed down the No. 11 qualifying spot.

“Definitely, we’re going in the right direction,” Arana Sr. said. “We got here on Monday and started working on our bikes. First, I worked on Hector’s and I did something a little different on mine, trying to find the tune-up because we’ve been a little off.

“When Hector ran the .83 and top speed, I was all pumped. I started picking up, but it wasn’t responding to the changes. For Q4, we made some more changes, and sure enough we’re going in the right direction now. It’s about time.”

Arana Sr. faces Matt Smith in the first round Sunday. Smith qualified No. 6 with a pass of 6.848 seconds at 195.65 mph.

“Maybe a little too late, but it’s exactly what we needed,” Arana Sr. said. “It gives me the boost over the holidays and off-season to keep on working and go in the right direction. And there’s still more there left, yes.”