Lucas Oil Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Hector Arana Jr. upbeat as season concludes

POMONA, CA – Although the 2017 season didn’t end as he had hoped, Hector Arana Jr. was in good spirits as he began packing his trailer for the offseason. The reason for his optimism stems from the early results turned in by his brand-new Lucas Oil EBR during the last two races of the season.

“The only bummer about this season ending is I won’t get to ride this new EBR for a few months,” Arana Jr. said. “What a great bike and the future is going to be very exciting for me and my dad (teammate Hector Arana Sr.). Once we get this bike totally dialed in, and now we have four months to get it ready, we’ll be better than ever.”

Arana Jr. qualified fifth with a 6.828 at 198.15 mph but didn’t complete his opening-round race against Matt Smith when the Lucas Oil bike shut off at the launch, forcing him to surrender the run.

“We’re not sure what happened but it basically did the same thing as it did in Q4,” Arana Jr. said. “Last night we changed everything back to exactly how it was in Q3 when we ran the 6.82 but obviously there is still something going on in there. Like I said, the biggest bummer is not getting some more passes under our belts today.

“The way this EBR ran two weeks ago in Las Vegas when my dad was riding it and then again this weekend when I switched over to it has all of us very excited. It’s going to be a great bike for us for many years.”

Arana Sr., who missed a large portion of the year after having shoulder surgery following the Englishtown race, was equally optimistic about the future of his race team.

“We’re pleased,” Arana Sr. said. “Right now we have this one EBR so in the off season we’ll try to get another one built so we can come out with a true two-bike effort next season. It will be much better to have two identical bikes rather than one Buell and one EBR.

“The off season always comes fast and goes by even faster. There’s a lot of work to be done, including fixing a motor we hurt really bad on Friday, and getting the bodywork and framing put together for the second EBR. I already feel the need to be at the shop.”

The Arana’s were quick to thank long-time sponsors Lucas Oil, Lucas Oil Racing TV, MAVTV and ProtectTheHarvest.com.

“We always try to represent Lucas in the best way possible,” Arana Jr. said. “That will never chance. We’re fighting hard for them every day and hopefully next year we’ll take them into the winner’s circle many times with the EBRs.”