Lucas Oil rider Hector Arana Sr. hopes to meet son in Denver final

DENVER – The only person who was more excited than Hector Arana Jr. when he moved up to the No. 2 qualifying position in the final qualifying session for the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals on Saturday at Bandimere Speedway was his dad. That’s because it moved the Aranas to opposite sides of the Pro Stock Motorcycle ladder, and Hector Arana Sr. could face his son in the final round Sunday.

“I was jumping up and down when I heard he ran an 7.18.” Arana said. “I saw him bypass Andrew (Hines), so that was a relief for me.”

Arana ended up in the No. 4 qualifying spot with a pass of 7.218 seconds at 186.07 mph, with Hector Jr. in the No. 2 position. Father and son have faced each other in one final round, in Chicago last year, and Hector Jr. won that battle.

Arana has one victory in 2015, in Atlanta, and he sits fifth in the points standings. His No. 4 qualifying spot was the second-highest of the season, behind only a No. 3 in Englishtown, N.J.

“I can’t complain; I qualified well,” Arana said. “There is still a little bit of improvement that needs to be done. We’re just working on it and trying to figure out what this tune-up needs. It’s amazing how from one bike to the other bike it doesn’t repeat. Other than that we are doing great. Hector Jr. had an excellent run. We are happy campers over here.”

Hector Jr.’s Q4 pass also was the quickest by any Pro Stock Motorcycle on Saturday, earning Arana Racing 500 Colorado Lottery tickets for the third year in a row (Adam Arana won them in 2013 and Hector Jr. in 2014).

But before the team could start scratching the tickets, some preparation had to be done.

“We are going to tear up some lottery tickets when the work is over,” Arana said.