Team Arana Ready to Make a Move in the Chase for PSM Title

Arana Sr. will put the hammer down in preparation for Reading

READING, PA – Despite a second-round appearance and solid overall showing this past weekend, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Sr. will have more work on his hands than he originally expected before heading to Maple Grove Raceway for the NHRA Nationals.

Continuing to get his Lucas Oil Buell on the right track, Arana was hoping to spend an extra day at Gateway Motorsports Park to put in valuable track time. However, with his oldest son Hector Jr.’s engine giving out early in the St. Louis eliminations, Arana must now turn his focus towards building a replacement in their race shop at home.

“I was really hoping to test Monday in St. Louis,” Arana said. “We really needed the extra time on the track to figure out what the problem is before we went home.

“There was just too much damage to the motors to stay. We needed to get new parts, get home, and spend as much time as possible in the shop. We’re going to build another motor and see what happens.”

Showing no anxiety about the long week ahead, Arana is self-assured that the entire Arana Racing team will be more than ready for the upcoming race in Reading. Sticking to the same plan that they have used all season, Arana has a feeling that all three Buells will be performing strong this weekend.

“We’ll be OK,” Arana said. “We’ll use the first day of qualifying to try to get a baseline setup in the bikes. From there we can make changes based on the data we get.

“Reading is a fast track and we’ll be watching the weather to make changes. We showed we were competitive in St. Louis and we will again.”
Arana Jr. hopes hard work pays off in Reading

– Closing in on a potential NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series championship, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Jr. is putting in extra time at the shop this week to make sure he’s prepared for the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.

After a blown engine during the first round of eliminations in St. Louis put Arana Racing into thrash mode for the rest of the weekend, the entire team has more work than usual ahead of them before moving on to Reading.

“I don’t know why all of sudden we’re having issues first round,” Arana said. “That’s two weeks in a row for me now and it’s just annoying. We had a flawless first half of the year, but as soon as we get to the Countdown it seems like everything wants to act up.

“We’re a really strong team though. I know we’ll work through it, get everything figured out, and be ready to go for the next race.”

Already with a plan of attack in progress, Arana is confident in their ability to get all the bikes prepped and ready in such a quick turnaround time.

“We were able to assess the damage to the motor before we got home,” Arana said. “We did that so we could order the parts ahead of time. That gives us time to figure out what we want to do so when we get to the shop it’s only a few minimal things to do there.”

With already one win at Maple Grove Raceway in 2011 over Matt Smith, Arana is ready to add another one to the record books at the track, where perfect conditions will lead to broken records.

“I’m really looking forward to having a good, cool track,” Arana said. “It makes for ideal conditions to put down fast passes.

“Hopefully, we can get a good motor together for Reading so we will be able to take full advantage of the good air.”

Historically fast Maple Grove Raceway could play into Arana’s ambition

– With his sophomore NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season coming to a close, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Adam Arana hopes that his growing riding experience continues to pay off during the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, Oct. 2-5, in Reading.

With reaction times comparable to any veteran, the ProtectTheHarvest.com/MAVTV Buell rider is ready to take his skills to the next level. Wanting to improve on his overall e.t., Arana continues to work on bettering his bike along with the rest of his family.

“We have a lot of work to do on all the bikes after Gateway,” Arana said. “The motors need to be up to our standards for the rest of the season. We’ll look at the chassis of my bike as well as it could be an issue. We’re just not 100 percent sure what it is.

“Hopefully, when we review all the video we have from this last weekend we’ll find something.”

While he had a much-improved performance at Gateway Motorsports Park, Arana is still focused on his main goal of finishing all four rounds of qualifying in the top “fast” half of the field.

“Qualifying in the top half of the field seems to be my nemesis,” Arana said. “It’s frustrating but I’m going to keep trying to reach my goal before the end of the season.

“I know you can win from any place on the ladder, but I can’t remember how many rounds this year that I have had the better light than my opponent and I’ve still lost because they’ve run better than me. It happened to me against Matt Smith in Epping (N.H.), my dad in Norwalk (Ohio), and the first round in Gainesville (Fla.). It just happens over and over and I’m ready to make a change.”