While one big qualifying streak continued for Arana Racing, another came to an unexpected end.
Lucas Oil Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Sr. qualified for his 140th consecutive race, which is the seventh-longest active streak in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, but son Hector Arana Jr. couldn’t get his Lucas Oil Racing TV Buell into the field of the seventh annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Foods, ending a streak of 80 races that dated back to his debut in 2011.
Arana Sr., coming off a runner-up finish at the season opener in Gainesville, Fla., qualified No. 6 with a pass of 6.842 seconds at 196.16 mph. He’ll be in the quad with No. 3 Angelle Sampey, No. 11 Karen Stoffer, and No. 14 Shawn Gann.
“My bike is doing well,” Arana Sr. said. “We made some little changes and it’s responding, so that’s good. It’s gratifying because you can see the changes, and that way you can know which way to go to improve.”
Still, Arana Sr. is disappointed that his son won’t be able to race on Sunday.
“No, it’s not easy at all,” Arana Sr. said. “If I could go back, I’d give him my engine. It is what it is. We just have to go back home, and I’ll put that motor back on the dyno and see where the problem is. We’ve got to find it, whether it’s in the engine or the wiring or the chassis. We’re going to find it.”
Arana Jr., who holds the elapsed time and speed records here, vows to fight on after ending up No. 18 for the 16-bike field.
“Never give up, never quit,” Arana Jr. said. “This is only going to make us stronger. When we figure out the problem, we’re going to be good to go. It might take another race; hopefully it doesn’t. I prefer to have this happen now than this happen at the end of the season.
“In past years, we’ve done great in the beginning and struggled at the end. Hopefully, this is a turn.”
Arana Jr. is confident his team will pinpoint the issue and be better in the long run.
“We’ve got a lot of things going on that hopefully here shortly they all come together,” Arana Jr. said. “Hopefully we’ll be having everybody crying and hating us.”
Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations begin around 1 p.m., Sunday. FOX Sports 1 will air qualifying action from 10 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, and elimination racing from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., Sunday. All times are listed in Eastern time zone.
