Qualifying report

NHRA

Arana Sr. one qualifying run enough for third at Reading qualifying

Edited: Oct 7, 2012, 2:42 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

One out of four can be good, sometimes, for Arana Sr.

READING, Pa. (Oct. 6) - Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Sr. was able to smile Saturday despite getting only one full run in qualifying for the 28th annual Uni-Select Auto Plus NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.

Hector Arana

Photo by: Michael C. Johnson

That's because that pass, in the first qualifying session, has him No. 3 heading into Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations Sunday. Arana lap of 6.834 seconds at 194.46 mph was No. 1 after Q1 and helped him push his streak to 20 consecutive races of qualifying fourth or better.

Arana Sr. faces No. 14 qualifier Michael Phillips in the first round, as Phillips had a best run of 7.013 seconds at 189.23 mph.

"We had a good run in the first session," Arana Sr. said. "I'm all pumped up. I said, 'All right, we've got something we can work with.' From there on, everything's going backwards. It's been really hectic."

Arana's bike wouldn't shift into top gear in the second qualifying session, as he slowed to a 7.274-second run at 146.73 mph.

"It felt good, and I can feel the bike accelerating," Arana Sr. said. "I said, 'All right, I'm on a good run.' Then the bike wouldn't go into high gear. I aborted the run, and we changed valve springs last night and everything.

"This morning, we ran, and it felt all right. It wasn't what we wanted, so we really got aggressive on the last hit. The track felt good, but we just spun the tire like a Top Fuel car."

Arana's final pass was 7.448 seconds, but he still reached 193.79 mph at the top end.

"We're behind the 8-ball," Arana Sr. said. "I know what not to do tomorrow."

Arana Sr. knows he has work ahead of him, not only to improve the tune-up but also to be prepared for his matchup with Phillips.

"Michael Phillips is a helluva rider," Arana Sr. said. "I know he's coming with all the tricks that he can to make sure he can try to get a win. All I need to do is don't worry about him, let him do what he wants to do and stay focused on my lane. That's all. Worry about Hector."

Arana Sr. is fourth in the points standings with three races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship.

Source: Lucas Oil Racing

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Things shaping up for big day for Enders at Reading

Next article Connolly hopes to continue impressive Reading run

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

F1 United States GP: Charles Leclerc pips Max Verstappen to top FP1

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

1 h

F1 United States GP: Charles Leclerc pips Max Verstappen to top FP1

George Russell reveals he lost sleep over his own driving, not the F1 championship

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

2 h

George Russell reveals he lost sleep over his own driving, not the F1 championship

F1 United States GP live commentary and updates - Ferrari leads FP1

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

2 h

F1 United States GP live commentary and updates - Ferrari leads FP1

Max Papis announces departure as IndyCar chief steward

IndyCar

Indy IndyCar 3 h

Max Papis announces departure as IndyCar chief steward

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts