Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/145534
ROUND 8/JULY 21, 2013 BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY/DENVER, COLORADO DRAG RACING P92 NHRA PRO STOCK SERIES Briefly... Adam and Hector Arana Jr. pose for photos. Arana Jr. was the first rider to qualify for the Countdown to the Championship. make my own clutches so I have that to deal with. Being up here on the mountain, with fat people like me, you can only move so much mass so hard but we found a way." Arana Jr., looking for his first win since starting the season with three-straight victories, rolled through the first three rounds of eliminations by beating Bad Boy Buggies Suzuki's Jimmy Underdahl, Screamin' Eagle HarleyDavidson's Eddie Krawiec and LAT Oils Buell's Mike Berry, but something went horribly wrong in the final round that led to his extremely late reaction time. "Other than the final, when we had a mechanical issue, I did my job, and my crew did their jobs," Arana Jr. said. "This was an awesome day. Words can't describe the feeling you get when you're in a slump and you finally overcome that and you feel good. I'm going to carry this momentum throughout the rest of the year." For Arana Jr., the news wasn't all bad as he became the first Pro Stock Motorcycle rider to clinch a spot in the Countdown. Arana Jr. leads second place Michael Ray by 112 points meaning that he's likely to be the top seed when the playoffs begin at the Charlotte round in mid-September. "It's awesome to be the first guy to clinch in my category," Arana Jr. said. "It's exciting and kind of a relief off your shoulders." CN Final 1. Shawn Gann (Buell) 7.351/181.08 mph 2. Hector Arana Jr. (Buell) 7.376/182.11 mph With a solid head start, Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson's Andrew Hines appeared to be well on his way to a win over Shawn Gann in the semi finals, but his Vance & Hines V-Rod wounded an engine well before the finish line. Hines ran a 7.37 at just 169.25 mph while Gann rode to the final with a 7.312. "He was toast," Hines said. "I was making a nice run and I had a big lead and then it just quit. The engine made some funny sounds and just died. It's a shame because we really needed that round win for the points. At least we've made progress with our program so hopefully we can win a few more rounds next week in Sonoma." While most riders agree that there is parity in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class for the first time in several years, it was hard to argue the makeup of the Denver field. The top seven qualifiers were all aboard Buell V-twins and the quickest Suzuki four-cylinder belonged to Steve Johnson, who was just 13th quickest. Viper Motorcycle Co. Buell's Matt Smith, the winner of the most recent round in Norwalk, Ohio, got beat in the second round when he lost on a holeshot against Mike Berry, but the holeshot didn't bother him nearly as much as his offpace 7.35 elapsed time. "I missed the tune-up really bad and that bothers me a lot more than having a bad light," Smith said. "I'm responsible for the tune-up so it's on me. If the bike had done what I thought it was gonna do, I would have run quick enough to beat him anyway."