IN
THE
WIND
P46
ARANA SR. BREAKS SIX-YEAR DROUGHT
W
hen Lucas Oil Buell's
Hector Arana Sr. won the
NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock
Motorcycle championship in
2009, he had the most domi-
nant bike in the class and there
was no reason to think that he
wasn't going to continue win-
ning for years to come. The wins
stopped but Arana Sr. never
gave up and nearly six years
after his last victory, he reached
the winner's circle again at the
Summit Southern Nationals at
Atlanta Dragway. In the final
round, Arana got the win after
his longtime rival, Screamin'
Eagle Harley-Davidson's Eddie
Kraweic, slowed before the fin-
ish line.
"You don't know what it
means to me to be back in the
winner's circle," said Arana Sr.
"It was bittersweet to have to
beat [Hector Jr.]. I was paying
attention to him the whole week-
end. I was happy to win but sad
that we didn't have a better race.
I was wishing for a better result.
Yes, I had some doubts after all
those years. I didn't always have
the best bike and sometimes
your confidence gets low. I
knew I could keep winning but I
had to believe in myself.
"In the final the bike jumped
like a bronco," said Arana. "It
pulled to the right but I was not
giving up unless he was way
in front of me. As long as I had
control of the bike, I was staying
with it. The Arana's and the Har-
ley [team] is the biggest rivalry
out here and I love that. It gives
us the fuel to keep working and
the fans love it when we go back
and forth."
After qualifying in the number
seven spot, Arana Sr. reached
his 14th career final by beating
Screamin' Eagle Harley-David-
son's Andrew Hines, Bad Boy
Buggies Suzuki's Jimmy Under-
dahl, and his son, Hector Jr. The
elder Arana was also consistent
with a pair of 6.91-second runs
and a 6.93 on his way to the
final. A regular competitor in
NHRA racing since 1990, Arana
Sr. has competed in 260 events
and has now won seven times.
Kevin McKenna
Hector Arana Sr. gets back
to winning at Atlanta.
