ATLANTA (May 3) – Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Sr. has been plenty fast in the two NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle races of 2012, but he doesn't have much to show for it – yet. The past Full Throttle Drag Racing Series champion hopes to change that in this weekend's Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. "I'm really happy with the way things are going right now," Arana Sr. said. "The performance is there. Now, I just have to keep working at it and learn this motor. Every motor you build is different. With (son) Hector (Arana Jr.'s) motor, we've been running that for over six months, so we know what it wants and what it doesn't like. "I'm still earning this motor. As I go along, I see what works and what doesn't work. Once I learn that, then I can be more consistent all the time." Arana Sr.'s engine, named "Forrest" after Lucas Oil founder Forrest Lucas, has helped him qualify No. 4 in Gainesville and No. 1 in Houston last weekend. "Forrest is coming along great," Arana Sr. said. "We're still tweaking with him." Yet, poor luck and bad breaks has left Arana Sr. with only one round victory. "I was having some pretty good runs in Houston, and to my surprise, Hector (Jr.) ran that .84," Arana Sr. said of his son's 6.846-second pass in the semifinals. "We're pretty much tapped out. But what we need to do is have it consistent. Now, with this warmer weather, learn from it because we're heading for a period of time where the weather's going to be warm." Temperatures were in the 80s for Houston, and they will be even warmer in Atlanta this weekend. "You know, when I lived in Miami, I loved the heat," Arana Sr. said. "Now that we're live in Indiana and we go over the winter with colder temperatures, 90s is tough." Not only does the heat affect Arana Sr. and his team, but it makes for a tougher tune-up for the bike. "I just got up on the roof of the trailer to set up the pit, and I'm like, 'Wow, I'm running out of breath and tired,'" Arana Sr. said. "You just don't want to get going. Pretty much, the bike is the same way. It can't all the power, and you have to wait for your shift points and everything." Qualifying for the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals gets under way at 3:30 p.m. EDT at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga. Two more rounds of qualifying begin at 11:30 a.m. Saturday with eliminations starting at 11 a.m. Sunday. ESPN2 will broadcast the qualifying show at 7 p.m. EDT Saturday. The eliminations show will air at 7 p.m. Sunday. From: Rob Geiger
