Hector Arana Jr. looks to come through in the clutch in Chicago

CHICAGO (July 9) -- In drag racing, sometimes you have to take the bad with the good. That's true for Hector Arana Jr., rider of the Lucas Oil Racing TV Buell, after qualifying in the No. 10 spot (6.896 seconds, 194.32 mph) for Sunday's eliminations at the 19th annual K&N Filters Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., outside of Chicago.

The good news is he's qualified in a very competitive Pro Stock Motorcycle field. The bad news is he will have to race No. 7 qualifier Hector Arana Sr., his dad and teammate, in the first round of eliminations tomorrow. It's the third time in the previous four events that father and son have battled in the first round. Arana Sr. won both of the previous matchups.

Arana Jr. says he doesn't change anything about his routine when his dad lines up in the opposite lane against him.

"I don't prepare any differently when it's him," Arana Jr. said. "I know what he can run. I look at my stuff and I know I can run that, if not better."

Although he sees areas of improvement, Arana Jr. is very optimistic about his chances of getting his first win of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tomorrow.

"That last hit (qualifying session four on Saturday) was an awesome launch to the 60-foot timer, but it was just struggling the rest of the way down the track," Arana Jr. said. "It slowed on speed and I was like, 'What happened?' I thought the motor was hurt, but when we downloaded the data and looked at everything, I was light on the clutch.

"I definitely know I can win if I can get all of my ducks in a row because I saw two runs in qualifying where I had a killer 60-foot time and then I was light on the clutch down the track, so it was fast but it wasn't that fast. On other runs, I had enough clutch, but my 60-foot wasn't good, and I was No. 1 in the back half (incremental times). If I can just get the two of those together, we'll be alright. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to look at all my notes and take the best educated guess and try to get at least somewhere in between."

Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations start at noon, Sunday. FOX Sports 1 will carry qualifying action from 10 p.m. to midnight ET, Saturday and eliminations live beginning at 2 p.m., Sunday.

"It's a tight field," Arana Jr. said. "We are not far off and we are doing a lot of experimenting right now to get ready for the Countdown (to the Championship). Hopefully by the time the Countdown comes, I'll know exactly what to do. I'll be ready."

Lucas Oil Racing TV is the first streaming TV network dedicated solely to the world of motorsports -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The new network is the world's premier motorsports destination. Programming includes live and pre-taped racing, expanded pre- and post-race action, behind-the-scenes content, unseen interviews, automobile build shows, and an extensive library of national and international motorsports content. The app is available through www.LucasOilRacing.TVfor viewing on smartphones and tablets, as well as Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Android Tablets, and Roku. Subscriptions are $59.99 with a one-year agreement, or $6.99 a month for a pay-as-you-go plan. Sign-ups are available now on www.LucasOilRacing.TV.

Lucas Oil Racing TV Buell rider Hector Arana Jr. will have to race his dad in the first round of eliminations tomorrow at the K&N Filters Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago.

Visit LucasOil.com, LucasOilRacing.TV, and GeigerMediaGlobal.com for more information.