Lucas Oil Racing TV's Hector Arana Jr. will start eliminations in No. 11 position

ST. LOUIS (Sept. 24) -- Hector Arana Jr., rider of the Lucas Oil Racing TV Buell, is looking for an opening-round upset over Andrew Hines to start a long day of racing tomorrow.

After qualifying in the No. 11 spot (6.910 seconds, 194.18 mph) for Sunday's eliminations at the 5th annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park just outside of St. Louis, Arana is eager to get his new motor "Jake" back into action for eliminations.

"Jake", affectionately named after Forrest and Charlotte Lucas' late grandson Jake Lucas, made its debut at the recently completed U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. 

"Jake's alright," Arana explained. "For whatever reason we were thrown a curve with the tune-up in qualifying. We ended up switching the ECU (electronic control unit) and now we're trying to figure it out.

"I had a good setup for the starting line with the other ECU, but for whatever reason it's different now. It's a little bit of a learning curve trying to figure out what the bike wants to leave the (starting) line."

Arana is very optimistic about his chances of getting his first win of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tomorrow and moving up in the championship points.

Arana, who entered the St. Louis event in seventh place in Countdown to the Championship playoffs points, said, "We got the tune-up figured out in that last pass and we picked up speed, so now I've got to get it to leave the line and I believe we will."

Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations start at noon, Sunday, and will air live from 1 to 4 p.m. on FOX Sports 1. (All times listed in CT).

Hector Arana Jr., rider of the Lucas Oil Racing TV Buell, is looking for an opening-round upset over Andrew Hines to start a long day of racing tomorrow at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals.

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.TV for 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.

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