Lucas Oil Racing TV's Hector Arana Jr. ends season with semifinal in Pomona

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 13) - Lucas Oil Racing TV racer Hector Arana Jr. closed out the 2016 season with a semifinal appearance in the Auto Club NHRA Finals on Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

And Arana Jr. will be a new man when the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season begins next March, as he'll marry Nicole Nobile on Dec. 10.

"We finished out on a good note," Arana Jr. said. "I got the bike working well in the third qualifying session Saturday, and we ran well today. I learned a lot this year as far as tuning the bike, and I'm excited to start my career as a new married man. I think she will be cracking the whip, so I'll go even better."

Arana Jr. qualified No. 3 and dispatched No. 14 qualifier Freddie Camarena in the first round Sunday. Arana Jr.'s pass of 6.899 seconds at 194.86 mph was more than enough to beat Camarena's 6.977-second run at 192.69 mph.

Arana Jr. then got a pass to the semifinals when Chip Ellis couldn't make the call in the second round. Ellis had lost his brakes and put his Pro Stock Motorcycle in the sandtrap and netting at the top end of the track, and the damage was enough to keep him from racing Arana Jr.

Arana Jr's winning pass was 6.945 seconds at 191.59 mph, setting up his third semifinal appearance of the season. There, he ran into eventual race winner Matt Smith, who left first with a stellar .018-second reaction time. Smith's pass of 6.946 seconds at 192.44 mph got the victory as Arana Jr. slowed to a run of 7.569 seconds at 134.10 mph.

"It's been a long season," Arana Jr. said. "Although when you here and you look back, you're like, 'Man, the season's done already.' We all put in a lot of hard work and tried everything we could to try and get our motors back to where they were.

"We are working on things and I believe that we should have everything resolved come next year."

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.