Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Norwalk remains a magical place for Arana Sr.



A special feeling always washes over Hector Arana Sr. every time he walks through the gates at Summit Motorsports Park.

The track is the site of Arana's first career victory – a breakthrough on the Lucas Oil Buell after nearly 20 years of trying. This weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Arana is hoping that old Norwalk magic shows up again.

"I will never forget Norwalk," Arana said. "And maybe it might bring me my first win of this season."

However the temptations around the track might force him to move some weight off his bike.

"You get a pint of ice cream for a dollar there," Arana said. "You can’t beat that. I'll be eating ice cream every day. The downside, I'm gonna gain weight. Even if it's hot and I sweat off the weight, I'm just gonna have more ice cream. I can't resist."

Arana has been No. 1 qualifier in three of the last four races and made it to the semifinals in three straight, which is good enough for third in the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings.

"The bike has been very good," Arana said. "We just need to get past the semis to put ourselves in a position to get those wins."

Last week in Chicago, the Lucas Oil Buell was plagued by engine that wasn't 100 percent in harmony. With races on back-to-back weekends, Arana said there isn't going to be much time for a thorough investigation of the problem before heading to Norwalk.

"By the time you get back to the shop, you really only have one day to be able to work," Arana said. "We have enough parts in the truck that we can get something fixed."

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