Adam Arana makes gains at Gatornationals

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Even though Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Adam Arana didn't grab his first NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series career win during eliminations on Sunday, he still has a reason to be proud leaving Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville.

The ProtectTheHarvest.com/MAVTV Buell rider looked like he had a first-round win when he launched off the starting line ahead of John Hall with a .029 reaction. While fighting a heavy wind, Arana didn't have enough to hold off Hall, who ran a 6.878 at 192.11 mph, compared to Arana's 6.945 at 186.38 mph.

"The bike just went real hard to the left, and it got to the point that I couldn't correct it," Arana said. "I had to pull in the clutch a little early, which definitely hurt my e.t. across the 186-foot mark. Unfortunately, because of that, I ended up 10 mph slower than my quickest run all weekend. My reaction was good and I had even left before Hall did. The bike was on an overall good run; I just couldn't get it straight and make a good, safe pass."

He may not have made it to the next round of eliminations, but Arana felt like the entire team made a great effort to get the bike handling right on Sunday.

"The bike was a little better today," Arana said. "It didn't show as much in my results because I had to make adjustments on the bike as I was going down the track.

"The motor is still going strong, but we'll go home and try it all over again. We just need to make sure everything is good to go moving forward. I think we will put it on the dyno and make a couple of test runs to see if we can get some more power before heading to Charlotte (N.C.)."

Even though his second full season in Pro Stock Motorcycle didn't start like he wanted it to, Arana believes he made important progress in the experience department. He no longer feels like a rookie heading into an event; he has the mentality of a veteran.

"I was comfortable on the bike today, which is most important," Arana said. "I have the mental side of racing down, which is good, and I know the performance side will turn up sooner or later. If I have this same mental state going into the rest of the races this season, I'll be good to go get that first win."

Arana will look to take that mentality with him when the Pro Stock Motorcycles return to the circuit for four-wide racing April 11-13 in Charlotte.

ProtectTheHarvest.com