| June 27, 2023
In 2008, Hector Arana Sr. won the first NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle event of his career at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. A year later, he was crowned an NHRA world champion. Fast forward 15 years and Arana’s son, Hector Jr., has joined his father as a Norwalk winner after defeating Steve Johnson, the class’ most recent winner, in the final round of the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.
By Kevin McKenna | Photos by Matt Polito
Arana Jr. rode his GETTRX Buell to a 6.82-second run at 199 mph to cover Johnson’s 6.94 aboard his Mac Rak Suzuki. Arana Jr. now has 18 NHRA wins to his credit.
“We definitely have momentum; we’ve had a fast bike, and we’ve been qualifying really well and running well,” Arana Jr. said. “We had a good bike in Bristol, we just had a couple little gremlins we needed to get through, but I’d rather have those earlier in the season than later. We’re working through all those little details, but this shows that our team does know how to win. We build off the momentum, and it fuels us to keep driving harder and going out there and turning on more win lights.”
Arana’s victory came just a day after a frustrating loss in the final of the Mission Foods 2Fast2Tasty Challenge, a special event that provides a rematch of the final four competitors from the previous NHRA event. Arana was a semifinalist in Bristol, along with Angie Smith, Gaige Herrera and Johnson.
Arana lost out on the opportunity to earn bonus cash and points after a small error in the final round against Smith’s Denso Buell.
“We made one little mistake in the Mission 2Fast2Tasty Challenge, and we were able to learn from our mistake and come out [Sunday] with a really fast, consistent bike,” Arana said. “That gives you all the confidence in the world as a rider, knowing you have a good bike beneath you and that when you let the clutch out, it’s going to do what it’s supposed to do and go right down the track. This GETTRX Buell, she was on a line, straight down the track every time. That gave me the confidence I need to get the win today.”
Arana and his family team spent most of the 2022 season searching for the proper funding to not only go to the races, but to be competitive once they got there. They found what they were looking for in Steve Bryson’s GETTRX Credit Card processing. Arana went on to win two of the final three events last season, so it wasn’t surprising to see him find the winner’s circle early in 2023.
Prior to racing Johnson in the final, Arana earned wins against Wes Wells, as well as the husband-and-wife team of Matt and Angie Smith, with whom he’s had a spirited rivalry. The race against Matt Smith’s Denso Suzuki was especially memorable since it was also one of the closest of the day with Arana winning by a slim 6.82 to 6.83 margin.
As for Johnson, he missed out on an opportunity to score a second-straight win, but did manage to make the final by beating rookie Chase Van Sant, along with Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Eddie Krawiec and Scrappers Suzuki’s Jianna Evaristo.
The Norwalk event was not particularly kind to the Vance & Hines team, especially championship leader Gaige Herrera. The second-year rider came out swinging with wins at the first three races of the season in Gainesville, Charlotte and Chicago. Herrera also went to the final round in Bristol where his 14-round win streak ended with a red-light start against Steve Johnson. This time, Herrera slowed to a 6.98 in the second round and fell victim to Evaristo’s competitive 6.89-second run.
Despite the loss, Herrera still holds a generous 189-point lead over Arana in the Camping World NHRA standings, while Johnson is third, 194 points back. The series will resume July 14-16 at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Denver’s Bandimere Speedway.
VIDEO | Hector Arana Jr. Wins in Norwalk
NHRA PSM
FINAL Pro Stock Motorcycle: Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.821, 199.82 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.943, 176.63.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: 1. Hector Arana Jr; 2. Steve Johnson; 3. Matt Smith; 4. Jianna Evaristo; 5. Eddie Krawiec; 6. Angie Smith; 7. Marc Ingwersen; 8. Gaige Herrera; 9. Ryan Oehler; 10. Chase Van Sant; 11. Ron Tornow; 12. John Hall; 13. Kelly Clontz; 14. Wesley Wells; 15. Chris Bostick.
Pro Stock Motorcycle Points Standings: 1. Gaige Herrera, 552; 2. Hector Arana Jr, 363; 3. Steve Johnson, 358; 4. Eddie Krawiec, 328; 5. Matt Smith, 321; 6. Angie Smith, 291; 7. Chase Van Sant, 254; 8. Jianna Evaristo, 241; 9. Marc Ingwersen, 205; 10. Ryan Oehler, 196.
For more information, visit NHRA.com
