After failing to take advantage of superb conditions during qualifying on Friday, the current NHRA Pro Stock point leader, Hector Arana, wasn’t about to let the sun set Saturday without taking his shot at the class elapsed time record, and the 20 points that accompanies it.

Arana took his cut and laid down the quickest run in the history of the class with a 6.851 on his first pass of the day. The No. 1 qualifying effort held through the final session on Saturday for his sixth No. 1 of 2009 and seventh of his career.

“We really wanted to set the record,” said Arana, lamenting his inability to produce the one-percent back-up in the final qualifying session. “My gut instinct was to drop the two-step even more than we did. We had to make sure we could leave the starting line to set the ET record. Tomorrow we have another opportunity but we have to focus on winning races.”

After failing to take advantage of superb conditions during qualifying on Friday at the NHRA Midsouth Nationals, the current NHRA Pro Stock point leader, Hector Arana, wasn’t about to let the sun set Saturday without taking his shot at the class elapsed time record, and the 20 points that accompanies it.

Arana took his cut and laid down the quickest run in the history of the class with a 6.851 on his first pass of the day. The No. 1 qualifying effort held through the final session on Saturday for his sixth No. 1 of 2009 and seventh of his career.

“We really wanted to set the record,” said Arana, lamenting his inability to produce the one-percent back-up in the final qualifying session. “My gut instinct was to drop the two-step even more than we did. We had to make sure we could leave the starting line to set the ET record. Tomorrow we have another opportunity but we have to focus on winning races.”

Arana wants to win the race but believes tomorrow’s performance will yield the required 6.919 to secure the mark.

“I know it will come and I will run between that and a .92,” Arana explained. “We should be back to running consistent .80s. Then we can back up the record.”

He missed the back-up mark in the final qualifying session by a mere .009.

“We were a little bit too aggressive,” Arana admitted. “We hoped that the track could hold it like earlier. There was more heat on the track and I believe I am making more torque than I thought I was making on the bottom end. We need to tame this baby down.

“I spun off of the line and it threw me a little to the left,” Arana explained. “I knew that it was not going to be a good run.

“Yesterday we wanted to run in the .80s and I knew we could,” Arana said. “We hurt the motor. So we took everything apart and I called Larry Morgan and he said that I shouldn’t worry that he would take care of it. Sure enough he ground the valves and the seat on it, and said they were good as new. Running 6.85, this Lucas Oil bike did its job.

“Yesterday we struggled and when we didn’t run good, it was like ‘wow, what have we done?’ You’re back to earth. I never let it get to my head, we are still doing the same thing. I am still the same guy working hard at it.”

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