Hector Arana knew he needed to have a strong start in Saturday morning's qualifying run for the FRAM-Autolite Nationals.
 
“I was struggling at the line yesterday,” the reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle champion said, thinking about closing Friday's two sessions with a sixth-place showing.
 
He said he knew if he could leave well, he would have a shot at toppling provisional leader Matt Smith.
 
He did.
 
Lined up against LE Tonglet, Arana's .091-second reaction time didn't top Tonglet's .013, but he got a satisfactory jump to blast to a track-record 6.876-second elapsed time at 192.69 mph.

Hector Arana knew he needed to have a strong start in Saturday morning's qualifying run for the FRAM-Autolite Nationals.
 
“I was struggling at the line yesterday,” the reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle champion said, thinking about closing Friday's two sessions with a sixth-place showing.
 
He said he knew if he could leave well, he would have a shot at toppling provisional leader Matt Smith.
 
He did.
 
Lined up against LE Tonglet, Arana's .091-second reaction time didn't top Tonglet's .013, but he got a satisfactory jump to blast to a track-record 6.876-second elapsed time at 192.69 mph.
 
Arana grabbed his class-best fourth top spot of the season. And with some help from Steve Johnson, who improved three places from Friday, he left Smith in the position to square off against his own wife, Angie Smith, the No. 14 qualifier, for the second time this season.
 
“The bike left good,” Arana said of his Lucas Oil Buell. “I knew I was on a good run. It  drifted a little bit to the left, and I corrected it -- and to my surprise it was an 87. So I was pleased and happy with it.
 
“It sure didn't feel like an .87,” he said. “It felt slow to me. It seemed like I was in slow motion.”
 
The Pro Stock Bikes have had five different winners in eight events this season. Andrew Hines, Michael Phillips, and Matt Smith have two victories each, but Arana is seeking his first since last fall's race at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas.
 
Arana will face Mike Berry in the first round of Sunday eliminations which begin at 11 a.m. (PT).
 
“You can't take anything for granted,” Arana said. “Anybody can surprise you.”

He should know.