There’s no question Hector Arana Jr. made the most of his limited 2022 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle schedule.

Competing in only seven of the season’s 15 races, Arana Jr. had two wins in Dallas and Las Vegas and finished 11th in the points standings on his Buell.

“It's super gratifying and that's why we go to the races,” Arana Jr. said about winning two of his seven starts. “We don't go... We're going there for a reason and that's to win. Obviously, it's a passion of mine and my father's (Hector Arana Sr.) and we love doing this. But we're going there because we know we have a shot to win. And we have a bike, we have a team that is capable of winning, which is why we go.”

Arana Jr. had a solid 11-5 elimination-round record last season, which also included a semifinal effort in Norwalk, Ohio. 

Those numbers are impressive considering he wasn’t racing week in and week out like the top competitor in the class.

“Yeah, it's got its difficulties only because you're not up to speed with the track preps throughout the year and as things are going the tracks are prepped a certain way and then that kind of dictates your setup with the bike and everything,” Arana Jr. said. “So, when you're not running fulltime and your kind of running with limited resources sometimes instead of right out of the trailer making good hits, you have to play a little bit of a catch up and just be strategic as far as your qualifying goes just to make sure you have a solid package for Sunday. We took advantage of that Wednesday (Oct. 12) test session that they had with the Stampede of Speed (in Dallas). We ran on Wednesday, and we made a few runs. 

“We learned some good valuable things and just took that data and information. We were off a little bit on Friday (Oct. 14) on the setup because the track prep from testing to the NHRA track prep on race day or qualifying was a little different. So, we had to adjust for that but then come Saturday (Oct. 15) we were right there on top and then continued our success (Oct. 16). Yeah, Vegas, we struggled a little bit, but we were able to get it figured out come Sunday (Oct. 30).”

Arana Jr. upped his career PSM national event race win total to 17 and he has won 235 rounds in his career. At 22, as a rookie in 2011, Arana Jr. was the recipient of the Auto Club Road to the Future Award as NHRA's rookie of the year and was series runner-up to champion Eddie Krawiec.

Arana’s most recent surge caught the eye of sponsors.

“Yeah, so after the Dallas win, GETTRX powered by Global Technology picked us up,” Arana Jr. said. “Dallas was actually (going to be) our final race. We were leaving on the high note. Then, Steve Bryson and the GETTRX group, they came and approached us and basically asked us what it would take to run the final two races (Vegas and Pomona, Calif.), because they liked that we were there stirring the pot and winning races and kind of mixing up the Countdown.

“So, we made a deal, and we went to Vegas and Pomona, and we were able to carry on that success from Dallas and be able to score a win for them (in Vegas). So very grateful for the opportunity that GETTRX gave us to be able to fly their colors and to race with them and kind of prove that we do deserve to be out there running full time so... I mean they were very pleased with us and so there's nothing set in stone for next year yet, but we're kind of planning and prepping to be ready to do the first race of the year just because it's something we want to do anyways and then we'll see what happens during the offseason.”

The 2023 Camping Drag World Drag Racing Series begins at the Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals March 9-12 in Gainesville, Fla.

“Hopefully we raised some eyebrows there at the end and we'll see what happens,” Arana Jr. said. “(We will) see whether GETTRX jumps on board for a full season or somebody else. We'll welcome anybody that wants to join our program and we'll go from there. But again, we're very grateful for the opportunity that we had to be able to support those guys (with GETTRX).”

Despite racing a limited schedule in 2021 and 2022, one thing that has never left Arana Jr. is his strong reaction times at the starting line.

“It was something that always kind of came natural to me,” Arana Jr. said. “I grew up in the sport, it's all I know as far as when it comes to drag racing. My father was racing Pro Stock Motorcycles before I was even a thought. I grew up in the sport and I guess it's probably just a testament to my success. And if you look at myself or even LE (Tonglet) and other riders that we grew up in the sport, watching our father's drag race and all that. It just kind of came natural to me.

“There's definitely sometimes where either pressure has gotten to you, or you got other things going on and it kind of speeds up your reactions or delays some things. But yeah, I just have a routine and I make sure I stick to it and just a lot of it's also making sure that the bike is dialed-in properly.”

Winning races now is even more important to Arana Jr. since he and his wife Nicole have two daughters, Sofia, who will be 4 years old in December, and Ella, who is eight months old.

“So unfortunately, they weren't (there for his wins in Dallas and Vegas), because there was a little bit of a hike for me since I'm based out of Long Island, N.Y.,” Arana Jr. said. “But my daughter (Sofia) was watching and that was probably one of the hardest things this year is I would go away to the race, and I'd come back, she's like, ‘Daddy, did you win? Did you bring home a Wally?’ And then you had to disappoint and say, ‘No.’ And when I got the wins (in Dallas and Vegas) and to be able to tell her that daddy's coming home a winner, that was the best moment ever.”

It didn’t take Arana Jr. long to find a home for his Wallys from Dallas and Vegas.

“The two recent ones that I won from Dallas and Vegas are in Sophia's bedrooms on her dresser,” Arana Jr. said. “She insisted they went to her room.”