INDIANAPOLIS - Lucas Oil Buell riders Hector Arana Sr. and Hector Arana Jr. will look to improve on their two impressive qualifying streaks in this weekend's rain-delayed 58th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus at Lucas Oil Raceway.
Arana Sr. has qualified fourth or better in 15 consecutive Pro Stock Motorcycle races, while Arana Jr. has qualified third or better in 14 in a row. Both streaks are tops in the class.
Arana Jr. sits second in the provisional order for Indy after rain interrupted last weekend's activities, while Arana Sr. is third. Two more Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying sessions are scheduled for Saturday before Sunday's eliminations.
"It's amazing to think I've been able to do that," Arana Jr. said. "I didn't realize I had that long of a streak going on. That's almost a whole season. It's pretty amazing knowing how competitive this whole deal is."
The last time Arana Jr. was outside the top three was at Charlotte last year when he qualified eighth, and the last time he was outside the top half was at Englishtown in 2011, the third race of his career, when he was 12th. The reigning Auto Club Rookie of the Year has qualified in top half of the field in 22 of his 25 career races.
"It just goes to show that we put in a lot of hard work and dedication to be able to have streaks like that," Arana Jr. said. "My dad has 15 of fourth place or better, and that's another amazing accomplishment considering who we're up against every week. It's pretty cool, and it's nice because all that work and effort we put into it is paying off."
The last time Arana Sr. was outside the top four was at Indy last year, when he was seventh while debuting a new bike. The last time he was outside the top half came when he was 11th at Brainerd in 2011.
"Wow," Arana Sr. said. "That's a great stat. I didn't know about that. I haven't really focused in on it. I usually go home and focus on the next race. I want to qualify very well, but I don't think about what I've done in the past.
"It shows that we are working hard and we are dedicated. We're giving all we've got to be really competitive with the rest of the guys. Nothing is going to change this weekend in Indy."
