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2012 NHRA: Las Vegas Event Strictly A Business Trip For Lucas Oil Pro Arana Sr
Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Sr. won't spend much time in the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip this weekend, for he will get all the thrills he wants by racing his Pro Stock Motorcycle in the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
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"I already gamble with just going down the race track," Arana Sr. said. "I might gamble a little bit, but I'm not a big gambler. I will put some money in a slot, pull the lever and see what happens. Then I'll head to the track."
The veteran rider returns to action at Vegas after two weekends off, but for the Arana team, the time at home was shorter than that, more like a week-and-a-half.
"Yeah, it was that short," Arana Sr. said. "By the time we got home, it was a week and a half. Like always...too much to do and not enough time to do it."
That's because Arana and his team drove 660 miles from the last race in Reading, Pa., to their home in Milltown, Ind. Then, the team left earlier this week on the 1,800-mile journey to Vegas. But the time at home was filled with work - and a little play.
"We went dirt bike riding, so we got to relax a little bit," Arana Sr. said.
But then it was back to work, getting the Buells of Arana Sr. and son Hector Arana Jr. ready for the final two races of the season.
"We started servicing and doing the routine maintenance when we noticed another bad crankshaft," Arana Sr. said. "So we had to hustle, get a crankshaft and get that engine fixed."
Arana Sr. will leave Las Vegas and head to Pomona, Calif., for the final race of 2012 immediately, so preparation was crucial. Plus, Arana Sr. has his eyes on getting a Wally trophy before the season is out.
"We can't win the championship, so we're going to stay focused and try to do the best that we can so we can get a win and finish three and four (in points)," Arana Sr. said. "It would be awesome to get a win. All this work, it would be gratifying to win. It gives you fuel to go back at it and work. It's rewarding. We need a win."
Arana Sr. sits fourth in the Pro Stock Motorcycle points standings, with four No. 1 qualifiers, two final-round and six semifinal appearances this season. Plus, he's qualified fourth or better in 20 consecutive races, the longest current streak in the class.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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