Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 22 JUNE 4, 2013 rider who took his place at Matt Smith Racing. Ray moved into the final round when a 7.07 to 7.12 win against Gann's Speed Buell's Shawn Gann. "I had a .008 light in the final and that might get me a bit of the evil eye from George because that's really just a bad job of red lighting, but I felt like I had to do something because Hector was a bit quicker than I was," Ray said. "This is also a testament to the last 24 months that the Sovereign/Star team has been working in their program. Their efforts are showing in how well we've run. We had to change an engine after the second round and we got it done in 35 minutes, no problem. To win this early in the season is great because we know we'll be better in the Countdown later this season." Arana Sr., looking to break a long winless drought of his own that extended back to his championship season of 2009, opened eliminations with a stunning upset over his son, Hector Jr., who entered the races riding a P97 Briefly... Veteran Steve Johnson claimed the number-one qualifying spot in an NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle event for just the third time in his career. Johnson rode his Vance & Hines-powered Suzuki to a 6.931 on Friday that was never bettered during the remaining three sessions. Johnson, who has been racing as a pro since 1987, also serves as his own crew chief. "To be perfectly blunt I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but sometimes when you take a stab at something it works out," Johnson said. "Seriously, at the end of the day it's nice to qualify number one even if it's only three times out of 350-something career races. Sponsors like that and anytime you can legitimately have a chance to win a race it's all good." Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Jr. didn't want his vic- Arana vs. Arana: Hector Arana (far lane) beat Hector Arana Jr. in the first round. Arana Sr. went on to lose in the finals. tory run to end, but if anyone was to halt his three-race winning streak, he would have preferred it to be his dad or his brother. In the first round it was his dad who finally sent Arana Jr. to his first loss of the season when Jr.'s bike slowed. "It was fun and I enjoyed it." Arana Jr. said. "I was upset because we were not able to give him a fair race. I had some issues off the starting line and I was dead late. Now, it's time for a new streak." For the third-straight event, Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson teammates Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines had to run against each other in the opening round of eliminations. Krawiec won at the Four-Wide event in Charlotte and Hines returned the favor at the next round in Houston, but this time it was Krawiec's turn as he rode to a 7.01 to 7.00 holeshot win. "Obviously, we hate to see that happen, but sometimes it's hard to manipulate the ladder," Krawiec said. "It was a lot easier last year when we were qualifying first and second at every race, but now that we're struggling a little it's not so easy to avoid each other. We've made some progress lately so that was the main thing this weekend. We're moving in the right direction." Tempers flared in the pit area on Friday night when Hector Arana's crew got into a scuffle with Matt Smith. The dispute reportedly stems from a seat design that Arana's team accused continued on next page

• Cover