NHRA 2024 Pep Boys Nationals – Pro Stock Motorcycle
39th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals
Maple Grove Raceway
September 12-15, 2024
Hector Arana Jr. WINS Pro Stock Motorcycle
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Hector Arana Jr. enjoyed a spectacular Sunday at Maple Grove Raceway, finishing it off with a 6.839 at 198.38 on his GETTRX Buell to defeat Richard Gadson in the final round. It is Arana’s first victory of the season and 19th in his career, and he had to go through some standouts to get it.
Arana knocked off Jianna Evaristo and Angie Smith to reach the semifinals, and then got past points leader and defending world champion Gaige Herrera when Herrera went red. That set up a final-round duel with Gadson and Arana quickly tracked him down, winning at his home track for the third time in his career. The victory also pushed Arana into fourth in points, setting up the potential for a memorable late-season run for the veteran.
“We have a great team and we have a great motorcycle that everybody works hard,” Arana Jr. “We tried a bunch of things this year leading up to the Countdown and now it’s time to turn it on. We collected everything, got it together, and here we are in the winner’s circle holding up a Wally. I couldn’t imagine a better day.
“Fortunately for us, we were able to stay green and here we are in the winner’s circle. But we have some more power to make to fight with them. I came in here with confidence. We had a great bike and I said it all weekend, you have to have a good consistent bike in order to win the race, and that’s what we did.”
Gadson advanced to the final round for the second time in his rookie season, defeating Geno Scali, Chase Van Sant and defending event winner Matt Smith. Herrera remains in the points lead, holding an 17-point advantage over M. Smith. Gadson is 19 points behind in third.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action Sept. 20-22 with the 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.
ROUND 1 ELIMINATIONS
ROUND 2 ELIMINATIONS
SEMI-FINAL ELIMINATIONS
FINAL ELIMINATIONS
SATURDAY QUALIFYING
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Gaige Herrera put on an impressive show to open qualifying on Saturday, delivering a stellar run of 6.743 at 200.20 on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki, racing his way to the No. 1 position. It’s the sixth top qualifier of the season for the defending world champ and points leader and the 20th in his career, and Herrera was thrilled with adjustments his team made heading into Saturday. It paid off in a big way as only one of two riders to dip into the 6.70s, positioning Herrera well for eliminations. He’ll start raceday against Kelly Clontz, looking to win at Maple Grove Raceway for the first time. It’s also the only track on the PSM circuit where Herrera hasn’t won.
“We were very pleased with that. We’re happy with that going into tomorrow,” Herrera said. “Conditions will be pretty much the same, maybe a little cooler. I’m glad to get No. 1 qualifying spot. We’re trying to get as many points as we can because now it’s going to be a lot tighter.
“Last night we stayed and looked at data for a good bit and came up with a game plan for today and it paid off. We kind of threw the kitchen sink at it, and it worked. That doesn’t always work, so that gave me confidence in the machine. It’s going to be good for racing tomorrow, and hopefully I have a very fast and consistent motorcycle all day.”
Defending event winner Matt Smith finished second, going 6.795 at 200.50 to close out qualifying, while Richard Gadson’s 6.806 at 198.35 puts him third.
QUALIFYING ORDER
1. Gaige Herrera / 6.743 / 200.2
2. Matt Smith / 6.795 / 200.5
3. Richard Gadson / 6.806 / 198.35
4. Hector Arana Jr / 6.820 / 198.29
5. Angie Smith / 6.840 / 200.08
6. Marc Ingwersen / 6.846 / 196.53
7. Steve Johnson / 6.859 / 194.6
8. Chris Bostick / 6.879 / 192.38
9. Chase Van Sant / 6.886 / 195.96
10. John Hall / 6.892 / 195.19
11. Jianna Evaristo / 6.894 / 198.12
12. Geno Scali / 6.934 / 195.17
13. Ron Tornow / 6.985 / 193.4
14. Kelly Clontz / 7.674 / 137.25
FRIDAY QUALIFYING
A year after winning at Maple Grove Raceway to open the playoffs, Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith is off to a strong start this year, going 6.801 on both passes and posting a top speed of 199.49 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell. That puts him in the provisional No. 1 position as the six-time world champion looks to claim his fifth No. 1 spot this season. Smith, who has three career wins at Reading, has come on strong at a key time in the season, winning in Sonoma, and was pleased with his first runs in the Countdown to the Championship on Friday.
“The first run was pretty good and the second run, we should have run .79, maybe a high .78 but the bike got stuck in fourth gear out there,” Smith said. “All in all, we had a great run and I can’t say enough. We got everything turned up. We got the high-side rev limiter turned way up or I’d have hit the limiter there. It’s one of them deals, it’s the Countdown. We’re going for seven [championships], and we’ve got to throw everything we’ve got at it.
“We brought everything we’ve got for our Denso Buell and we’re going to keep digging, try to keep going, and we’ll see. I think we might put another motor in for tomorrow. We have a brand-new piece that’s really, really good on the dyno and I need to get some tune-ups on it and try to get it right for the Countdown.”
Points leader and defending world champion Gaige Herrera is currently second after going 6.804 at 198.55 and his teammate, Richard Gadson, is in third with a run of 6.807 at 197.45.
QUALIFYING ORDER
1. Matt Smith / 6.801 / 199.49
2. Gaige Herrera / 6.804 / 198.55
3. Richard Gadson / 6.807 / 197.45
4. Hector Arana Jr / 6.820 / 198.29
5. Steve Johnson / 6.859 / 194.6
6. Marc Ingwersen / 6.869 / 193.93
7. Angie Smith / 6.884 / 196.87
8. John Hall / 6.892 / 195.19
9. Jianna Evaristo / 6.898 / 197.16
10. Chase Van Sant / 6.922 / 194.24
11. Chris Bostick / 6.939 / 192.96
12. Geno Scali / 6.974 / 194.24
13. Ron Tornow / 7.046 / 193.57
14. Kelly Clontz / 7.674 / 137.25
ABOUT NHRA
The National Hot Rod Association, the largest auto racing organization in the world, has come a long way since Wally Parks founded it in 1951.
Though it has grown into a global sports-entertainment business, NHRA has not lost sight of Parks’ original goal: to provide competitors a place to race. But now those places are deluxe supertracks in major U.S. markets, and the racing runs the gamut from 11,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters to 5-horsepower Jr. Dragsters. Drag racing’s journey through the decades has been sometimes swift, sometimes rocky, but always exciting and always worth the trip.
In the 1950s, top performance marks were 140 mph in 9 seconds. Today, they’re more than 330 mph in less than 3.7 seconds. Back then, winners earned little more than a trophy and bragging rights. Today’s racers compete for trophies and bragging rights as well as a share of more than $3 million in prize money.
In 2024, NHRA joined forces with Mission Foods to present the world’s fastest motorsports attraction as the flagship sponsor of the national touring series, the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Under the leadership of President Glen Cromwell, NHRA raced forward in 2020 with a number of key initiatives, including a multiyear partnership with FOX Sports to televise NHRA events from the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, and the Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. FOX Sports networks aired more than 500 hours of programming throughout the year, highlighted by 22 race-day shows, including eight on FOX’s national network, in addition to primetime Friday night qualifying shows, and fans are in for more of the same this year.
NHRA has extremely loyal fans that are committed to the sport they love, and it’s easy to see why. They continue to have the best access to the behind-the-scenes action of racing. NHRA’s open-pits policy allows fans to get an up-close-and personal view of how teams rebuild engines. Drivers are often found in their pit areas, signing autographs and chatting with fans, who have the rare opportunity to get behind the wheel themselves in a variety of racing simulators in the Nitro Alley Fan Zone. Those are just a few reasons NHRA fans continue to be some of the most loyal in any sport.
For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
About Mission Foods
Great food is a great motivator. It brings everyone to the table and inspires us to explore all kinds of delicious destinations. At Mission®, it drives us to seek the freshest ingredients, simple recipes, diverse flavors and wholesome products that help us discover all the places our tortillas can go. There are better-for-you destinations like with our high protein, low carb, or gluten-free tortillas. Of course, tacos and nachos are favorite stops. We are always up for those. www.missionfoods.com
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