Arana Jr. and his Lucas Oil Buell beat Steve Johnson with a 6.973 second pass at 188.44 mph to Johnson’s 7.008 at 189.39 mph. In the second round, a loose fuel line on the starting line cost Arana Jr. against three-time series champion Andrew Hines.
“It was a rookie mistake, but at least it was early in the year,” Arana said. “We learned our lesson, so it’s not going to happen to us again. We had a lot of progression. Dad and I both qualified well and went a round. We’re on a good roll.”