Hector Arana backs up record in NHRA motorcycle run
Monday, Oct. 05, 2009
AP
In this photo provided by NHRA, The debris of driver Dan Wilkerson's car is shown after crashing into the wall during the first round matchup at the O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park on Monday, Oct. 5, 2009 in Millington, Tenn. Wilkerson was uninjured as Ron Capps wins the first round matchup. (AP Photo/NHRA, Marc Gewertz) ** NO SALES **
AP
In this photo provided by NHRA, Hector Arana rides his Lucas Oil Buell to the top spot in the Pro Stock Motorcycle at the O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009 in Millington, Tenn. (AP Photo/NHRA, Marc Gewertz) ** NO SALES **
Oct. 5--NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana was able to back up his national record run of 6.851 seconds during his first elimination run today at the rain-delayed O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Arana made the record time on Saturday morning during qualifying, and needed to run within 1 percent of the time to back up the record. Arana's pass of 6.914 against Joe Desantis was within that tolerance.
However, Arana can't quite pack away the 20 bonus points just yet because Matt Smith ran a 6.928 second pass during his first-round victory, which is in range to certify the record if Smith were to run faster than 6.851.
The second round of qualifying continues at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Also today, Dan Wilkerson walked away from a scary crash in the first round of Funny Car eliminations. He was racing against Ron Capps when Wilkerson's Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Mustang started to spin the rear tires, cut left toward the wall, lost both rear tires before finally crossing the center line and slamming into the retaining wall of Capps' lane.
The car's body separated and the engine exploded, but Wilkerson was able to walk out of the car under his own power and was watching the replay of the wreck on a crew member's video camera within about 15 minutes of the crash. Cleanup of the wreck lasted an hour.
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