Hector Arana Sr. and Jr. (Jeff Burk photo)

Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Jr. tried to smile Sunday afternoon, but the final-round loss to Andrew Hines in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park hurt.

Perhaps that's a sign of how far Arana Jr. has come in the year-and-a-half of riding a Pro Stock Motorcycle.

"We're doing well," Arana Jr. said. "I'm just really frustrated right now. I guess there would be something wrong if I wasn't frustrated."

Arana Jr., the No. 3 qualifier, faced past Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Andrew Hines in the finals for the second time this season. They met in Houston, too, where Hines cut a perfect .000-second reaction time to score the victory.

The defeat motivated Arana Jr. to redouble his efforts on the starting line, and it resulted in the best average reaction time in the class heading to Norwalk. He was again solid in eliminations Sunday, leaving first on all three opponents before the final.

There, Hines left first with a .043 light to Arana Jr.'s .073. Arana Jr. made a pass of 6.928 seconds at 191.84 mph, compared to Hines' 6.929 at 193.43 mph.

"I reacted, but maybe I didn't actually let go of the clutch right away," Arana Jr. said. "I don't know. Hopefully, I won't ever let that happen again. I'll go back at it and try again. I'm happy with the bike. I'm just upset I lost by a holeshot."

Arana Jr. got to the finals with three consistent passes. First, he took out No. 14 qualifier Shawn Gann with a pass of 6.957 at 191.19 mph, and then beat John Hall with a run of 6.955 at 193.27 mph.

That set up a semifinal matchup against his dad, Hector Arana Sr. Dad actually made a better pass (6.947 at 193.21 mph), but Arana Jr. won on a holeshot after a .027 light and a run of 6.960 seconds at 192.55 mph.

"It's definitely rewarding to be able to go to the finals, just because we had to go through all that heat and all that suffering," Arana Jr. said. "At least we went to the finals. It was all worth it. If we would've lost in the first round after being miserable in all that heat, it's like, 'Man, why were we even here Friday and Saturday?'"

Plus, Arana Jr. is encouraged by the solid performance of his Buell round after round.

"We were more consistent," Arana Jr. said. "It was consistent through all eliminations, as far as ET goes, and I picked way up in the final round. Can't ask for any more than that."