PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Shawn Gann’s ended a nine-year winless drought with his first final-round appearance since 2010, earning his fifth career victory. Gann went 7.351 at 181.08 on his Pirana Z Racing Buell to knock off points leader Hector Arana Jr. and his final round time of 7.376 at 182.11 on his Lucas Oil Buell. Gann’s last win also came in Denver in 2004.

“It was a long drought, but if you give up the fight you’re never gonna get out of that drought,” Gann said. “This is a big win. My bike has always been fast but I’ve had problems that have plagued me. I’m the heaviest rider out here and I make my own clutches so I have that to deal with. Being up here on the mountain, with fat people like me, you can only move so much mass so hard but we found a way.”

Gann beat Angie Smith, Steve Johnson and three-time world champion Andrew Hines to reach the final round. He moves to the No. 10 spot in the point standings. Arana Jr. became the first rider in the class to clinch a spot in the Countdown for the Championship.

Hector Arana Jr. earned his spot in NHRA's Countdown to the Championship and rode his Lucas Oil Buell into the final round at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver.

Arana was fast all day and cruised through the first round with a win against Jim Underdahl with a lap of 7.265 seconds at 183.72 mph. In the second round, he defeated Eddie Krawiec with a 7.276 at 183.29 mph, and in the third round he earned the win light over Mike Berry with a 7.287 at 183.29 mph.

"This was an awesome day," Arana said. "Words can't describe the feeling that you get when you're in a slump and you finally overcome that and you feel good. I'm going to carry this momentum throughout the rest of the year. We're back on top. We were consistent. Other than the final round, when we had a mechanical issue, I did my job, my crew did their jobs, and Lucas Oil was working awesome."

With his final-round appearance, Arana clinched a spot in NHRA's playoffs. The six-race Countdown begins with the NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte Sept. 13-15.

"It's awesome to be the first guy to clinch in my category," Arana said. "It's exciting and it's kind of a relief off your shoulders."

In the final round, Arana's Lucas Oil Buell suffered a mechanical issue that caused him to have a .197-second reaction time to Shawn Gann's 0.055. Arana wasn't able to make up the difference with a 7.376 at 182.11 mph.

"It was Shawn Gann's time to win, and good job to him. It's good to see another fresh winner out there," Arana said. "I can't complain. We're back on top, we're back on track, and we're ready. I finally got the monkey off of my back and I'm ready to go again."

Arana won the first three events of the year, becoming only the third rider to accomplish that feat, and he continues to lead the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Motorcycle points standings.