Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Jr.'s love of racing led him to the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.

His love of all things mechanical lead him to other classes: Studying mechanical engineering at Purdue University - College of Technology at New Albany, Ind.

Arana Jr., who is third in the Pro Stock Motorcycle points standings heading to this weekend's AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex, is in his fourth year of a five-year program that likely will take him a little longer. That's because he also races full time when class is in session.

He's currently taking 12 credit hours as a full-time student, going to class on Mondays and Wednesdays. Most students in the program are taking 18 hours, so he'll need extra time to complete his degree. But it's more than worth the wait.

"Ever since I was a little kid, I was always wanted to study it," Arana Jr. said. "I'd really like to get more involved with engines and designs. That side of the mechanics really fascinates me. I've always loved it, and I guess I'm a big motorhead, too. That's why I love drag racing so much."

Arana Jr. certainly has plenty of opportunity to apply his engineering knowledge in racing, but going to school and racing can present problems, especially with his time.

"It can be exhausting," Arana Jr. said. "After the race Sunday (in Charlotte), we helped load up, had a quick bite to eat, and then (brother) Adam and I hopped in the car and drove home. We drove all through the night and got home at 5 o'clock in the morning. I slept for a couple hours, got up at 7:45, got ready for school and went to school until 9 o'clock at night."

Among the classes Arana Jr. takes now are Statics and Computer Programming, and he' s noticed the academic side gets harder as he goes along.

"Every semester as you get deeper in the program, the classes get more involved, with math and everything else," Arana Jr. said.

The current Statics class is one of the more difficult he's encountered.

"I understand it, but it's really intense and in-depth with structures, and the different forces pulling on it," Arana Jr. "You would look at a building as just a regular structure. But we really go in-depth with all the forces that are put on the space and all the different angles that need to be in certain order to hold up the forces on it. It's pretty interesting to see everything that goes into it."

Arana Jr. currently is 64 points out of the Pro Stock Motorcycle points lead, a gap that can be made up in one race weekend. With five races left in the Countdown to the Championship, he's clearly still a factor in the title fight.

"Every race from here on out is the most important race," Arana Jr. said. "We've got to race smart, we've got to go rounds and find a way to get around these Harleys. We're doing everything we can to get it figured out."

Photo by Matt Polito