During his career, Pro Stock Motorcycle standout Hector Arana Jr. won NHRA’s Auto Club Road to the Future Award in 2011 and his share of national events.

Now, he’s chasing an elusive world championship.

Arana Jr. took the first step to reaching that goal by winning the Dodge Nationals Sunday in Reading, Pa. The first race in the six-race Countdown to the Championship

Arana clocked a 6.842-second run at 197.74 mph to defeat Matt Smith, who slowed to 7.306 seconds at 145.88 mph.

Arana Jr. moved up from fourth to second in the points, three behind leader and reigning world champion Eddie Krawiec.

Arana Jr. is riding an Erik Buell Racing motorcycle and is sponsored by Lucas Oil.

“All the wins in the preseason, that’s great, but what matters are the wins in the Countdown,” Arana Jr. said. “That’s what we are working on. We are working on consistency, which is something we have been working on all year, and I think we definitely have the bike to beat this year. We have a strong championship contender and I can’t thank my team enough. My dad (Hector Arana Sr.) and the team work super hard back at the shop, late hours while I’m up in New York. I can’t thank them enough and Lucas Oil has been with us for a decade and it is great to have them sponsoring us where we don’t have to worry about a thing but just focus on making good power and making fast motorcycles.”

This was Arana Jr.’s 13th national event win and his second of the season as he also won the Mile-High Nationals in Denver in July. His best finish was second in the point standings in 2011.

Arana Jr. also was the first Pro Stock Motorcycle rider to break the 200-mph barrier in a national event, which he did at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

“I definitely have had a lot of great accomplishments in my career and I think the only thing that’s lacking now is a championship,” Arana Jr. said. “We are working really hard for that and I definitely think we can do it. Also, Vincent Nobile (Arana Jr.’s brother-in-law) won (in Pro Stock) and he’s second in points also so how great would be that if we could make it a family affair and won championships. It was unfortunate he (his dad) wasn’t able to ride on Sunday as well, but we made the best of it and got the win for the lack of his qualifying.”