RAGE team in finals at Dragpalooza

Valdosta, GA – It just kept getting better for Joshua Hernandez and Tommy Lipar Racing Dr. Moon’s Rage. Hernandez posted increasingly better and better elapsed times every time he ran down the track at the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League’s Dragpalooza at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga.

Hernandez took the ’57 Chevy Bel Air all the way to the finals with bracket racing-like consistency. In the timing system-delayed final round contested Sunday morning, Hernandez luck ran out, shaking the tires hard immediately after the launch and forcing him to lift just long enough to let the eventual winner, Bil Clanton, take the stripe for the win and the $10,000 prize.

“What can I say,” said Hernandez. “I’m totally disappointed with the loss – we were running so good.

“[Crew chief] Howard [Moon] threw everything at it because we knew we’d have to run a really low 4 or maybe even a 3 in order to win,” he said.

In his freshman year driving a Pro Modified car, Hernandez has continually improved with his driving skills and consistency at the line. After an exciting win at his home track in Houston Texas, and strongly qualifying at every AMS Pro Modified Challenge event to date, Hernandez is not hanging his head in defeat.

“After a loss like that, you have to look at what it took to get there and give credit to the team. They worked their tails off to turn the car around six times yesterday and the come back today to do it all again. Every time we went to the line the car was practically perfect,” he said.

Dr. Moon’s Rage team didn’t have any time to lick their wounds from the final round loss – they had to turn around the car for another round of the team competition as part of the Dragpalooza event. The unique raceday format features three sessions of 11 pairings each, with team members from the AMS All-Stars facing off against the Pro Mod Outlaws repeatedly racing each other. No one will be eliminated by a loss, but the winner of each race receives one point for their team, plus one point to be awarded for both low e.t. and top speed following each session, making a total of 39 points available for the event.

Commenting about the team racing and 1/8 mile format, Howard Moon said, “I like running these events – you still get the full force and excitement of the racing, but the shorter track saves a lot of wear and tear on the car and parts.

“As far as team competition, its fun. For me, I always focus on winning, so there really is no difference for me. Every time I walk a car to the line I’m there with a set-up to win,” Moon said.