Driver error ends second round for team RAGE

Englishtown, N.J. (June 19, 2005) –Even if a team has the most consistent and quickest car in the field, the driver still has to execute flawlessly in order to win. Joshua Hernandez, driver of the Dr. Moon’s Rage ‘57 Bel Air, learned today, first hand, that keeping focused on everything in the cockpit is crucial to success.

While staging for his second-round elimination run against Thomas Patterson at the K&N Filters Supernationals in Englishtown New Jersey, Hernandez looked down for a fleeting second, and, when his gaze returned to the Christmas tree, saw yellow lights and thought it was time to release the brake and race. As he traveled down the track, he noticed that he didn’t hear Patterson in the lane next to him and looked up at the starting line to see the win lights already on in Patterson’s lane, indicating a red light start.

“It was driver error, plain and simple. I lost my focus, for less than a second, and reacted to the staging lights, not the starting lights,” Hernandez said.

“When I realized what I’d done, I just started beating myself up, knowing that I let down so many people. I felt terrible,” he said.

“The human element is the hardest part to control in these cars, and I was the one thing that didn’t work right this time,” Hernandez explained.

“I totally let the whole team down – especially Tommy [Lipar, team owner and sponsor]. He works so hard to put such a professional group of guys together and makes the calls that get us down the track so consistently. I am sure he’s frustrated, especially with everything else running so well and knowing that we have what it takes to win,” he said.

Hernandez plans to focus on the things he needs to change and remember for the next run, and put everything else behind him to prepare for the next race. The Dr. Moon’s Rage team heads to Madison, Illinois, just outside of St. Louis, Missouri next weekend for the next event in the TLR/AMS Pro Modified Challenge.

“This team is has such a high-caliber of people, I know they will get right back on track with me in St. Louis, but between now and then I know they’ll have to get over such a disappointing, un-necessary loss.

“We all know anything can happen on race day, and today, it was a mistake. I have definitely learned, and I know I will react better if the same circumstances occur,” he said.

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