Columbus Thunder; Hernandez scores second Eagle, #3 Qualifier

Columbus, OH (July 30,2005) – Joshua Hernandez and the Tommy Lipar Racing Team scored their second “Golden Eagle” ADRL trophy of the season by defeating Troy Critchley this afternoon at the Jeg’s SPORTSnationals AMS/TRL here in Columbus.

It was a day that proved the mettle of the TLR team. The qualifying sessions at this race were also used to finish Pro Mod eliminations from an event that rained out in Louisiana several weeks ago. Hernandez earned a bye run yesterday by defeating Zack Barklage. It proved beneficial to the team to have that bye as electrical gremlins popped up and caused a situation where Hernandez had no instrumentation in the car at all.

“Today was a day filled with various forms of stress. We had the stress of backing up the pole position we earned in Louisiana, a tricky track surface and the gremlins earlier,” Hernandez said. “The team pulled together and found solutions to all the challenges they faced.

“We just have to do what we do. The key to winning out here is consistency. And that includes consistency between the car and the driver, and consistency in the decisions that this team makes. It’s not that we have more power than other teams out here, we just have been better at managing that power and that is a huge credit to the team that is behind this car.”

The crew of the Dr. Moon’s Rage 1957 Chevrolet has its sights set on an even larger goal - scoring two wins in one weekend. When Hernandez was asked what he and the team would do to avoid a let down from the high of winning today’s race, his answer was simple, “We’re going to continue to run this car the same way and race the track that is in front of us. The teams that succeed in these cars are the teams that do those things.”

Hernandez becomes only the second multiple event winner during the 2005 AMS/TLR series.

Pre-race festivities begin tomorrow at 11:15 am and first round of Pro Modified is scheduled to run at high noon.

For same day coverage of this event, visit the Torco Race Fuels-sponsored http://www.competitionplus.com/.

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