Hernandez Claims AMS Victory in Valdosta

Valdosta, GA (8-20-2005) - Tommy Lipar Racing and Josh Hernandez proved in the heat of the South Georgia summer they had the hot rod to beat. Racing under the almost unbearable conditions of the Racensur Sunshine Drags in Valdosta, Hernandez and crewchief Howard Moon looked as cool as a Fall afternoon. In the final round, Hernandez defeated Mike Ashley for his third victory of 2005.

“This is the mountain you have to climb to get a win. Today we reached the
pinnacle,” said an exhausted but happy Hernandez

Hernandez opened his march to the finals opposite of a resurgent Doug Palmer. The run was a tight affair as Hernandez staged first and Palmer took his time getting the car into the beams. Palmer staged it shallow and left first, but Hernandez and the Dr. Moon’s Rage 1957 Chevrolet were more than ready. He wheeled down to a 6.29, 222 mph pass driving around Palmer’s hole shot for the win.

The battle heated up in round 2 with Hernandez the Texan, and Kirk Khuns the veteran Californian lined up next to one another. Hernandez left the line first and never looked back, powering away from Khuns with a solid 6.22, 228 mph pass.

As the night wore on and conditions continued to improve, the team was able to wring more power out of their blown hemi.

“This one is for my team 100%. This has been a total team effort from top to bottom. To get us through these conditions and be so consistent is amazing. I have the best guys in the business,” said Josh.

Hernandez faced a familiar foe as he next faced the Willys of Thomas Patterson. The Willys held the high speed of the meet at 230 mph going into the round, but that held no intimidation factor as Hernandez scored a 6.24, 229 mph romp.

“This was a marathon event," Hernandez added. "We made a lot of passes today and that takes its toll on everyone, but again, my team worked through it. I can’t say enough for all of the Tommy Lipar racing crew.”

The final round was a rematch of the money round in Columbus, Ohio less than two weeks ago. Hernandez had the starting line advantage with a great .020 reaction time and never looked back. He led Ashley all the way down the dragstrip and stopped the clock with a 6.20 at 228 mph. It was the best pass for the team all weekend when the team needed it the most.

“I am speechless, what can I say?" Hernandez said. "This was really good to get this win the way we did, after we ended in the day badly in Columbus. I really have to thank my crew for putting up with me. These guys are the best!”

The TLR team maintains its number two spot in the ADRL AMS/TLR series and increased his lead over third place Jay Payne.

The team moves on to the famous "Big GO" as the 51st annual US Nationals commences in two weeks at Indianapolis.

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