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BRISTOL,
Tenn. (July 8,
2007) --
Josh Hernandez
returned to
his winning
ways in AMS
Pro Mod
competition,
taking home
the AMS Eagle
trophy at the
O'Reilly NHRA
Thunder Valley
Nationals in
Bristol, Tenn.
- his fifth
win of his
dominating
season.
Behind the
wheel of his
Dr. Moon's
Rage '68
Camaro,
Hernandez once
again earned
his way to the
winner's
circle, this
time from the
No. 3
qualifying
spot, fighting
his way
through
competitors
Rick Stivers,
Tony Pontieri,
Scott Ray and
Raymond
Commisso.
"This win was
for Howard
Moon,"
explained
Hernandez.
"For so many
years, Howard
has been
coming here to
Bristol
Dragway and
has never been
able to score
a National
Event win.
Call it the
Bristol curse
or whatever -
it's finally
over, and
Howard really
deserves the
win."
Moon, who
hails from
Clinton,
Tennessee,
calls this
track home,
but has yet to
have success
navigating its
quarter-mile.
Moon said,
"Every time
we'd come
here, I'd
always have
something go
wrong and I'd
just leave
shaking my
head.
"Josh really
dodged a
couple of
bullets today,
and did a
great job of
driving. Like
he said, the
curse is
finally over,"
Moon said from
the winner’s
circle.
In the first
round of
eliminations,
Hernandez was
handed a
round-win by
veteran Rick
Stivers who
left the
starting line
before the
tree was
activated.
Hernandez'
Tommy Lipar
Racing-sponsored
Camaro broke a
blower belt
just off the
line and
coasted
through the
win light.
In round two,
Hernandez
faced powerful
Canadian Tony
Pontieri, who
was looking
even the
score. With a
psychic
reaction time
of .017
seconds,
Hernandez
stole a
holeshot win
over the ‘57
Chevy Bel Air,
forcing him to
wait for
another day.
The time sheet
showed
Pontieri with
a quicker
6.190/234.66
to his
6.211/233.88,
but the race
was determined
at the
starting line
with
Hernandez'
taking the
advantage out
of the gate by
more than six
hundredths,
.017 to .073
seconds
reaction time.
"Tony is such
a great driver
and his car
had been
incredibly
consistent in
the past two
races, I knew
I'd have to be
on my game to
get past him,"
Hernandez
said.
In the finals,
Raymond
Commisso and
his '67 Camaro
had lane
choice over
Hernandez, and
took the
preferred
right lane.
The race was
over at the
hit of the
throttle,
however, as
Commisso
struck the
tires and
could only
watch as the
Texan claimed
another AMS
Eagle and
increased his
points lead
over the pack.
Now six races
through the
ten-race
season,
Hernandez has
dominated the
entire AMS
season,
winning five
and amassing a
more than
1100-point
lead over
Commisso, his
closest
competitor.
Hernandez also
grabbed the
most points in
the ProCare Rx
Pro Mod Clash,
holding on to
first place by
70 points over
Doug Palmer.
The team now
takes an
almost
two-month
summer break,
racing next at
the NHRA Mac
Tools US
Nationals,
August 29 thru
September 3.
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