Josh Hernandez reaches the final round at
hometown event
HOUSTON, Texas – Josh
Hernandez, driver of Tommy Lipar’s “Dr. Moon’s
Rage” Pro Modified entry, gave the hometown
contingent at Houston Motorsports Park something
to cheer about. The Conroe, Texas-based driver
stepped up in a big way to deliver a final round
showing at the ADRL RacingJunk.com Dragpalooza.
Hernandez finished as a
quarter-finalist just two weeks ago in Valdosta,
Ga., and vowed an improved performance for this
weekend. The 2005 NHRA AMS Pro Modified Rookie
of the Year delivered in a big way.
“We are extremely happy with
the performance our team turned in this
weekend,” Hernandez said. “Our ultimate goal was
to win every race this weekend and even though
we fell short in the final round, we ended this
event on a positive note.”
Hernandez opened
qualifications as the quickest among 28 Pro
Extreme entries. His 3.957, 187.73 was .003
quicker than second qualifier Jason Scruggs.
Hernandez failed to improve
during the final session with a 3.997, 187.50
yet managed to retain an upper echelon
qualifying position as the fourth seeded entry
within the 16-car field.
In the opening round of
eliminations, Hernandez matched up with a
familiar foe when he drew Eddie Ware as his
opponent for the second time in as many races.
Hernandez continued his winning ways as he left
Ware at the starting line with an incredible .01
reaction and coupled that with a 4.009, 186.41
for the victory.
Hernandez was not to be
denied in the quarter-finals as he matched up
with the defending ADRL Pro Extreme champion
John Lynam. Not only did he blister Lynam on the
starting line, he used a 3.971, 184.73 to more
than take the measure of Lynam’s 4.024, 181.38
to advance.
The semis produced a change
of routine for Hernandez. Up until this point,
Hernandez had blistered the competition on the
starting line. However, an .08 reaction left him
second out of the gate, but that served as only
a temporary setback as Hernandez chased down Bil
Clanton for a berth in the final round with a
3.989, 169.11.
Hernandez knew he had a
battle in the final round of eliminations
against Joey Martin, who had already qualified
second and established a track record during the
course of the day. He did what was needed of him
on the starting line by snagging the quicker
reaction time, but his car skated around the
track during the course of the run inevitably
costing him the race.
Even though the Pro Modified
entries have a national event weekend off next
week, Hernandez and a score of other racers will
make a return visit to Valdosta, for the Eastern
Spring Test Nationals presented by Torco’s
CompetitionPlus.com in order to test his new
1968 Camaro for NHRA competition.
“We’re excited to try this
car out and prepare it for Gainesville,”
Hernandez said. “Each car has a unique
personality and next weekend we’ll find out what
this one likes and dislikes.”
