Headed to Memphis Armed
With Strength of Success
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Winning
tends to make a driver
anxious for the next
race. With only one full
season under his belt in
Pro Modified, Team AMS
Rage driver Josh
Hernandez is finding
that to be the best way
to describe his
eagerness to deal with
the oppressive heat
expected for this
weekend’s O’Reilly NHRA
Mid-South Nationals in
Memphis, Tenn.
Air temperatures that
are in the upper-90s? No
problem. Track surface
heat that brings over
140 Fahrenheit? Bring it
on.
Hernandez has enough
confidence to leap tall
buildings in a single
bound and while that
won’t be the objective
for this weekend’s sixth
stop on the ten-race
schedule, a recent
victory at the IHRA
Torco Northern Nationals
makes all the
difference. That event
yielded the quickest
field in the history of
the class and for good
measure, Hernandez
tacked a new speed world
record.
Hernandez has competed
on the IHRA tour twice
and impressively won
both races. Now it’s
time to return to his
home of NHRA AMS Pro
Modified competition
where he has one victory
already this season.
“Winning Martin left me
with a great amount of
confidence headed into
this weekend,” Hernandez
said. “We were trying
some new things on the
car and they worked
better than we expected.
In fact, it enabled us
to make a few more
changes for the better
headed into the weekend.
I think we are headed in
the right direction.”
Hernandez is careful to
not cross the line of
overconfidence.
“I always try to
maintain a certain level
of poise going into any
race weekend,” Hernandez
said. “The law of
averages says there will
be one winner at the end
of the day. I always
feel we have a better
than average chance.
There’s no reason to go
in over-confident, but I
am pretty excited.”
Hernandez has been
consistent for the most
part this season, but
cannot deny a few races
exhibited
less-than-spectacular
outcomes. He’s ready to
bask in the glow again
and his 2006 version of
a 1968 Camaro is more
than ready to
accommodate his wishes.
“I think the old ’68 has
some banshee in her for
sure,” Hernandez said.
“If you look at last
year, we had some peaks
and valleys. This is a
new year with a new car
and you have a driver
with a year under his
belt to process the data
he learned.
“Every time you get in a
Pro Modified car, it is
a new experience. These
cars rarely repeat.
That’s what makes the
class a challenge.
Sometimes you get ahead
of the challenge and
sometimes you can fall
behind. I’d like to
think we stay ahead more
times than not.”
This weekend marks the
first time Hernandez has
driven at Memphis
Motorsports Park. He’s
more than up for the
combined challenge of
competition and Mother
Nature.
“The only time I had
been here was when I was
a crew member when Von
Smith was driving,”
Hernandez said. “This
weekend will be a lot
like St. Louis where the
extreme heat forces us
to run at night. You
have to be willing to
face the conditions head
on. We may not have the
most powerful cars at
the track but it will
all boil down to the
team that can put the
most to the track for
the victory.”
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