Hernandez pulls off a miracle two wins in one weekend
Courtesy AMS
MADISON, Ill./VALDOSTA, Ga. – Josh Hernandez won an unprecedented two events in two different drag racing series in two states in one weekend, continuing his dominance of the Pro Modified class behind the wheel of his Howard Moon-tuned AMS/Rage machines. The Houston-area native won his fourth straight AMS Staff Leasing win in Madison, Ill. and the rain-delayed ADRL 2006 World Final crown in Valdosta, Ga. this weekend, accomplishing a feat similar to the unsuccessful attempt by circle-track standout Tony Stewart in 1999 when he raced the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in one day.
“I’m still in shock I think,” Hernandez said after winning the AMS Pro Mod final in Madison. “The magnitude of what has happened this weekend, the hours and hours, the miles and stress our entire team has faced – from Dave Wood and Tommy Lipar all the way to my teammate Troy [Critchley] and Howard [Moon, crew chief] and the boys, this has been an amazing accomplishment for all of them.
“It’s a testament to what we’ve spent so much time building over the past couple of years. These guys were face with having to pull off a miracle, and they really did it,” he said.
When faced with the conflicting events, the team’s original plan was to use the two qualifying attempts at the AMS Challenge event to get firmly into the field, fly to Georgia on Saturday to contest the rain-delayed ADRL World Championship match as well as the Georgia Drags, and then fly back to Illinois to complete the AMS event. When rainy conditions stole the second round of qualifying from the AMS/Rage team, leaving Hernandez holding onto an off-pace 6.191 pass for tenuous a No. 2 qualifying position, the team was forced to make difficult decisions regarding where to race on Saturday.
“No one wanted to voice the question we were asking ourselves when we got on the plane that night: were we making the right decision?” Hernandez explained.
“When we landed in Georgia, we were slapped in the face by the 90-degree muggy air, and I think the reality of what we were doing kicked in,” he said.
In the heat of the day in front of record-breaking crowds of more than 25,000 people at South Georgia Motorpark, Hernandez finished what he had started more than seven months earlier at the ADRL getwork.com World Finals, winning his very first ADRL trophy by blasting to a 3.92 pass (in eighth-mile competition). To top it off, he grabbed the No.2 qualifying spot in the Camp Motorsport Georgia Drags, only to go out in the first round of eliminations.
“It’s hard not to be greedy and want to win it all,” he said at the time, “but I know that there’s a reason for everything, and we really wanted to get that World Final trophy. The other would have been icing, but just wasn’t meant to be.”
Safely back on the ground in Illinois at around 10 p.m. Saturday evening, Hernandez and the crew were able to focus on the other task at hand – winning the AMS Pro Mod Challenge to keep his streak going.
Methodically working his way through the ladder Sunday morning, Hernandez faced off against Mike Janis in a great side-by-side drag race, taking the stripe 6.007 to Janis’ 6.078. Next, the 2005 AMS Rookie of the Year faced off against the 2006 AMS rookie of the Year, and had to use a blistering .010 reaction time to steal the holeshot win from the quicker car of Matt Hagan -- 6.273/217.35 (0.128 rt) 6.213/236.80.
“That was a close one,” he said as he hustled to service the car in short order.
Luck of the ladder paired Hernandez next with his teammate Troy Critchley, and knowing the powerhouse capabilities of the Australian Jackhammer ’70 Barracuda, he knew he would have his hands full.
“Troy and I never like to race each other, one because we’re teammates, but two, because we know what’s under the hoods and what the possibilities are. There’s no other Howard Moon Power out there, so, when we face each other, we know we’re facing the very best – and that gets us on our game,” he said.
As it turned out, Critchley fell victim to the unpredictable lanes at Gateway International Raceway, and Hernandez moved into the finals with a 6.133/235.02 to his teammate’s tire-smoking 9.158/124.80. Paired against Canadian Tony Pontieri in the final round, the crew has less than 30 minutes to freshen the motor and get back to the starting line. The AMS/Rage crew got the car to the line, but Pontieri was unable to make the call, and Hernandez ended the day shutting off the Camaro and coasting to an anti-climactic uncontested win.
“Hey, it’s drag racing, and I know how those guys must be feeling. They worked just as hard as we did to get to the finals, and I was looking forward to racing Tony [Pontieri], but, I’ll take the win – as I know he would have, too.
“What an incredible weekend. Three races in two different states in less than 24 hours and I'm getting back on the plane with two winning trophies. I've never seen this bunch of guys work so hard for so long to achieve the incredible, the impossible. The heat, the rain, the stress, the travel and the sleep deprivation failed to get in the way of these men on a mission.
“I don’t know how we will top it – I don’t know if we will even try, but I can say that I’m really looking forward to Bristol: right after I sleep for a week,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez and the entire AMS/Rage team head next to Bristol, Tenn. for the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, May 18-20.
AMS Pro Mods
MADISON, Ill./VALDOSTA, Ga. – Josh Hernandez won an unprecedented two events in two different drag racing series in two states in one weekend, continuing his dominance of the Pro Modified class behind the wheel of his Howard Moon-tuned AMS/Rage machines. The Houston-area native won his fourth straight AMS Staff Leasing win in Madison, Ill. and the rain-delayed ADRL 2006 World Final crown in Valdosta, Ga. this weekend, accomplishing a feat similar to the unsuccessful attempt by circle-track standout Tony Stewart in 1999 when he raced the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in one day.
“I’m still in shock I think,” Hernandez said after winning the AMS Pro Mod final in Madison. “The magnitude of what has happened this weekend, the hours and hours, the miles and stress our entire team has faced – from Dave Wood and Tommy Lipar all the way to my teammate Troy [Critchley] and Howard [Moon, crew chief] and the boys, this has been an amazing accomplishment for all of them.
“It’s a testament to what we’ve spent so much time building over the past couple of years. These guys were face with having to pull off a miracle, and they really did it,” he said.
When faced with the conflicting events, the team’s original plan was to use the two qualifying attempts at the AMS Challenge event to get firmly into the field, fly to Georgia on Saturday to contest the rain-delayed ADRL World Championship match as well as the Georgia Drags, and then fly back to Illinois to complete the AMS event. When rainy conditions stole the second round of qualifying from the AMS/Rage team, leaving Hernandez holding onto an off-pace 6.191 pass for tenuous a No. 2 qualifying position, the team was forced to make difficult decisions regarding where to race on Saturday.
“No one wanted to voice the question we were asking ourselves when we got on the plane that night: were we making the right decision?” Hernandez explained.
“When we landed in Georgia, we were slapped in the face by the 90-degree muggy air, and I think the reality of what we were doing kicked in,” he said.
In the heat of the day in front of record-breaking crowds of more than 25,000 people at South Georgia Motorpark, Hernandez finished what he had started more than seven months earlier at the ADRL getwork.com World Finals, winning his very first ADRL trophy by blasting to a 3.92 pass (in eighth-mile competition). To top it off, he grabbed the No.2 qualifying spot in the Camp Motorsport Georgia Drags, only to go out in the first round of eliminations.
“It’s hard not to be greedy and want to win it all,” he said at the time, “but I know that there’s a reason for everything, and we really wanted to get that World Final trophy. The other would have been icing, but just wasn’t meant to be.”
Safely back on the ground in Illinois at around 10 p.m. Saturday evening, Hernandez and the crew were able to focus on the other task at hand – winning the AMS Pro Mod Challenge to keep his streak going.
Methodically working his way through the ladder Sunday morning, Hernandez faced off against Mike Janis in a great side-by-side drag race, taking the stripe 6.007 to Janis’ 6.078. Next, the 2005 AMS Rookie of the Year faced off against the 2006 AMS rookie of the Year, and had to use a blistering .010 reaction time to steal the holeshot win from the quicker car of Matt Hagan -- 6.273/217.35 (0.128 rt) 6.213/236.80.
“That was a close one,” he said as he hustled to service the car in short order.
Luck of the ladder paired Hernandez next with his teammate Troy Critchley, and knowing the powerhouse capabilities of the Australian Jackhammer ’70 Barracuda, he knew he would have his hands full.
“Troy and I never like to race each other, one because we’re teammates, but two, because we know what’s under the hoods and what the possibilities are. There’s no other Howard Moon Power out there, so, when we face each other, we know we’re facing the very best – and that gets us on our game,” he said.
As it turned out, Critchley fell victim to the unpredictable lanes at Gateway International Raceway, and Hernandez moved into the finals with a 6.133/235.02 to his teammate’s tire-smoking 9.158/124.80. Paired against Canadian Tony Pontieri in the final round, the crew has less than 30 minutes to freshen the motor and get back to the starting line. The AMS/Rage crew got the car to the line, but Pontieri was unable to make the call, and Hernandez ended the day shutting off the Camaro and coasting to an anti-climactic uncontested win.
“Hey, it’s drag racing, and I know how those guys must be feeling. They worked just as hard as we did to get to the finals, and I was looking forward to racing Tony [Pontieri], but, I’ll take the win – as I know he would have, too.
“What an incredible weekend. Three races in two different states in less than 24 hours and I'm getting back on the plane with two winning trophies. I've never seen this bunch of guys work so hard for so long to achieve the incredible, the impossible. The heat, the rain, the stress, the travel and the sleep deprivation failed to get in the way of these men on a mission.
“I don’t know how we will top it – I don’t know if we will even try, but I can say that I’m really looking forward to Bristol: right after I sleep for a week,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez and the entire AMS/Rage team head next to Bristol, Tenn. for the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, May 18-20.
AMS Pro Mods
posted by David @ 4:37 PM
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