"The car has been exceptionally consistent for the last few races,and it's fast." -Josh Hernandez
Josh Hernandez took full advantage of unseasonably cold weather to storm to the Day 1 qualifying lead of the JEGS ProMod Challenge at Bristol Dragway.
Hernandez's 5.950 at 241.11 mph was more than enough to put the reigning series champ and Tommy Lipar's InterLinc Mortgage Camaro out front under cloudy and sometimes rainy conditions. It was the only five-second pass of the day.
"We're on a serious roll at the moment," said Hernandez, who has won races in each of the past two weekends, one on the JEGS series and one in ADRL competition. "Jim Oddy, my crew chief, when he gets onto something he's tough to beat. He just stays in a groove and I get to go along for the ride.
"The car has been exceptionally consistent for the last few races, and it's fast. That's a great combination in Pro Mod drag racing. We're having fun and we'll see if we can't go quicker tomorrow and shoot for the record. If the weather stays like this, it could be time to swing for the fences."
The most prolific racer in ProMod Challenge series history, Hernandez won the last event in St. Louis, his first victory of the year. He is in line to score his third Ohio Crankshaft Low Qualifier Award of the season should his 5.950-second pass hold through Saturday's final qualifying session, scheduled for 2 p.m.
Team Rage would like to thanks its corporate sponsors who make all our success possible: NGK Sparks Plugs, RedLine Oil, Hoosier Tires, Permatex products, Richmond Gears, Mechanix Wear, RedBull, Inter-linc Mortage, AMS Staff Leasing and our newest sponsors - Safety Kleen & Victory 1 Valves
BRISTOL, Tenn. - Final order after 3 rounds of qualifying in Pro Modified at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Eighth annual O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Q:
Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd-Top Spd
1 1 Joshua Hernandez, Conroe TX, *'68 Camaro 5.950 241.11 241.11
2 763 Kirk Kuhns, Yorba Linda CA, *'41 Willys 6.006 234.98 234.98
3 8 Shelly Payne, Ontario CA, *'06 Stratus 6.009 234.04 236.22
4 38 Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills CA, *'68 Camaro 6.020 238.98 240.25
5 1212 Scott Ray, Greenville OH, *'53 Corvette 6.021 236.09 236.09
6 320 Steve Engel, Shandon OH, *'63 Corvette 6.039 240.68 240.68
7 1986 John Russo, Middleton MA, *'68 Firebird 6.040 241.28 241.28
8 1211 Mike Ashley, Melville NY, *'67 Camaro 6.065 239.53 239.53
9 7 Harold Laird, Baton Rouge LA, *'63 Corvette 6.084 233.84 233.84
10 9 Rick Stivers, Lexington KY, *'67 Shelby GT 6.095 236.30 236.30
11 2103 Joe Baker, Milton FL, *'41 Willys 6.097 234.86 234.86
12 1941 Eddie Ware, Marietta GA, *'67 Firebird 6.103 233.92 233.92
13 1090 Raymond Commisso, Toronto ON, *'68 Firebird 6.117 242.02 242.02
14 1152 Tony Pontieri, Bolton ON, *'57 Bel Air 6.148 234.86 234.86
15 6 Tim Tindle, Santa Rosa FL, *'67 Shelby GT 6.170 231.16 231.16
16 3 Jay Payne, Ontario CA, *'68 Camaro 6.180 234.78 234.78
------------ Not Qualified ------------
17 348 Brad Personett, Elkhart IN, '53 Corvette 6.257 235.72 235.72
18 402 Taylor Lastor, Knoxville NC, '67 Camaro 6.258 234.25 234.25
19 272 Roger Burgess, Duluth GA, *'63 Corvette 6.348 208.23 208.23
20 501 Mike Knowles, Grand Junction CO, *'08 Corvette 6.407 221.71 226.77
