Hernandez and Pontieri in midst of a classic championship battle
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/JEGS_Pro_Mod_08.jpg" alt="JEGS_Pro_Mod_08" align="right"borders="0"/>
HOUSTON (Oct. 17) -- Josh Hernandez and Tony Pontieri, the two men at the forefront of the fight for the 2008 JEGS ProMod Challenge crown, both managed to do a lot of thinking in the 12 seconds it took Hernandez to roll down Virginia Motorsports Park last Saturday night. Hernandez, the reigning series champion, was in the midst of suffering just his second Round 1 loss of the season and he suddenly had an anxious feeling that his title defense was slipping away.
Entering the race No. 1 in the rankings with a 59-point advantage over Pontieri, Hernandez had a chance to lock up his second straight championship in Richmond, especially after he ran the quickest pass in Pro Mod history (5.900 seconds) in the final round of qualifying, making him eligible for 20 bonus points.
But Hernandez hadn't backed the run up to make it official and as he drifted to the first turn-off Saturday evening he knew those crucial bonus points had now fallen to No. 2 qualifier Pontieri, who had already backed-up his career-best 5.905 in qualifying, making it the world record.
"It wasn't the best feeling in the world," Hernandez said. "I had just watched Tony win his first-round race against Taylor (Lastor) right in front of us so I knew he already had a round on me. Plus, I lost my chance at the record so he pretty much had that locked up as well. It was a huge swing of emotions from what I thought I'd be feeling. We were ready to run a 5.8 that round."
Unfortunately, Hernandez's Team Rage Camaro encountered some severe tire shake right as Hernandez was shifting gears early in his first-round contest with Mike Janis and his transmission suffered some damage, leaving him dead in the water.
"I see the scoreboard light up with a 6.18 in the other lane and it was like rubbing salt on the wound," Hernandez said. "I would guess that every pass we made down the track this year was quicker than that. I know these things happen in racing but man, it still hurt."
At the top end of the racetrack it was a different scene as Pontieri and crew suddenly realized they had closed from 60 to 20 points back in the standings in a few minutes time. They were still alive in the race, while the only person they trailed in the title hunt was on the trailer. The opportunity in front of them was enormous.
"Believe it or not, I wasn't overly excited," Pontieri said. "I mean, yeah, it would have been cool to go on and win the race and gain a bunch of points at Josh's expense, but as a racer, that's not the way you want it to happen. I would rather outrun him straight up, get the record, race him in the final and beat him. That's how it should be, really."
Amazingly, Pontieri got his wish, in a manner of speaking, when his Quality Plus Compressors '57 Bel Air ingested a small piece of plastic in his second-round race against Mike Knowles and his golden opportunity to equal or pass Hernandez in the points was gone in a flash. All this after Pontieri had left the starting line a whopping three-tenths of a second ahead of Knowles.
"It's fitting, really, because here it is with one race to go and Josh and I are 20 points apart," Pontieri said. "We've had pretty similar seasons, going to a lot of finals. He missed a race, I had a DNQ. He had trouble in Round 1. We had trouble in Round 2. It all balances out.
"In many ways my season is already complete. I'm already a winner. This is the best year I've ever had and I'm gonna end up first or second with my buddy Josh on the other side.
"The excitement level is at an all-time high. It's going to be one heckuva race in Las Vegas. I hope it goes down to me and Josh in the final with the winner of the race being the new champ. That would be the ultimate."
Already on his way back to Houston Sunday morning, Hernandez admits to being relieved when he got a text message that Pontieri had lost in Round 2 and remained behind him in the standings.
"Tony of all people makes me nervous and I'll tell you why," Hernandez said. "I know that one of these days he's gonna get his due against me because every big thing that's ever happened to me in my career, he's been the guy in the other lane or next in the points, always the bridesmaid. You just know that's going to even out at some point.
"Tony's a great friend and a great racer. He's gonna get his wins and his championships and I'll be the first to congratulate him when he does."
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/JEGS_Pro_Mod_08.jpg" alt="JEGS_Pro_Mod_08" align="right"borders="0"/>
HOUSTON (Oct. 17) -- Josh Hernandez and Tony Pontieri, the two men at the forefront of the fight for the 2008 JEGS ProMod Challenge crown, both managed to do a lot of thinking in the 12 seconds it took Hernandez to roll down Virginia Motorsports Park last Saturday night. Hernandez, the reigning series champion, was in the midst of suffering just his second Round 1 loss of the season and he suddenly had an anxious feeling that his title defense was slipping away.
Entering the race No. 1 in the rankings with a 59-point advantage over Pontieri, Hernandez had a chance to lock up his second straight championship in Richmond, especially after he ran the quickest pass in Pro Mod history (5.900 seconds) in the final round of qualifying, making him eligible for 20 bonus points.
But Hernandez hadn't backed the run up to make it official and as he drifted to the first turn-off Saturday evening he knew those crucial bonus points had now fallen to No. 2 qualifier Pontieri, who had already backed-up his career-best 5.905 in qualifying, making it the world record.
"It wasn't the best feeling in the world," Hernandez said. "I had just watched Tony win his first-round race against Taylor (Lastor) right in front of us so I knew he already had a round on me. Plus, I lost my chance at the record so he pretty much had that locked up as well. It was a huge swing of emotions from what I thought I'd be feeling. We were ready to run a 5.8 that round."
Unfortunately, Hernandez's Team Rage Camaro encountered some severe tire shake right as Hernandez was shifting gears early in his first-round contest with Mike Janis and his transmission suffered some damage, leaving him dead in the water.
"I see the scoreboard light up with a 6.18 in the other lane and it was like rubbing salt on the wound," Hernandez said. "I would guess that every pass we made down the track this year was quicker than that. I know these things happen in racing but man, it still hurt."
At the top end of the racetrack it was a different scene as Pontieri and crew suddenly realized they had closed from 60 to 20 points back in the standings in a few minutes time. They were still alive in the race, while the only person they trailed in the title hunt was on the trailer. The opportunity in front of them was enormous.
"Believe it or not, I wasn't overly excited," Pontieri said. "I mean, yeah, it would have been cool to go on and win the race and gain a bunch of points at Josh's expense, but as a racer, that's not the way you want it to happen. I would rather outrun him straight up, get the record, race him in the final and beat him. That's how it should be, really."
Amazingly, Pontieri got his wish, in a manner of speaking, when his Quality Plus Compressors '57 Bel Air ingested a small piece of plastic in his second-round race against Mike Knowles and his golden opportunity to equal or pass Hernandez in the points was gone in a flash. All this after Pontieri had left the starting line a whopping three-tenths of a second ahead of Knowles.
"It's fitting, really, because here it is with one race to go and Josh and I are 20 points apart," Pontieri said. "We've had pretty similar seasons, going to a lot of finals. He missed a race, I had a DNQ. He had trouble in Round 1. We had trouble in Round 2. It all balances out.
"In many ways my season is already complete. I'm already a winner. This is the best year I've ever had and I'm gonna end up first or second with my buddy Josh on the other side.
"The excitement level is at an all-time high. It's going to be one heckuva race in Las Vegas. I hope it goes down to me and Josh in the final with the winner of the race being the new champ. That would be the ultimate."
Already on his way back to Houston Sunday morning, Hernandez admits to being relieved when he got a text message that Pontieri had lost in Round 2 and remained behind him in the standings.
"Tony of all people makes me nervous and I'll tell you why," Hernandez said. "I know that one of these days he's gonna get his due against me because every big thing that's ever happened to me in my career, he's been the guy in the other lane or next in the points, always the bridesmaid. You just know that's going to even out at some point.
"Tony's a great friend and a great racer. He's gonna get his wins and his championships and I'll be the first to congratulate him when he does."
