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MADISON, Ill. (May 6, 2007) - Josh Hernandez won his fourth straight AMS Staff Leasing Pro Modified Challenge event behind the wheel of his Howard Moon-tuned '68 Camaro Pro Mod, this time eclipsing the competition at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill. Keeping his round-win record perfect in the series presented by Tindle Enterprises, Hernandez is now 16-0 and has matched Mike Ashley's record for consecutive event wins set in 2005.
"What an incredible weekend," Hernandez said. "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, and I couldn't be more proud of all of them.
"Four wins in a row is really an amazing feat, and without a team that works so well together, it wouldn't have been possible," he said.
Hernandez' AMS/Rage teammate Troy Critchley nabbed the No. 1 qualifying position, posting a 6.154/235.76 to earn the $1,000 Ohio Crankshaft Low Qualifier award for the second time this year.
Raymond Commisso out-paced the field during the first round of eliminations with a 6.003/241.37, setting both ends of the Gateway International Raceway track record. The Toronto restaurateur bowed out of competition early, handing defending world champion Jay Payne a win in the quarterfinals with an uncharacteristic red light start.
"I've had better days but, that's racing, and nobody's perfect," Commisso said.
Tim Tindle made his second quarterfinal round appearance after qualifying in the No. 9 spot and defeating Rick Stivers first round. Tindle's 6.091/236.51 was the best pass of the weekend for the TARE team, passing Stivers' tire-shaking 6.336/233.48. Tindle lost to Critchley on a holeshot in the second round, blasting 6.099/236.75 to Critchley's 6.142/238.51.
"I hate that we had to loose that way, knowing that we had one of the best cars out there this weekend. I went in that round thinking mainly about the red light I had in Houston, and it kind of threw me off," Tindle said.
Runner-up Tony Pontieri had a bittersweet weekend, earning the No. 2 qualifying spot and fighting all the way to the final round, only to miss the call by no more than two minutes.
"We had burnt a piston and broken a plug, and fixing both with a 30 minute turnaround was just too much," Pontieri said. "We had such a great weekend, we'll just keep the momentum going and hit it hard again in Bristol."
The AMS Pro Mod Challenge presented by Tindle Enterprises, Inc. resumes competition at the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn. May 18-20.
***
ELIMINATIONS SUMMARY:
Round 1:
Tim Tindle 6.091/236.51 def. Rick Stivers 6.336/233.48
Steve Engel 6.113/236.75 def. Scott Ray (foul) 14.792/63.29
Raymond Commisso 6.003/241.37 def. Mike Knowles 6.789/227.34
Josh Hernandez 6.007/239.19 def. Mike Janis 6.078/239.10
Matt Hagan 6.211/223.91 def. Doug Palmer 10.557/97.46
Jay Payne 6.058/236.51 def. Andy McCoy 6.731/174.41
Tony Pontieri 6.189/233.84 def. Cody Barklage 22.026/34.60
Troy Critchley 6.529/229.39 def. Raymond Vettel 7.102/152.18
Round 2:
J Hernandez 6.273/217.35 def. M Hagan 6.213/236.80
T Pontieri 6.141/236.55 def. S Engel 6.112/236.80
T Critchley 6.142/238.51 def. T Tindle 6.099/236.75
J Payne 6.053/238.85 def. R Commisso (foul) 6.067/239.40
Round 3:
J Hernandez 6.133/235.02 def. T Critchley 9.158/124.80
T Pontieri 6.124/234.29 def. J Payne 7.304/135.37
Round 4:
J Hernandez 9.974/118.12 def. T Pontieri NT-No Show
***
FINAL QUALIFYING ORDER
1 Troy Critchley 6.154 235.76
2 Tony Pontieri 6.182 230.84
3 Jay Payne 6.183 233.88
4 Matt Hagan 6.188 234.86
5 Josh Hernandez 6.191 234.09
6 Raymond Commisso 6.205 235.64
7 Scott Ray 6.220 227.15
8 Rick Stivers 6.252 233.32
9 Tim Tindle 6.274 233.48
10 Steve Engel 6.281 232.47
11 Mike Knowles 6.311 226.85
12 Mike Janis 6.368 235.15
13 Zach Barklage 6.498 215.20
14 Andy McCoy 6.587 199.79
15 Cody Barklage 6.632 228.54
16 Raymond Vettel 6.638 213.27
---
17 Doug Palmer 6.674 225.00
18 John Deflorian 6.847 210.54
19 Dan Saitz 6.930 188.75
20 Bryan Seward 7.036 151.46
21 Shelly Payne 7.043 149.20
CURRENT POINTS STANDINGS (AFTER 4 EVENTS)
1 Josh Hernandez 2221
2 Troy Critchley 1331
3 Raymond Commisso 1227
4 Jay Payne 913
5 Tony Pontieri 912
6 Tim Tindle 709
7 Bryan Seward 613
8 Matt Hagan 603
9 Steve Engel 600
10 Dan Rowe 597
11 Doug Palmer 465
12 Scott Cannon 438
13 Shelly Payne 392
14 Scott Ray 368
15 Rick Stivers 367
16 Cody Barklage 365
17 Mike Janis 343
18 Mike Bell 330
19 Eddie Ware 279
20 John Russo 276
21 Mike Stawicki 261
22 Zach Barklage 258
23 Chip King 160
24 Brandon Pesz 130
25 Quain Stott 126
26 Mike Knowles 106
27 Andy McCoy 103
28 Raymond Vettel 101
29 Isaias Rojas 25
29 William Rojas 25
29 Angel Garcia 25
29 Troy Coughlin 25
29 John Deflorian 25
29 Dan Saitz 25
Photo courtesy [http://competitionplus.com]CompetitionPlus.com[/url]
Hernandez Eclipses the Competition, wins Fourth Straight in St. Louis
MADISON, Ill. (May 6, 2007) - Josh Hernandez won his fourth straight AMS Staff Leasing Pro Modified Challenge event behind the wheel of his Howard Moon-tuned '68 Camaro Pro Mod, this time eclipsing the competition at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill. Keeping his round-win record perfect in the series presented by Tindle Enterprises, Hernandez is now 16-0 and has matched Mike Ashley's record for consecutive event wins set in 2005.
"What an incredible weekend," Hernandez said. "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, and I couldn't be more proud of all of them.
"Four wins in a row is really an amazing feat, and without a team that works so well together, it wouldn't have been possible," he said.
Hernandez' AMS/Rage teammate Troy Critchley nabbed the No. 1 qualifying position, posting a 6.154/235.76 to earn the $1,000 Ohio Crankshaft Low Qualifier award for the second time this year.
Raymond Commisso out-paced the field during the first round of eliminations with a 6.003/241.37, setting both ends of the Gateway International Raceway track record. The Toronto restaurateur bowed out of competition early, handing defending world champion Jay Payne a win in the quarterfinals with an uncharacteristic red light start.
"I've had better days but, that's racing, and nobody's perfect," Commisso said.
Tim Tindle made his second quarterfinal round appearance after qualifying in the No. 9 spot and defeating Rick Stivers first round. Tindle's 6.091/236.51 was the best pass of the weekend for the TARE team, passing Stivers' tire-shaking 6.336/233.48. Tindle lost to Critchley on a holeshot in the second round, blasting 6.099/236.75 to Critchley's 6.142/238.51.
"I hate that we had to loose that way, knowing that we had one of the best cars out there this weekend. I went in that round thinking mainly about the red light I had in Houston, and it kind of threw me off," Tindle said.
Runner-up Tony Pontieri had a bittersweet weekend, earning the No. 2 qualifying spot and fighting all the way to the final round, only to miss the call by no more than two minutes.
"We had burnt a piston and broken a plug, and fixing both with a 30 minute turnaround was just too much," Pontieri said. "We had such a great weekend, we'll just keep the momentum going and hit it hard again in Bristol."
The AMS Pro Mod Challenge presented by Tindle Enterprises, Inc. resumes competition at the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn. May 18-20.
***
ELIMINATIONS SUMMARY:
Round 1:
Tim Tindle 6.091/236.51 def. Rick Stivers 6.336/233.48
Steve Engel 6.113/236.75 def. Scott Ray (foul) 14.792/63.29
Raymond Commisso 6.003/241.37 def. Mike Knowles 6.789/227.34
Josh Hernandez 6.007/239.19 def. Mike Janis 6.078/239.10
Matt Hagan 6.211/223.91 def. Doug Palmer 10.557/97.46
Jay Payne 6.058/236.51 def. Andy McCoy 6.731/174.41
Tony Pontieri 6.189/233.84 def. Cody Barklage 22.026/34.60
Troy Critchley 6.529/229.39 def. Raymond Vettel 7.102/152.18
Round 2:
J Hernandez 6.273/217.35 def. M Hagan 6.213/236.80
T Pontieri 6.141/236.55 def. S Engel 6.112/236.80
T Critchley 6.142/238.51 def. T Tindle 6.099/236.75
J Payne 6.053/238.85 def. R Commisso (foul) 6.067/239.40
Round 3:
J Hernandez 6.133/235.02 def. T Critchley 9.158/124.80
T Pontieri 6.124/234.29 def. J Payne 7.304/135.37
Round 4:
J Hernandez 9.974/118.12 def. T Pontieri NT-No Show
***
FINAL QUALIFYING ORDER
1 Troy Critchley 6.154 235.76
2 Tony Pontieri 6.182 230.84
3 Jay Payne 6.183 233.88
4 Matt Hagan 6.188 234.86
5 Josh Hernandez 6.191 234.09
6 Raymond Commisso 6.205 235.64
7 Scott Ray 6.220 227.15
8 Rick Stivers 6.252 233.32
9 Tim Tindle 6.274 233.48
10 Steve Engel 6.281 232.47
11 Mike Knowles 6.311 226.85
12 Mike Janis 6.368 235.15
13 Zach Barklage 6.498 215.20
14 Andy McCoy 6.587 199.79
15 Cody Barklage 6.632 228.54
16 Raymond Vettel 6.638 213.27
---
17 Doug Palmer 6.674 225.00
18 John Deflorian 6.847 210.54
19 Dan Saitz 6.930 188.75
20 Bryan Seward 7.036 151.46
21 Shelly Payne 7.043 149.20
CURRENT POINTS STANDINGS (AFTER 4 EVENTS)
1 Josh Hernandez 2221
2 Troy Critchley 1331
3 Raymond Commisso 1227
4 Jay Payne 913
5 Tony Pontieri 912
6 Tim Tindle 709
7 Bryan Seward 613
8 Matt Hagan 603
9 Steve Engel 600
10 Dan Rowe 597
11 Doug Palmer 465
12 Scott Cannon 438
13 Shelly Payne 392
14 Scott Ray 368
15 Rick Stivers 367
16 Cody Barklage 365
17 Mike Janis 343
18 Mike Bell 330
19 Eddie Ware 279
20 John Russo 276
21 Mike Stawicki 261
22 Zach Barklage 258
23 Chip King 160
24 Brandon Pesz 130
25 Quain Stott 126
26 Mike Knowles 106
27 Andy McCoy 103
28 Raymond Vettel 101
29 Isaias Rojas 25
29 William Rojas 25
29 Angel Garcia 25
29 Troy Coughlin 25
29 John Deflorian 25
29 Dan Saitz 25
Photo courtesy [http://competitionplus.com]CompetitionPlus.com[/url]
