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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 16, 2008) - Josh Hernandez drove his Team Rage '68 Camaro to a quarterfinal finish Sunday in the JEGS Pro Mod Challenge at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
After qualifying no. 2 with a 6.015/240.42, Hernandez was heavily favored in his match against Eddie Ware in the first round of eliminations. The Camaro suffered mechanical problems against Ware, only running a 6.898/156.46, but Ware had issues of his own and handed Hernandez the win.
Round two was a battle of the champions: Hernandez and Jay Payne. Both have won the Pro Mod Cup, and both have been winners at the Gatornationals. After a dramatic staging duel, Hernandez pulled into the lights first with Payne waiting as long as he could before staging his car. With the extra heat in his clutch, Hernandez struggled to make his shift points and Payne drove past him to claim the win and end Hernandez' day.
"Jay is a great opponent," Hernandez explained. "He always brings a lot of drama to a race, and this time, he came out on top.
"I'm disappointed for our team, because I wanted to bring home another Gatornational win, but we got a lot of good experience working together with Jim Oddy as our crew chief, and I can tell that this will be a great long-term relationship. He's got a great, positive, laid-back attitude, and I think we've got a good rhythm going in the pits, so we'll definitely be ready for our next race," he said.
The next event on the calendar for the JEGS Pro Mod Challenge and Team Rage is the O'Reilly Spring Nationals March 28-38 in Baytown, Texas just outside of Houston. Hernandez won the Spring Nationals last year, and said he's anxious to return to the track he considers home.
"Houston has always been a great track for us, and we've already won an ADRL event there this season, so, I'm looking forward to getting back to our winning ways and take home one of the new Jegs trophies," he said.
Hernandez makes quarterfinals in Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 16, 2008) - Josh Hernandez drove his Team Rage '68 Camaro to a quarterfinal finish Sunday in the JEGS Pro Mod Challenge at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
After qualifying no. 2 with a 6.015/240.42, Hernandez was heavily favored in his match against Eddie Ware in the first round of eliminations. The Camaro suffered mechanical problems against Ware, only running a 6.898/156.46, but Ware had issues of his own and handed Hernandez the win.
Round two was a battle of the champions: Hernandez and Jay Payne. Both have won the Pro Mod Cup, and both have been winners at the Gatornationals. After a dramatic staging duel, Hernandez pulled into the lights first with Payne waiting as long as he could before staging his car. With the extra heat in his clutch, Hernandez struggled to make his shift points and Payne drove past him to claim the win and end Hernandez' day.
"Jay is a great opponent," Hernandez explained. "He always brings a lot of drama to a race, and this time, he came out on top.
"I'm disappointed for our team, because I wanted to bring home another Gatornational win, but we got a lot of good experience working together with Jim Oddy as our crew chief, and I can tell that this will be a great long-term relationship. He's got a great, positive, laid-back attitude, and I think we've got a good rhythm going in the pits, so we'll definitely be ready for our next race," he said.
The next event on the calendar for the JEGS Pro Mod Challenge and Team Rage is the O'Reilly Spring Nationals March 28-38 in Baytown, Texas just outside of Houston. Hernandez won the Spring Nationals last year, and said he's anxious to return to the track he considers home.
"Houston has always been a great track for us, and we've already won an ADRL event there this season, so, I'm looking forward to getting back to our winning ways and take home one of the new Jegs trophies," he said.
