Hernandez Win Streak Ends at Four Events, Makes Semifinal Exit in E-Town
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. - All good things must come to an end, and for Josh Hernandez, driver of the Tommy Lipar Racing Dr. Moon's Rage '68 Camaro Pro Mod, his four-event winning streak came to an end Sunday at the ProCare Rx NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. After stringing together 18 round-wins in AMS Pro Modified Challenge competition, Hernandez lost in the semifinals to series presenting sponsor Tim Tindle on a holeshot.
Hernandez and the Howard Moon-led Dr. Moon's rage team had been running the Camaro like a well tuned bracket car all weekend, never once jumping above the six-second line - until their battle against Tindle. Under bright sunny skies and with track temperatures pushing 130 degrees, the two faced off in one of the tightest races of the match. At the stripe, the scoreboards read Hernandez: 6.032/243.59 and Tindle: 6.034/236.96 - but Tindle got the starting-line edge of a mere three hundredths, earning the win-light and ending Hernandez' dominance.
"It had to come to an end sometime, so, I wasn't too shocked about that," Hernandez said. "It was a battle down to the line, and actually, I wasn't sure who had gotten the light because it was so close and I was focusing so much on driving.
"For me, I understand that when two cars pull up to the line, one will win, and one will lose. It's drag racing, and it happens all the time. We've been fortunate so far this year to be on the up-side of almost everything, and I'm confident that will continue. I really love a good drag race, and Tim is a great driver, and that was definitely a great race.
"If you're gonna' go down, I'd much prefer to do it that way than to get blown away, have a mechanical problem, or beat yourself. That was fun - just not as much fun as it could have been," he laughed.
As a semifinalist, Hernandez receives a purse payout of $1,700 in addition to the Top Qualifier award from Ohio Crankshaft in the amount of $1,000. Hernandez has chosen to donate all of his winnings from this race to a newly created safety education fund.
"There's no denying this was a difficult weekend for all of the racers as we thought about what had happened last weekend in Selmer. Even though that wasn't a drag race, it still hit so close to home because Troy is my teammate and, more than that, my friend. I know what he has gone through has changed his life, just as it has so many others.
"We, as racers, want to try to do something positive to keep things like this, and accidents with any kinds of cars from causing injury. I know our series is developing a plan to take a message of safety to high schools across the country in association with our races.
"My donation is just a fraction of what it will take to get our message out, but we've got a great platform, and I wanted to help make a difference," Hernandez said.
Plans for the program are still being created, but Hernandez said he expects there will be an event at every race beginning with the US Nationals in Indianapolis.
Hernandez and the Dr. Moon's Rage team head next to Bristol, Tenn. July 6-8.
