HERNANDEZ THREE-PEAT
Conroe, Texas resident, Josh Hernandez, made it two in a row for 2007 and a three-peat in Houston as he won the O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park and the coveted AMS eagle, defeating Scott Cannon, Jr. in a peddle-fest final round under the lights, 6.208/225.26 to 6.227/233.72.
From the start of the day with a cruel April
Fool's joke and learning why pits are called pits, to the final addition to the
AMS Five Second Club and a final round under the full moon, the AMS Staff
Leasing Pro Modified Challenge presented by Tindle Enterprises, Inc. proved once
again to be a stellar performance of top talent in the Pro Modified
world.
Conroe, Texas resident, Josh Hernandez, made it two in a row for
2007 and a three-peat in Houston as he won the O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at
Houston Raceway Park and the coveted AMS eagle, defeating Scott Cannon, Jr. in a
peddle-fest final round under the lights, 6.208/225.26 to
6.227/233.72.
"All I can say is that I love racing at this track -
regardless of the mud and rain," Hernandez said.
The mud came from the
torrential rains that pounded the area all day Saturday, turning the Pro Mod
pits into swamps and forcing teams to work on sheets of plywood, plastic tarps
and any patch of dry asphalt or pavement they could find.
The rustic
conditions failed to hinder the competition and performance, however. Scott
Cannon, Jr. became the final member of the AMS Five Second club when he ran a
5.998 238.85 in his first round defeat of Tony Pontieri.
Cannon said,
"It's ironic, really. My dad [Pro Mod racer Scotty Cannon] was the last driver
to join the Six Second club, and I'm the last member of the Five Second club.
Pretty cool."
The day began for the racers with the promise off running
a second qualifying run before NHRA Pre Race ceremonies, but the hopes were
dashed in what seemed like a bad practical joke after spending almost 40 minutes
in the lanes waiting for the Safety Safari to dry the track. As the tractors
were pulling around for a final round of prep, the skies once again opened up,
forcing series administration to set the field based on the only qualifying
run.
"We tried everything we could to give the teams another shot down
the track, but we really wanted to finish the race here in Houston instead of
carrying any rounds over to the next event," series director Matthew Brammer
said. "As it was, we were the very last cars to run down the track today, and if
we had needed another lap, there wouldn't have been enough time to safely make a
pass."
Raymond Commisso earned low qualifying honors and a $1,000 check
from Ohio Crankshaft for his 5.985 elapsed time in the only round of
qualifying.
The AMS Pro Modified Challenge presented by Tindle
Enterprises, Inc. moves next to Atlanta, Ga. and the Summit Racing Equipment
NHRA Southern Nationals, April 26-29.
SUMMARY of
ELIMINATIONS
Round 1:
Scott Ray, (0.031) 14.234 69.67 def. Steve
Engel, (-0.103 foul) 6.099 237.92
Bryan Seward, (0.105) 6.193 231.12
def. Chip King, (0.100) 6.908 158.17
Jay Payne, (0.046) 6.060 237.92
def. Matt Hagan, (0.068) 10.408 85.41
Troy Critchley, (0.072) 6.122
239.14 def. Brandon Pesz, (0.058) 6.149 238.09
Josh Hernandez, (0.033)
6.009 241.67 def. John Russo, (-0.132 foul) 6.197 238.43
Scott Cannon
Jr., (0.053) 5.998 238.85 def. Tony Pontieri, (0.055) 6.107
239.14
Raymond Commisso, (0.109) 6.016 230.84 def. Danny Rowe, (0.061)
6.129 230.76
Tim Tindle, (0.042) 6.020 238.68 def. Eddie Ware, (0.045)
6.158 230.96
Round 2:
B Seward (0.075) 6.209 229.90 def. T
Tindle, (-0.002 foul) 6.127 235.76
R Commisso, (0.165) 7.781 118.92 def.
S Ray, NT-Broke Before Staging
J Hernandez,(0.009) 6.076 239.82 def. J
Payne, NT-Broke Before Staging
S Cannon Jr., (0.091) 6.018 237.84 def. T
Critchley, (0.024) 11.961 70.80
Round 3:
J Hernandez,
(0.028) 6.022 240.51 def. B Seward, (0.095) 6.207 229.94
S Cannon Jr.,
(0.082) 6.044 236.01 def. R Commisso, (0.146) 6.018 244.43
Round
4:
J Hernandez, (0.061) 6.208 225.26 def. S Cannon Jr., (0.058) 6.227
233.72
BAE Championship Cup Points:
1. Josh Hernandez 1168
2.
Troy Critchley 778
3. Raymond Commisso 677
4. Bryan Seward
458
5. Scott Cannon 438
6. Tony Pontieri 368
7. Steve Engel
368
8. Tim Tindle 368
9. Dan Rowe 361
10. Mike Bell
330
11. John Russo 276
12. Jay Payne 261
13. Mike Janis
238
14. Scott Ray 233
15. Chip King 160
16. Matt Hagan
156
17. Eddie Ware 152
18. Mike Stawicki 133
19. Shelly
Payne 132
20. Cody Barklage 131
21. Brandon Pesz 130
22.
Zach Barklage 129
23. Rick Stivers 127
24. Isaias Rojas
25
25. William Rojas 25
26. Angel Garcia 25