Josh Hernandez, the defending NHRA Jegs ProMod Series champion, will
not be competing in this weekend's NHRA Southern Nationals. He was
originally invited to participate but was forced to withdraw when
sponsor commitments required his presence in Tulsa, Oklahome at an ADRL
event. The Tulsa event was cancelled and when Hernandez re-applied, he
was declined entry.
Hernandez released a statement regarding the situation today.
"We had planned to be at the ADRL event in Tulsa this weekend to represent the
Guard, and because the schedule conflicted with the JEGS Pro Mod event, we had
to decline their invitation to race. It killed me, but, it was the right thing,
and it's what I had to do. I had held out hope that there was a way to make
things work out, but, at the time JEGS required confirmation of attendance, I
couldn't commit," Hernandez said.
Because of excessive rain in the Tulsa
area, it was officially announced on April 18 that the ADRL Shelor.com Spring
Drags had been re-scheduled, thus freeing Hernandez to compete at the NHRA event
April 24-27 -- or so he hoped.