"This one was for Steve," Josh Hernandez said as he held his JEGS ProMod Challenge event trophy from the O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals, making reference to his fallen friend, Pro Mod driver Steve Engel who was laid to rest Friday in Ohio.
"It's really bittersweet," he said. "We come to the track to win the race, just like every other team, but throughout the entire weekend, there was a huge hole in the drag racing force.”
A resident of the Houston suburb of Conroe, Texas, Hernandez spent the first half of the week digging out from the widespread damage caused by Hurricane Ike. He managed to make it to the race on time and didn't miss a beat once he got here, qualifying No. 1 in his Team Rage '68 Camaro.
"It's been a long, tough week," Hernandez said. "We witnessed the massive destruction of Hurricane Ike in our hometown and then we lost Steve Engel on Sunday night, man, it's been emotionally draining on all of us. This win is a shining moment and certainly lifts us up a bit, but it's not a cure-all. We're still hurting for Steve's family and we have a lot of work to do back home."
Of Hernandez's seven passes this weekend, four were in the five-second range and he was the only driver to cover the quarter mile at the Texas Motorplex in less than six seconds.
"I couldn't be prouder of this entire team, because they did an amazing job, even with the heaviness around us. They gave me a car that was completely unstoppable, and Jim Oddy and Troy Critchley are geniuses at what they do. This team pulled it together and won this one with style - all for Steve," Hernandez said.
The Team Rage Camaro was on a mission as soon as it was unloaded at the Texas Motorplex, blasting to the top qualifying position with a track record-setting 5.964/242.02-pass the very first time down the quarter-mile. The team's efforts were rewarded with the $1,000 Ohio Crankshaft low-qualifier bonus, which Hernandez promptly donated to what has been dubbed the "Steve Engel Safety Initiative" that has renowned chassis builder Tim McAmis working to build a better Pro Mod chassis.