Words and photos by Ian Tocher
8/25/05

After a long, hot weekend on the track, Joshua Hernandez earned his third AMS/TLR Pro Mod Challenge title of the year Aug. 19-20, beating Mike Ashley, the reigning series champion and current points leader, in the final round at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP).

“The car was flying all weekend long, and even though it wasn’t number-one qualifier, we were consistent all weekend and I think we’ve proven time and time again that consistency wins races,” the Conroe, TX-based driver said of his Tommy Lipar Racing team. “No breakage, no problems with the car, and a great crew, that’ll win races every time.”

Troy Critchley and crew chief Darren Mayer combined at Valdosta to earn their first number-one qualifying positioning in the AMS/TLR series.

That top starting position went to Troy Critchley, who steered his blown ’41 Willys to a 6.201-second pass at 226.77 mph during Friday night’s second qualifying round. Unlike the eighth-mile ADRL series they were sharing top billing with, the AMS/TLR teams ran SGMP’s full quarter mile. Critchley’s number stood up through a third qualifying session on Saturday to give his AMS Staff Leasing team their first number-one start in the series.

“Yeah, but I’ve beaten the number-one qualifier before, so it doesn’t mean that much,” the transplanted Australian driver insisted. “We’re here to win the race.”

Twenty-seven teams made qualifying attempts at the all-concrete strip near Valdosta, GA, with Terry Leggett anchoring the 16-car field with a 6.400/213.64 in his 1941 Willys. Notable DNQs included brothers Zach and Cody Barklage, Mike Castellana, and the three turbocharged entries of John Gullett, Annette Summer, and Mike Moran.

Critchley got off to a good start on a 135-degree track by easily handling Leggett in round one, as did fourth-place qualifier Ashley with a strong pass in his Torco-backed ’67 Mustang GT against Joey Martin, who had to lift when his ’41 Willys—a former Ashley ride—got out of shape about halftrack.

Number-three qualifier Hernandez overcame a .064 holeshot by Doug Palmer by running 6.296 against Palmer’s 6.467-second pass, but low ET of the round went to Chip King’s 6.267-second win over Frankie Taylor in the first pairing out. Other first-round winners were Ashley’s teammate Troy Coughlin, Kirk Kuhns, number-two qualifier Thomas Patterson, and Jay Payne.

Prairieville, LA’s Doug Palmer qualified his ‘63 Corvette 14th with a 6.347-second pass at 222.14 mph, and almost managed to eliminate eventual race winner Hernandez with a holeshot in round one.