Mike Knowles ’63 Corvette qualified at number 12 with a 6.186/229.43. He got past Tony Pontieri in the first round, but fell to Laird in the second.
Scott Cannon Jr. qualified his ’68 Firebird with a 6.072/236.26. Shannon Jenkins got into Cannon’s lane in the first round sending him on to meet Steve Engel in the second, where tire spin took Cannon out of the competition.
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On Monday, Hernandez got the second round win over Shelly Payne and beat Steve Engel in the third. Engel had set the track record at 242.15 mph during eliminations.
In the final round, Hernandez selected the right lane, which had been giving many of the pro cars problems throughout the race. It may not have been the best choice for Hernandez. He and Laird had nearly identical reaction times (.055 to Laird’s .051) and ran nearly side by side until Laird’s 6.102/235.72 got the win over the 6.124/237.84 for Hernandez.
“This means so much to me, I can’t even think of the words,” Laird said. “We’ve struggled so hard just to get here, and to have this kind of success is unimaginable.”
“It’s not just another race, it’s the U.S. Nationals, and to win my first race here is just awesome,” the Baton Rouge racer added.
