Carrier Boyz Racing: Cory McClenathan advances to semifinals
Visit our website at www.carrierboyzracing.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CARRIER BOYZ RACING ANDY CARRIER and MARK CARRIER -- OWNERS NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES FRAM AIRHOG TOP FUEL DRAGSTER CORY McCLENATHAN -- DRIVER TODD SMITH - CREW CHIEF MEDIA CONTACT: Mickey Schultz PHONE: 770-476-8477 E-MAIL: mschultz@bellsouth.net 18TH ANNUAL NHRA O'REILLY MID-SOUTH NATIONALS MEMPHIS MOTORSPORTS PARK - MEMPHIS, TENN. AUGUST 19-21, 2005 Qualified: # 4 (4.640 seconds at 310.41 mph) Eliminations: Round 1: McClenathan (4.846/299.46) def. Mitch King (5.054/272.78) Round 2: McClenathan (4.836/296.96) def. Scott Kalitta (4.833/296.44) Round 3 (semifinals): McClenathan (4.816/303.50) lost to Tony Schumacher (4.672/308.78) Cory McClenathan advances to semifinals MILLINGTON, Tenn. (August 21, 2005) - Cory McClenathan, driver of the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog Top Fuel dragster, advanced to the semifinal round at this weekend's 18th annual NHRA O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park. In the opening round, with the heat index at 110-degrees and the track temperature at 130-degrees, McClenathan bested Mitch King. It was a 4.846-second pass for McClenathan, while King recorded an elapsed time of 5.054 seconds. In round two, a holeshot on Scott Kalitta propelled McClenathan into the semifinals. Gaining a .005 second advantage at the green was enough for Cory Mac to edge out Kalitta. McClenathan ran an elapsed time of 4.836 seconds to 4.833 seconds for Kalitta. The margin of victory was 22 ten thousandths of a second in favor of McClenathan. In the semifinals the power of Tony Schumacher's Army car proved too much for the FRAM AirHog dragster this day. McClenathan got out first but Schumacher pulled away on the top end. McClenathan ran a respectable 4.816 seconds in the heat, while Schumacher recorded an elapsed time of 4.672 seconds. Nevertheless, it was a successful weekend for Cory Mac, Carrier Boyz Racing and the FRAM AirHog dragster. "I can't complain," said McClenathan following the semifinal round. "I think the guys on this FRAM AirHog crew did a great job this weekend, especially considering the elements. The heat here this weekend made St. Louis look like Pismo Beach (Calif.). It was ugly. Through it all the guys worked hard. "We went some rounds and picked up some points on the guys in front of us. In fact by my calculations, we are only 18 points behind eighth. Right now every point counts big. We were consistent and the driver wasn't half bad himself." Unofficially, McClenathan remains No. 9 in the NHRA POWERade Top Fuel point standings. He now has 852 points. TELEVISION: ESPN2 will air three hours of same-day television coverage of eliminations for the 18th annual NHRA O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals beginning at 10 p.m. this evening (Sun., Aug. 21). The elimination show repeats one week later on ESPN2 early Sunday morning, Aug. 28, from 3 until 5 a.m. Television times are Eastern Time (ET) and subject to change at anytime. Check local listings. TESTING: Cory McClenathan and the Carrier Boyz Racing team will be testing the FRAM AirHog dragster on Tuesday and Wednesday (Aug. 23 and 24) at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind., in preparation for upcoming races. NEXT RACE (IHRA): Carrier Boyz Racing will make a stop on the IHRA circuit when they visit Norwalk (Ohio) Raceway Park for the IHRA Skull Gear World Finals, Aug. 25-28. NEXT RACE (NHRA): Labor Day weekend is the race that every drag racer wants to win - the 51th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. The "granddaddy" of all NHRA races unfolds at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind., just outside Indianapolis, the motorsports capital of the world. Action begins Aug. 31 and continues through Sept. 5, with professional qualifying starting on Fri., Sept. 2. Eliminations will be held on Monday, Labor Day, Sept. 5. Headquartered in Danbury, Conn., FRAM®, the official filter of the NHRA®, is a unit of Honeywell Consumer Products Group, which manufactures and markets the FRAM AirHog^(TM) air filter and other quality FRAM automotive filters. The Honeywell Consumer Products Group also includes Prestone® antifreeze/coolant and car care products, Autolite® spark plugs and ignition wire sets and Holts® car care products. For additional information visit the following websites: FRAM at www.fram.com and FRAM AirHog at www.framairhog.com or call 1-800-862-7737. For 2005, Carrier Boyz Racing and primary marketing partners FRAM and Honeywell welcome the support of our associate marketing partners: American Racing Wheels, Autolite Spark Plugs, Bendix, Fabtech, GMC, Mac Tools, Prestone, PurePower Lubricants and Torco Race Fuels/Skull Gear. Visit our website at www.carrierboyzracing.com for the most current team news, race results and team merchandise. -30-