McCLENAGHAN MAKES SECOND CONSECUTIVE NMRA FINAL TO PACE ROUSH DRAG RACERS

For Immediate Release

ROUSH®/Valvoline Post-Race Report - NMRA Drag Racing Series @ Silver
Dollar Raceway

McCLENAGHAN MAKES SECOND CONSECUTIVE NMRA FINAL TO PACE ROUSH DRAG
RACERS

REYNOLDS, Ga. (April 6, 2008) - After a strong season-opening effort in
Florida, the ROUSH® drag racing team continued their assault on the
NMRA’s index classes with another hard-fought effort during a weekend
of weather uncertainty at Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds, Ga.

Susan Roush-McClenaghan followed up her final round appearance at
Bradenton (Fla.) Motorsports Park with another final round berth against
perennial tough contender Tom Motycka. After a strong 0.014 reaction
time during the rain-aborted qualifying sessions landed her in the
seventh qualified spot, Susan powered all the way through the field,
missing out on the top spot by the slimmest of margins - eleven ten
thousandths of a second at the stripe.

Susan, despite not having the drag racing experience of some of her
racing peers, is quickly establishing herself as a force to be reckoned
with in the ROUSH Performance Modular Muscle class. As is the case with
any drag race, there has to be a winner and a loser, and after Susan met
up with Roush teammate Donnie Bowles in the second round, she moved on
to have a third-round bye before narrowly winning over Georgia’s
Charlie McCulloch to advance to the final against Motycka. The
heartbreaking loss in the event’s final stanza didn’t temper
Susan’s spirits; she was upbeat and cheery after cementing her
class points lead with this strong showing, the third final-round
appearance of her career.

“Big Thunder,�?? the engine residing between the shock towers of the
’62 Falcon piloted by Dale McClenaghan, is quickly living up to its
name. The engine, built and designed solely in-house by the team of
engineers at ROUSH Competition Engines, was dynoed back in mid-February
and set into the car just before the first race last month. Dale readily
admits that the engine has caused the team some growing pains as the
extra heft of the 1,000 horsepower big-block upset the chassis balance
to an extent. The team has worked hard to overcome the issues and Dale
was rewarded with a stellar 0.005 reaction time to place atop the Open
Comp qualifying ladder. McClenaghan made it through rounds one and two
before falling victim to a heartbreaking 0.007 red light against former
Fun Ford Weekend champion Danny Towe in round three. 

With lots of hard work, Donnie Bowles has been honing his skills on the
tree and a 0.006 reaction time during qualifying placed him third among
the 17 competitors in the ROUSH Modular Muscle class at the end of the
rain-shortened session. A first-round win over Louisiana’s El Smith
was tempered, and the odd number of cars meant that Donnie would have to
face teammate Susan Roush-McClenaghan in the second round. Donnie got
out to a 0.016 starting line advantage, but Susan ran much closer to her
index, ending Donnie’s weekend.

“Coal Digger VI,�?? the distinctive yellow Mustang campaigned by Don
Bowles, is always solidly in the hunt in Open Comp competition. Bowles
had engine woes at the season-opening race in Florida, but was confident
that the issues had been sorted out as he hit the track running,
qualifying second behind ROUSH teammate Dale McClenaghan with a 0.012
reaction time. Since the Mustang uses a Liberty clutchless five-speed
transmission, it’s critical that Bowles drives the car to within an
inch of its life every time down the track. 

“Music to the ear�?? would be a good description for the experimental
Ford-designed engine which carried Don to the third round, before he
broke out by a heartbreaking 0.012 against eventual winner Mike
Olencheck. The win puts Don back into the hunt in the Open Comp class.
You can bet that he’ll be back on his game for the next race in
ROUSH’s backyard - Milan Dragway, just a short drive from the ROUSH
Livonia headquarters. 

The four cars carry sponsorship from ROUSH Performance and Valvoline.
The next event on the NMRA schedule will take place June 12-15 at Milan
Dragway in Milan, Mich.

Based in Livonia, Mich., “The Art of Performance Engineering�?? takes
place at ROUSH Performance. To get a look behind the scenes at what goes
on at ROUSH and how the vehicles are designed, manufactured and produced
logon to www.ROUSHtv.com. In addition to the array of Ford Mustang and
F-150 styling, handling and performance upgrades, a complete line of
performance parts and crate engines are offered. For more information
see your local ROUSH dealer, visit www.ROUSHperformance.com or telephone
toll-free (800) 59-ROUSH.  

*"ROUSH" is the registered trademark of ROUSH Performance Products,
Inc., or its related entities. 

# # #

Note to Editors: A digital image of Susan Roush-McClenaghan’s Mustang
is attached and named SusanReynolds.jpg. A high-resolution and/or
additional images can be sent on request. Photo credit: Jason Reiss

For More Information:
John Clark
Communications & Motorsports Manager
ROUSH Performance Products
(734) 466-6217 - Direct
(734) 812-4235 - Cell
jgclar@roushind.com