McClenathan to make bid for third U.S. Nationals gold
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2009 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES Round 18 of 24 55th annual U.S. Nationals Raceway Park at Indianapolis Sept. 4-7, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact; Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438; jstropus@earthlink.net MCCLENATHAN TO MAKE BID FOR THIRD U.S. NATIONALS GOLD BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 1, 2009) - Two-time U.S. Nationals champion Cory McClenathan will go for the gold at this weekend's 55th annual U.S. Nationals at Raceway Park in Indianapolis in an attempt to earn his third triumph at this prestigious event. Driving an all-new FRAM Tough Guard Top Fuel dragster for Don Schumacher Racing, McClenathan's goals are simple: qualify well, win, hold on to fourth place in the Countdown to 1 playoffs standings. The chase for the championship among the top 10 in points begins following the U.S. Nationals for the final six events. "I can't think of a better event at which to claim the first win of the season for the FRAM Tough Guard guys than the U.S. Nationals," said McClenathan. "It would be just fantastic and it would give us great momentum to start off the Countdown. "We tested a brand-new car last week at Raceway Park," added McClenathan. "It's actually the first DSR car that's ever been built as a dragster. DSR has built Funny Cars before but never a dragster until now. "All the guys in the fab shop (manager Normand Boutot, who heads up DSR Engineering, Joe Fitzpatrick and David Miller) did a fantastic job with this chassis. The FRAM Tough Guard guys put it together flawlessly and It went out there in testing and it was just like being in the old car. It went A to B just about every single time in the heat when the other guys weren't getting down the track. "We reeled off a 3.84 (-second elapsed time) clicking it off early in the evening runs. So, we're race ready. It's supposed to work a little better in certain areas of the track, and we're going to need that. If we can get any edge right now, it's the time to do it and utilize it during the Countdown. All we have to do is put decals on it and go out there and rock and roll." DSR's team manager Lee Beard and the Top Fuel crew chiefs collaborated with Boutot on the design of the new DSR Top Fuel dragster chassis. As for scoring a U.S. Nationals three-peat, "I've done it twice," said "Cory Mac," the event champion in 1996 and 1999. "It's something every driver wants to do 10 times. Ace (Ed McCulloch, NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Funny Car crew chief) has done it a lot (six times), Tony Schumacher's done it a lot (seven times). Maybe it's our turn to add to our multiple wins at this event. If you remember who won a championship, the next question that is usually asked is, 'Who won Indy?' "Obviously, I have my sights set on winning my first championship this year. It would be great to go into the Countdown in fourth spot and battle it out to the end." McClenathan's closest rival for that position is Brandon Bernstein, in fifth, just 11 points behind. "This is Indy, this is our home turf, it's supposed to be our race. We will be working real hard to win it." McClenathan was also runner-up at the U.S. Nationals in 1997 and low qualifier in 1993 and 2002. CORY MCCLENATHAN QUICK FACTS: * No. 4 in 2009 Top Fuel point standings, with three runner-up, three semifinal, eight quarterfinal and three first-round finishes in first 17 events of season * U.S. Nationals champion in 1996 and 1999; runner-up in 1997 * U.S. Nationals low qualifier in 1993 and 2002 * Qualified No. 2 in 2008 U.S. Nationals, lost semifinals to Tony Schumacher * No. 3 in 2008 Top Fuel point standings, including one win in three final rounds, as well as eight semifinal, six quarterfinal, seven first-round finishes and two No. 1 qualifiers * Has 30 career Top Fuel victories in 56 final rounds * First driver to break the 320-mph barrier with 322.17-mph run in Dallas in 1997 * Has recorded 455 career round wins in Top Fuel * Qualified No. 1 32 times, with a career-high seven times in 1993 * Recorded 400th round win in Top Fuel in Richmond 2007 * Has finished No. 2 in the standings four times (1992, 1995, 1997 and 1998) * Finished No. 10 in rookie season in 1991; made first 4-second run * Made NHRA history with first run in the 4.70s (4.799) at Reading in 1992 * Swept the three-race Western Swing in 1997 en route to four consecutive wins and career-high six victories in eight final rounds * Won four of the first six races in 1998. Equaled career-best with six wins in eight finals * Won the U.S. Nationals twice (1996, 1999) * Missed four races in 1993 after crash in Rockingham and still finished sixth in the Top Fuel points * Age 46 (January 30, 1963); born in Wichita, Kansas, now lives in Brownsburg, Ind.; daughter Courtney (10/25/90) * Joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2008; 2009 is fourth season with sponsorship from FRAM Cory Mac Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brownsburg-IN/Cory-Mac/74199417179?ref=ts#/pag es/Brownsburg-IN/Cory-Mac/74199417179?v=wall&viewas=14308109 Cory Mac Fanatics Group: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brownsburg-IN/Cory-Mac/74199417179?ref=ts#/gro up.php?gid=73981312612 On Twitter he may be followed on http://twitter.com/Cory_Mac_TF SCHEDULE: FRIDAY, Sept. 4 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSION at 5:30 p.m. SATURDAY, Sept. 5 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at Noon and 5:45 p.m. RINGERS GLOVES PRO BIKE BATTLE at 1:15 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. SUNDAY, Sept. 6 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. MONDAY, Sept. 7 - Pre-race ceremonies, 9:30 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS at 11 a.m. TELEVISION: Sunday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute magazine show at 11 a.m. (ET). Sunday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours and 30 minutes of qualifying coverage at 11:30 a.m. (ET). Sunday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 5 p.m. (ET). Monday, Sept. 7, ESPN2 HD will televise a special one hour NHRA Race Day from the U.S. Nationals at noon (ET). Monday, Sept. 7, ESPN2 HD will televise five hours of eliminations coverage at 1 p.m. (ET). SATELLITE (Analog feed): Friday, Sept. 4, 9:30 - 10 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz, horizontal) Saturday, Sept. 5, 10 - 10:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz, horizontal) Sunday, Sept. 6, 7:30 - 8 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz, horizontal) Monday, Sept. 7, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz, horizontal) ***