McClenathan ends 2009 NHRA season in fourth

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 6 of 6 in Countdown to 1 playoffs
Round 24 of 24 for season
45th annual AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (Calif.)
Nov. 12-15, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net

MCLENATHAN ENDS 2009 NHRA SEASON IN FOURTH

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 15, 2009) - Cory McClenathan completed the 2009 NHRA
Full Throttle Drag Racing Series fourth in the Top Fuel point standings,
after reaching the quarterfinal round at the 45th annual NHRA Finals today.

With an opportunity, albeit slim, to actually win his first Top Fuel
championship, McClenathan, driving the FRAM Tough Guard Top Fuel dragster,
embarked on his mission to both help and hinder his teammate Tony Schumacher
in his quest to win his seventh Top Fuel world championship.

Entering the opening round with a 61-point deficit to leader Schumacher,
McClenathan dismissed Bob Vandergriff Jr. with a fire-throwing 4.437/178.00
pass, then met up with No. 2 in points Larry Dixon in the quarterfinal. With
a chance to dismiss his and his teammate¹s rival, McClenathan made a
near-perfect run of 3.829 seconds at 320.51 mph launching with a stellar
.062 reaction time (.000 is perfect).

Unfortunately, Dixon nipped him at the finish line by a mere eight inches
(.0014 of a second) to take the victory with a slower but winning
3.842/315.42 pass.

"It was a good race, all the way around," said McClenathan, who was
officially eliminated from championship contention when Schumacher won the
second round. "But, to get beat on a holeshot somebody has to be held
accountable for it and unfortunately it was me.

"The pressure was huge. I could have taken out Dixon and made Tony's life a
lot easier. I was just thinking, get in there, cut a good light and I did
that. Unfortunately, he cut a better light; that's all there was to it."

As it turned out, after both Schumacher and Dixon advanced to the semifinals
and Dixon lost first, Schumacher was named the champion by a margin of two
points. Schumacher also lost in the semis, but it was a victory he didn't
need to claim. 

The new member of Don Schumacher Racing in the Top Fuel class, Antron Brown,
went on to win the event, moving ahead of McClenathan in the point standings
into third.

"The championship could have been laid on my shoulders, but Tony came
through, and I am ecstatic about that," added McClenathan. "Congratulations
to a great team."

How did "Cory Mac" wrap up the 2009 season? "I think most everyone
underestimated us a little bit right from the beginning,² he said. ³I think
we had a great season and the FRAM Tough Guard guys did a great job. I'm
really proud of (crew chiefs) Todd (Okuhara) and Phil (Shuler) and all the
FRAM guys. I look forward to next year.

"As far as I'm concerned, and as far as I know, we're not changing anything
for next year. For a first-year team, I think we did pretty good."

FINAL TOP FUEL POINT STANDINGS:
1. Tony Schumacher, 2571
2. Larry Dixon, 2569
3. Antron Brown, 2522 (winner today)
4. Cory McClenathan, 2490
5. Brandon Bernsteiin, 2438
6. Spencer Massey, 2437 (runner-up today)
7. Morgan Lucas, 2353
8. Doug Kalitta, 2325
9. Shawn Langdon, 2299
10. Clay Millican, 2093

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