Last year's Concord champ McClenathan ready to go four-wide

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 4 of 23
Inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
ZMax Dragway
Concord, N.C.
March 26-28, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

LAST YEAR'S CONCORD CHAMP MCCLENATHAN READY TO GO FOUR-WIDE

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (March 23, 2010) - When Cory McClenathan won the NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series national event last year at zMax Dragway in
Concord, N.C., he did it against only one opponent in the opposite lane.
This weekend, driving the FRAM Top Fuel dragster at the inaugural NHRA
Four-Wide Nationals, he hopes to repeat that triumph, but this time over
three other combatants in the lanes beside him.

"Obviously, coming back to Concord as a defending champion is definitely
going to be a good thing for our FRAM team," said McClenathan, who
relinquished the class points lead to his Don Schumacher Racing teammate
Tony Schumacher at the last event. "At the same time, now we're going to be
introduced to a whole new way of racing.

"It's going to be a very cool event. It's really going to get the attention
of the fans, and it's certainly going to get the crew chiefs and the drivers
to start thinking about what they're doing.

"There will be two different Christmas Trees between the lanes, and the only
real difference is we're going to have three more opponents instead of one.
It will be interesting.

"I think when it comes to Bruton and Marcus Smith and the rest of the gang
at zMax, if they can stretch that envelope a little bit farther, they're
going to do it. They're trying something new. It's going to be exciting not
only for the drivers, crew chiefs and the fans, but it will also show how
NHRA is evolving in this sport and how willing they are to always try
something different, and that's cool.

"So, for Full Throttle and everybody else involved, it's a good thing. It's
going to be an action-packed weekend, that's for sure. It's going to be
really cool to watch everybody slug it out four-wide. I'm looking forward to
it."

McClenathan and the FRAM team have been hot this season, winning once,
qualifying No. 1 once, and advancing to the semifinal once. He trails his
teammate and points leader Tony Schumacher in the standings by 11 markers
coming into Concord.

CORY MCCLENATHAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 2 in 2010 point standings, after semifinal finish and a victory in the
first three races; 11 points behind Tony Schumacher
* Is the 2009 Top Fuel champion at zMax Dragway
* Qualified No. 9 in 2009 Concord; won event over Shawn Langdon
* No. 4 in 2009 year-end standings with a victory in Concord, N.C., the
opening round of the playoffs
* Had one win in four final rounds in 2009, plus five semifinal and six
quarterfinal finishes
* Qualified No. 1 once in 2009 (Bristol); has one No. 1 so far in 2010
* No. 5 in 2009 "regular season" Top Fuel point standings
* 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 32 career Top Fuel victories in 58 final rounds
* Career-best elapsed time to 1000 feet: 3.784 seconds (Richmond '09)
* Career-best speed to 1000 feet: 322.50 mph (Gainesville 2010)
* First driver to break the 320-mph barrier with 322.17-mph run in Dallas in
1997
* Has recorded 474 career round wins in Top Fuel
* Qualified No. 1 34 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); engaged to Debi
* Joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2008; 2010 is fifth season with
sponsorship from FRAM

WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, March 26 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 1:15 p.m. and 3:45
p.m.
SATURDAY, March 27 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 11:45 a.m. and 2:15
p.m.
SUNDAY, March 28 - Pre-race ceremonies, 11 a.m. FULL THROTTLE SERIES
eliminations begin at noon.
 
TELEVISION:  
Saturday, March 27, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying
highlights at 7 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, March 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute
news magazine show, at 10 a.m. (ET)
Sunday, March 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two and a half hours of
coverage starting at 5 p.m. (ET).
                   
SATELLITE:    
Friday, March 26, 6 - 6:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 6 / Transponder 21K (12120 MHz,
vertical) (Analog feed)
Saturday, March 27, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET), AMC 6 / Transponder 21K (12120 MHz,
vertical)
Sunday, March 28, 6 - 6:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 6 / Transponder 21K (12120 MHz,
vertical)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winnersą
interviews on Sunday.

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