Cory Mac clinches spot in Countdown with No. 6 in Norwalk qualifying

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 13 of 23
Fourth annual NHRA Nationals
Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park
Norwalk, Ohio
June 25-27, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

CORY MAC CLINCHES SPOT IN COUNTDOWN WITH NO. 6 IN NORWALK QUALIFYING

NORWALK, Ohio (June 26, 2010) - Cory McClenathan clinched a spot in the
Countdown to 1 playoffs after running the first qualifying session on Friday
at the fourth annual NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. Following four rounds
of qualifying, he ended up No. 6 and will face Doug Kalitta in the opening
round of eliminations, the seventh time the pair will have faced each other
this season.

McClenathan, driving the FRAM Top Fuel dragster, posted his quickest lap of
3.887 seconds at 313.73 mph in today's third qualifying round. His Friday's
passes were a 3.889/308.57 (No. 2) and a tire-smoking 5.952/105.16 (No. 6)
during the cooler night session under the lights. Today's final try produced
an 8.549/80.51.

³Obviously having a spot in the Countdown already is a good thing," said
McClenathan, who joins Larry Dixon and Tony Schumacher as the only Top Fuel
drivers who have clinched their places in the playoffs so far. "Weıre still
in that position where the more rounds we go the better the points are and
the closer we get  to Larry and obviously Tony (first and second in points,
respectively), but to clinch a spot in the Countdown already at this part of
the season, Iıd say thatıs pretty good." The playoffs will be contested in
the final six events of the season among the top 10 in points. After the
Norwalk event, there will be four races before the Countdown kicks in.

"This FRAM carıs been running great numbers all year long," added
McClenathan, who is third in points. "(Crew chiefs) Phil (Shuler) and Todd
(Okuhara) and the FRAM boys have been doing a great job so Iım really proud
of them. I think thatıs a good testament to a second-year team doing as well
as we have. But, at the same time, we still want to win some more races
before the Countdown starts.²
 
As for qualifying No. 6 this weekend, ³Weıve seen some different conditions.
We had our normal Friday afternoon type of run and ran pretty well and we
went for it last night," said McClenathan. "To have one of these cars have
an .815 60-foot (increment) is pretty much unheard of, so Iıd say the car,
if it wouldıve made it, wouldıve been great. But you can 'if' and 'when' and
'coulda' all day long, but it needed to go all the way down the track.

"I think the FRAM boys were a little aggressive last night, but thatıs why
weıre here. Weıre trying to test the boundaries and see what these cars will
really do. Weıre pushing the limits, I can tell you that much.

"We're racing Doug Kalitta first round on Sunday. Thatıs good because Dougıs
right there in the points (fourth) and we need to put some padding on the
guys who are close to us. So, to start off with a tough guy tomorrow, thatıs
good. They have a good team. If we start off well, win the first round and
go on to win the race, we'll feel like we earned it.²

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