McClenathan goes to fourth semifinal round of year in Norwalk

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

MCCLENATHAN GOES TO FOURTH SEMIFINAL ROUND OF YEAR IN NORWALK

NORWALK, Ohio (June 27, 2010) - Cory McClenathan drove the FRAM Top Fuel
dragster into his fourth semifinal round of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag
Racing Series today, dismissing two top championship contenders on his path.

He disposed of Doug Kalitta in the opening round with a 4.019-second elapsed
time at 296.96 mph as ambient temperatures rose to nearly 90 degrees and the
track surface heated up to 128 degrees. He then sent home Brandon Bernstein
with a 3.953/302.48 without lane choice. He met his match in the semifinal
round against his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Antron Brown. Again without
the luxury of having lane choice, McClenathan struck the tires early as
Brown advanced. Brown, too, lost traction, but Cory Mac's pedaling attempt
to surpass him fell short, as Brown crossed the finish stripe first with a
4.863/219.36 to McClenathan's 7.884/101.01.

³It was a tough situation," he said, "but you never give up. You just keep
pedaling the car until you really know that itıs too late and youıre not
going to catch him. I saw Antron get in trouble so I figured weıd just go
ahead and keep pedaling and try to get it down the track.

"Itıs funny because thereıs not much of a throttle on these cars so youıre
trying to just barely squeeze it, let it calm down, and then get it going
again. It just wouldnıt react. Every time I did it, it just kept smoking the
tires. Once I saw that we werenıt going to be able to catch him I shut it
off. You just never give up. Thatıs the whole thing: never lift on Sunday.

"Weıve been going to the semis a lot, and it wouldıve been nice to get to a
final round here, especially since weıve had four races in a row," added
McClenathan, who holds on to third in the class point standings and had
clinched a spot in the Countdown to 1 playoffs when he ran the first
qualifying session on Friday. "The FRAM guys have really been working hard,
everybodyıs tired, everybody needs to go home and spend some time with their
families.

"I'm proud of my guys. Itıll be nice to have a week off and relax a little,
bit then itıll be time for the Western Swing (three in a row in Seattle,
Sonoma, Calif., and Denver), and thatıs the one I really want!²

Next up is the 23rd NHRA Northwest Nationals in Kent, Wash., July 9-11.

UNOFFICIAL TOP FUEL point standings, after 13 of 23 events:
1. Larry Dixon, 1256 (winner today)
2. Tony Schumacher, 1080
3. Cory McClenathan, 1030
4. Antron Brown, 929 (runner-up today)
5. Doug Kalitta, 901
6. Brandon Bernstein, 843
7. Shawn Langdon, 622
8. Morgan Lucas, 608
9. Steve Torrence, 534
10. Dave Grubnic, 488

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