McClenathan and FRAM team struggle to qualify No. 9 in Denver

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 16 of 23
MOPAR Mile-High NHRA Nationals
Bandimere Speedway
Morrison, Colo.
July 23-25, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

MCCLENATHAN AND FRAM TEAM STRUGGLE TO QUALIFY NO. 9 IN DENVER

MORRISON, Colo. (July 24, 2010) - Cory McClenathan and the FRAM Top Fuel
dragster team had a tough two days of qualifying for the Mopar Mile High
NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, finally settling for No. 9, with a
4.018-second lap at 308.64 mph, set in the final qualifying round. It is the
FRAM teamıs worst qualifying effort of the season.

Cory Mac's three preceding attempts produced a 4.103/272.17 (No. 4), which
also resulted in an engine fire, a 7.022/97.05 (No. 8), and a 5.283/137.01
(No. 8). The 90-degree heat on Friday, 80-degree on Saturday and the
always-challenging track built into the side of a mile-high mountain were
contributing factors.

"We certainly had a plan coming in here to deal with the altitude and the
heat," said McClenathan, No. 3 in the class point standings with three wins
so far this season, "but it hasn't worked out so far. (Crew chiefs) Todd
(Okuhara) and Phil (Shuler) made some changes and it looked like we were
going in the right direction, but we ran out of runs to see if the changes
would help. 

"If we had had more runs to deal with the challenges this mile-high race
brings, we may have been able to qualify better. But I have all the
confidence in the world, as I always have, that the FRAM guys will be able
to work out the kinks in the tune-up of this car and be ready to go rounds
on Sunday."

McClenathan faces No. 8 qualifier Brandon Bernstein in the opening round of
Sunday's eliminations.

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