McClenathan is bumped out by Dixon in Concord semis

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 19 of 23
Round 2 of six in Countdown to the Championship
Third annual NHRA Carolinas Nationals
zMAX Dragway
Concord, N.C.
Sept. 17-19, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

MCCLENATHAN IS BUMPED OUT BY DIXON IN CONCORD SEMIS

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 19, 2010) - No. 1 qualifier Cory McClenathan was on
target to win his third straight NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event
at zMAX Dragway today at the third annual NHRA Carolina Nationals, but his
season-long nemesis Larry Dixon stopped him in his tracks in the semifinal
round.

En route to his sixth semifinal round of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle season,
McClenathan defeated Morgan Lucas with a 3.872-second pass at 318.09 mph,
then Rod Fuller with a 3.941/309.63 lap. In the semifinal he aced Dixon at
the starting lights, with a .048 (of a second) reaction time to Dixon's
.106. The driver of the Valvoline/FRAM Top Fuel dragster for Don Schumacher
Racing was ahead at 500 feet of the 1000-foot track, then struck the tires.
Dixon lost traction a tick later, but recovered first to take his fifth
victory over McClenathan this season (three times in the final round).

"Cory Mac" held on to second place in the point standings, and is now 85
markers behind Dixon, won won the event today.

"We were ahead until I smoked the tires and then just didn't recover," said
McClenathan. "I don't know what it is, but we just can't seem to get the
odds in our favor when it comes to Dixon. They just find a way to get around
us somehow.

"I was running my own race so I didn't see him smoke the tires. He has to be
pretty far ahead of me before I would see him, and once I pedaled it and saw
him jump out there a little bit that's where I stayed the rest of the time.

"These missed opportunities just make it hard," added McClenathan, who has
been a championship runner-up four times, but never a champion in his 20
years of competition. "The good thing is we only have to wait a couple of
days to get back in the car.

"Dixon is going to get more of a lead. We have to find a way to stop him
early. That's the only way we're going to stop this guy."

Up next is the 25th annual NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex in Ennis,
Texas, Sept. 24-26.

UNOFFICIAL TOP FUEL POINT STANDINGS, after two of six Countdown to the
Championship events:
1. Larry Dixon, 2355 (winner today)
2. Cory McClenathan, 2270
3. Tony Schumacher, 2207
4. Doug Kallita, 2190 (runner-up today)
5. Brandon Bernstein, 2172
6. Antron Brown, 2146
7. Shawn Langdon, 2134
8. Steve Torrence, 2115
9. Morgan Lucas, 2104
10. Dave Grubnic, 2066

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