NHRA: McClenathan Seeks to Defend Houson Top Fuel Title
2 April 1999
BAYTOWN, Texas -- Not only has the quicker elapsed times and extreme increase in speeds in Top Fuel surprised a lot of fans, it has a few veteran drivers shaking their heads in amazement as well.Cory McClenathan has always thought this type of performance was possible. He has to admit, however, that he thought it was still at least a year away.
As NHRAs high-performance showcase moves to Houston Raceway Park for the 12th annual OReilly Nationals presented by Pennzoil, April 8-11, many observers are expecting to see the first quarter-mile run quicker than 4.50 seconds and a second run that exceeds the 330 mph barrier in Top Fuel. The $1.7 million race is the fourth of 22 events in the $40 million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.
McClenathan, the defending winner at this event, says new technology is responsible for the performance impact. The new five-disc clutch has allowed teams to generate more power throughout the quarter-mile. Some teams -- like Mike Dunns Team Mopar, Tony Schumachers Exide Racing and the Joe Amatos Tenneco Automotive -- have figured out the new system a little quicker than others. McClenathans MBNA team is still putting pieces of the puzzle together.
The five-disc clutch has made a tremendous impact, McClenathan said. Were still working with it. What most people dont realize is all the other changes that have to be made because of it. The entire combination has to be changed. Were getting a lot closer.
Dunn won the season-opening Winternationals in impressive fashion, resetting the national elapsed time record to 4.503 seconds. Schumacher has surprised many of his rivals this season by running low 4.50s and posting the fastest speed in Top Fuel history at 330.23 mph at Phoenix.
McClenathan, who sports a career-best elapsed time of 4.559 seconds and top speed of 322.92 mph, hopes to improve on those numbers at Houston. In fact, McClenathan recorded his best elapsed time in the final round victory over Dave Grubnic here last year.
Right now were a little bit off what we need to be running to win, McClenathan said. Weve got to be able to run at least mid-4.50s to get it done. Thats been the standard in the first three races. If you dont run 4.50s, you arent going to get a trophy.
On the bright side, we havent been blowing stuff up. Were keeping parts breakage to a minimum. Thats real positive. Were running low 60s and keeping it together. Still, we have to step up the pace. As it stands, we need to find about five-hundredths of a second to get where we want to be.
After posting second place finishes to Team Winstons Gary Scelzi the last two years, McClenathan hopes this will be the year he gets his Winston championship.
Fortunately its still early in the season, he said. We have to turn our focus to later in the season instead of trying to count points at this stage. However, with the competitive nature of Top Fuel these days, you cant afford to get too far behind in the championship picture. Its a real balancing act.
He hopes to draw some inspiration from his win here last year to get his season jump started.
That was a great race for us last year, McClenathan said. We were fortunate to win. We didnt have an easy race all day long. From pedaling against Jim Head in the semifinals to getting by a very tough Grubnic in the final, we had our work cut out for us. Houstons always a lot of fun. Its a fast track and I expect some big numbers this year.
Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot photos
and racing art, please visit The Racing Image
Galleries and The
Visions of Speed Art Gallery .