NHRA

Baytown: Cory McClenathan preview

BAYTOWN, Texas (April 1, 2005) -- The goal at the 18th annual NHRA O'Reilly Spring Nationals for Cory McClenathan, driver of the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog Top Fuel dragster, will be to go rounds and pick up POWERade championship points. "Of ...

Published: Apr 2, 2005, 8:50 PM

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BAYTOWN, Texas (April 1, 2005) -- The goal at the 18th annual NHRA O'Reilly Spring Nationals for Cory McClenathan, driver of the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog Top Fuel dragster, will be to go rounds and pick up POWERade championship points.

"Of course that will be the goal of every driver and team out there," said McClenathan, who is currently No. 9 in the NHRA POWERade Top Fuel point standing, just 71 points behind first. "If we go to the semifinals, like we did at Gainesville (the Mac Tools Gatornationals), then we can pick up maybe half of the points we need and move this Carrier Boyz Racing team up the ladder a few notches."

The Houston Raceway Park quarter-mile can range from being one of the quickest and fastest on the schedule to being a headache for crew chiefs and tuners when it's hot and humid.

"This is one of those tracks that if the weather is right and your tune up is right, then look out. But it's also a track that will jump up and bite you. The teams that I've been with have had moderate success over the last three years. I've gone to the quarterfinals, the semifinals and the finals during that span," recounted McClenathan, who now calls Lake Havasu City, Ariz., home.

McClenathan took home the event title here over David Grubnic in 1998 and was runner-up to Doug Kalitta in 2003.

"I feel pretty good about the chances of this FRAM AirHog dragster at Houston. Todd and the boys have a consistent running racecar right now. If I can go in there and do my job, I feel like we have the opportunity to go a few rounds.

"It's funny a few years ago you thought you had to get to the final each race. Now, in this day and time, you think about getting to at least the semis each event. Competition is much tougher than it use to be; tougher than I've seen in the 14 or 15 years that I've been racing. That shows the parity among teams," concluded McClenathan.

With crew chief Todd Smith calling the tuning shots, qualifying for Cory Mac and the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog dragster begins with two sessions on Friday, scheduled for 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., and concludes with two additional sessions on Saturday at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. McClenathan begins his quest for the Top Fuel title on Sunday with eliminations for all classes beginning at 11 a.m. All times are local Houston time (CT) and subject to change at anytime.

Qualifying highlights for the NHRA O'Reilly Spring Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 on Saturday evening (Apr. 9) from 7-9 p.m. (repeats: early Sunday morning, Apr. 10 from 3-5 a.m.). ESPN2 will also air same-day television coverage of eliminations from 7 until 10 p.m. on Sunday evening (Apr. 10). The elimination show repeats on ESPN2 on Wed., Apr. 13 from 3-5 a.m. Television times are Eastern Time (ET) and subject to change at anytime. Check local listings.

Headquartered in Danbury, Conn., FRAM®, the official filter of the NHRA®, is a unit of Honeywell Consumer Products Group, which manufactures and markets the FRAM AirHog™ air filter and other quality FRAM automotive filters. The Honeywell Consumer Products Group also includes Prestone® antifreeze/coolant and car care products, Autolite® spark plugs and ignition wire sets and Holts® car care products. For additional information visit the following websites: FRAM at www.fram.com and FRAM AirHog at www.framairhog.com or call 1-800-862-7737.

For 2005, Carrier Boyz Racing, with headquarters and racing shop in Bristol, Tenn., and primary marketing partners FRAM and Honeywell welcome the support of our associate marketing partners: American Racing Wheels, Autolite Spark Plugs, Bendix, Fabtech, GMC, Mac Tools, Prestone and PurePower Oil. Visit our website at www.carrierboyzracing.com for the most current team news, race results and team merchandise.

-cbr-

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