Denver: Cory McClenathan preview

McClenathan, FRAM Boost Team Looking Forward to Mile-High Competition

Up on the mountain Top Fuel drivers pause . . .

Yes, it's time for NHRA's annual trek into thin  air, where elapsed times go
into retro mode compared with those produced at sea  level and tuners get
tired of scratching their heads while looking for winning  combinations.

The Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, fully 5,280 feet above sea level, creates a problem indigenous to the altitude -- lack of oxygen in the air.

This time, however,  Cory McClenathan believes the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM
Boost team has the  potential to win the race and get the second half of the
23-race POWERade Series  campaign off the ground in fine style.  This is the
official start of the  Western Swing, followed by stops at Seattle (July 21-23)
and Sonoma, Calif.  (July 28-30).

"I'm looking forward to going to Denver," says McClenathan. "We'll have a new car ready for the race. I'm fine with that. We sent both our chassis to (builder) Brad Hadman's shop (in Puyallup, Wash.). We have one and we'll pick up the other one when we get to Seattle. We shouldn't have any problems with that. I've had new pipe (chassis) underneath me all year so this won't bother me a bit.

"We've had  some mishaps this season and, in all reality, we've rebounded
fairly  well."

One of McClenathan's rides was destroyed in a spectacular  accident at
Bristol, Tenn., in April and a broken header pipe triggered a  qualifying accident
at St. Louis (June 24) that blew a tire and sent the car  skidding across the
track, where it kissed the guard wall.  That  altercation bent the frame and
sidelined McClenathan on race day, much to his  chagrin.

The Lake Havasu, Ariz.-based driver has one runner-up this season and goes into Denver ninth in points with 580.

"The upcoming three races are going to be important for us," he said. "We are only 109 points out of fourth place. That's five rounds of racing (at 20 points per round win), and that's nothing compared to how many rounds we have left (44 overall).

"I still think we can make a charge to the top five before the year is over."

Crew chief Wes Cerny and Tony Shortall, his assistant, have been working on a tuning combination they feel will be very competitive in the mile-high atmosphere. "Wes has some things up his sleeve," said McClenathan, "and we should be in much better shape than some of the other teams. Now it's our turn to start moving up the ladder.

"We need to put our FRAM Boost car in the winner's circle, and that's what we aim to do."

Carrier Boyz Racing wants to thank all  its sponsors.  Without them, this
would not be possible: FRAM, Bendix, Mac  Tools, GMC, Jeg's, Knoll Gas-Torco Race
Fuels, Prestone, Autolite, Fabtech,  PurePower and American Racing Wheels.

Cut Tire Slows McClenathan in Truck Race

A cut tire slowly losing air deflated Cory McClenathan's hopes of a top 10 finish in King Taco NASCAR Truck racing on Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway's half-mile oval Saturday night.

"The truck started  getting loose early in the (40-lap) race," said
McClenathan, who was taking a  break from his regular job driving the Carrier Boyz
FRAM Boost Top Fuel  dragster.  "When that happened, the truck lost its handling
ability.   I came in (to the pits) on the 12th lap and the guys kicked the
tires and said  they appeared to be OK. I stayed with it and fought it the rest
of the way and  we found the cause of the problem after the race.

"It was disappointing because I expected to finish in the top 10, but it didn 't work out. I have to learn more about the truck. I'd never experienced that before and didn't realize what was happening."

Although he  finished 18th, McClenathan remained on the lead lap throughout
the race.   His best qualifying time was 20.281 seconds -- which is more than
the total of  four good qualifying runs in the dragster -- and his top speed was
88.253  mph.

"I enjoy driving different kinds of racecars," he said. "I want to thank Troy Anderson for letting me drive his truck. I plan to do some testing in the truck and get back in it in early August (the next open date on his drag racing calendar)."

-cbr-