Las Vegas II: Cory McClenathan final summary

Dropped Cylinder Lead to First-round Finish for McClenathan

Cory McClenathan needed the engine to run on all eight cylinders if the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM Boost Top Fuel dragster was going to get past the opening round of the ACDelco Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday.

But one cylinder  quit early and that enabled newcomer Steve Torrence to turn
on the win light  first as Cory Mac's car slowed to 4.632 seconds at 320.06
mph to Torrence's  4.609 at 321.12 mph.

'That was very disappointing for all of us,"  said McClenathan, who won two
weeks ago at Richmond, Va.  "There were some  positives to come out of it
though.  Wes (Cerny, crew chief) and Tony  (Shortall, assistant crew chief) were
able to try some new parts during  qualifying and they were pleased with the
results.  We're trying to get a  head start on 2007 so we'll be ready to go
when testing begins in  January.

"But we are looking forward to finishing our season a good note at Pomona."

McClenathan is ninth in POWERade points with 1004 and the team plans to solidify a place in the top 10 at the season-ending Auto Club Finals at Pomona, Calif., Nov. 9-12.

-credit: cbr