Richmond: Cory McClenathan Friday notes

MCCLENATHAN TAKES PROVISIONAL RICHMOND POLE

DINWIDDIE, Va. (Oct. 9, 2009) - Cory McClenathan drove the FRAM Top Fuel dragster to the provisional No. 1 position after two rounds of qualifying for the NHRA Virginia Nationals, earning three bonus points.

If it holds up through two more rounds of qualifying on Saturday, he will claim his second No. 1 of the season, 34th of his career.

McClenathan and the FRAM team took advantage of nearly ideal conditions in the cooler second session to post a 3.815-second pass at 318.24 mph for top speed of the day. His first attempt produced a 3.898/308.38, good for No. 7 at the time.

"We need those three points," said McClenathan, who is third in the Countdown to 1 playoffs standings. "That's nice to see, but we're also looking at cooler conditions tomorrow. Even if we don't have any - I hate to say it - rain whatsoever, then there are still opportunities to run quicker and obviously my teammate (No. 1 in points) Tony (Schumacher) will try to do so.

"We come here and for some reason we just happen to do well and it's good mojo," added the winningest Top Fuel driver at Virginia Motorsports Park, with four victories. "That's a good thing."

-credit: dsr